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Council accepts $50,000 MSHDA readiness grant, approves $35,000 McKenna contract amendment after debate over scope creep
Summary
The Ferndale City Council voted to accept a $50,000 MSHDA housing readiness grant and approve a $35,000 amendment to the McKenna Associates contract to cover extra community engagement and additional form-based residential work on the zoning-code rewrite.
The Ferndale City Council voted to accept a $50,000 Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) housing readiness incentive grant and approved a $35,000 contract amendment with planning consultant McKenna Associates to cover additional community engagement and extra work on the zoning code rewrite.
City staff said McKenna's original contract — executed after a selection process that recommended McKenna at an estimated $105,800 plus a 10 percent contingency — reflected a base scope for a zoning-code rewrite. During the process the steering committee directed additional tasks, including extra public events and making the residential portion form-based, which increased McKenna's work beyond the original scope.
Roger, the Community Development director, told council that the extra work exceeded the base contract and that McKenna's requested additional compensation was north of $40,000. Because the city also received a separate $50,000 MSHDA housing readiness grant soon after the code adoption, staff proposed accepting the grant and applying $35,000 to a contract amendment so the city's net cost for the project would be reduced.
Several councilmembers criticized both city staff and the consultant for allowing extra work without prior change orders. One councilmember said both parties were at fault and urged the city manager and department heads to audit other contracts to ensure scope and approval processes are followed. Other councilmembers said McKenna had already taken a reduction from its internal tally and expressed a desire to hold the consultant partially responsible for scope creep.
After debate, council approved the motion to accept the MSHDA grant and the $35,000 amendment to McKenna's contract by roll call vote. Staff said McKenna had provided a contract amendment for $40,000 but that council had negotiated a lower figure; staff also warned that taking more than a portion of the grant to cover prior contract work could jeopardize grant reimbursement rules.
Council asked staff to provide a broader accounting of contracts and change-order practices across departments.
