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Council hears disclosure from Kimley‑Horn on private projects; members discuss competition and conflicts
Summary
Kimley‑Horn representatives told the council they had disclosed private-client work in the Josephine area and described internal firewalls and professional obligations intended to avoid conflicts; council discussed whether the city should solicit competing engineering firms through an RFQ process.
Representatives from Kimley‑Horn attended the Jan. 13 meeting to explain notices the firm had sent to city staff that identified Kimley‑Horn offices engaged on private projects in the Josephine area.
Aaron Raider, who identified himself as Kimley‑Horn’s North Texas regional leader, told the council the firm follows professional and licensure obligations that require objectivity, confidentiality and ethical firewalls between offices. He said the specific private projects on Kimley‑Horn’s notices were being worked on out of different regional offices than the group that performs the city’s development-review work, and that the firm’s usual practice is to segregate teams to avoid internal sharing of confidential client information.
City staff summarized that the city had received three notices from Kimley‑Horn about private projects (listed in staff materials as Zappa Investments, Golden Barn and MUD 3). Those notices, staff said, are consistent with Texas Administrative Code provisions and with the firm’s obligation to inform the city when firm offices represent both public and private interests in the same geography.
Council members discussed whether the city should issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) to encourage competition and avoid reliance on a small set of firms for engineering services. Some council members said competition could lower costs and increase options; staff and the Kimley‑Horn representative said that in many cases the firm’s internal procedures and state licensing rules are intended to mitigate conflicts.
There was no formal action; staff offered to continue bringing disclosures to council attention when they are received and to return with any suggested policy changes if the council wants a formal RFQ or conflict‑management policy.
