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Engineering seeks senior civil engineer as city plans $8.5M in capital work and bond carryovers
Summary
Engineering staff asked the committee to add a senior civil engineer to manage a larger capital workload — staff cited an $8.5 million capital program next year, substantial bond carryovers and major projects including a TAP sidewalk, Greenway trailhead and Fire Station No. 2 design.
Kale, the city’s engineering lead, asked the finance committee to approve a new senior civil engineer position to address increasing service demands as the city prepares a larger capital program. “There are four reasons why we need a senior civil engineer,” he said, summarizing the drivers: increased service load, an upcoming comprehensive plan process, an $8.5 million capital‑projects budget next year and succession planning for technical expertise.
Kale told the committee the city currently manages bond balances and carryovers (he cited roughly $4.2 million in the bond bucket with about $1.8 million to carry forward) and expects to execute a multi‑year list of projects. Several highlighted capital items were central to the presentation: a Central Avenue TAP sidewalk/multi‑use path that carries an ALDOT match, the Greenway Trailhead building (manufacturer cost about $260,000 plus site work), library phase 4 renovations, Fire Station No. 2 design services (firm selected; design contract on the referral agenda) and a multiyear program of creek‑wall and stormwater repairs.
Kale outlined how project work and bidding expertise have been centralized in engineering — the department will handle design, bidding and contract administration for several departments’ projects — and argued a senior engineer on staff would reduce outsourcing and provide immediate on‑the‑ground oversight that currently requires external contract engineering at higher cost.
Committee members and staff discussed sequencing for projects, coordination with ALDOT on the TAP grant and the potential $10 million construction estimate for a new fire station if construction pricing remains near current market levels. Kale said the city was budgeting $5 million across future years toward station construction but that final construction funding will require separate council actions.
Why it matters: adding in‑house engineering capacity would change how the city delivers dozens of capital projects and influence cost, schedule and oversight. Staff asked the committee to consider the personnel addition as part of the FY 2025–26 budget discussion.
Ending note: Kale closed by reviewing the multi‑year capital outlook and asking council members to consider the request in light of workload, risk and value for money.
