Council OKs $79,000 amendment to Rock Project Management contract for federal grant oversight

The Arlington City Council approved a $79,000 contract amendment with Rock Project Management to provide additional construction management and reporting for work that includes federally funded elements in the Division and Broadway overlay project.

Jim Kelly explained the amendment is needed because federal grant-funded work requires more oversight and reporting than state-funded work, and the city had relied on outside construction-management support while rebuilding internal capacity. "We have additional work coming up now that is federal grant funded work that takes a lot more oversight ... so we need to have assistance with that project," Kelly said.

Council asked several budget and transparency questions about project budgets and what remains to be spent; staff explained the total project budget is approximately $1,300,000, that some federal funds are part of the package and that the $79,000 amendment would be drawn from the city's project budget (with portions reimbursable by grant funds as appropriate).

Council approved Amendment No. 1 and authorized the mayor to sign the contract pending final city-attorney approval.

Clarifying details: amendment covers construction-management services for the Division and Broadway overlay project and the 180 Eighth roundabout is managed separately (construction vs. construction management). Staff said they will include better budget-to-date disclosure in future contract authorization memos.

Next steps: execute the amendment after city-attorney review and provide construction-management services during project delivery and federal reporting.