Jackson County awards on-call park planning contract to Vireo LLC; staff note long project timelines and budget encumbrance process

The Jackson County Finance and Audit Committee adopted Resolution 21,912 to award on‑call park planning, landscape architecture and engineering services to Vireo LLC of Kansas City under RFQ 24084.

Brian Nowotny and Richard Allen of Parks + Rec presented the recommendation and explained the county issued the RFQ on Oct. 22, 2024; there were 42 document takers and eight firms submitted qualifications. A department evaluation committee scored and ranked responders and selected Vireo as the top responder. Compliance goals set by the county were 9.5% MBE, 11.7% WBE and 9.5% VBE; Vireo committed to meeting or exceeding those goals.

Nowotny explained the contract is on-call and carries no direct cost to the county at award: specific projects and encumbrances would be requested on an as‑needed basis and funded through Parks + Rec budget authority. "The individual, project or encumbrance would not [come before the legislature]. What does come before you, as you know, every year would be the budget authority to be able to encumber those contracts," Nowotny said, adding that many park development projects can take three to four years when state or federal grant compliance is involved.

Committee members asked whether the county had worked with Vireo previously; staff said Vireo participated as a subconsultant under an earlier, now-expired contract and the county has experience with similar arrangements. The committee voted to adopt the resolution by voice vote.

The contract will allow Parks + Rec to task Vireo for planning and design work — including new park development, renovations, trails, shelters and playgrounds — with individual task orders and encumbrances managed through annual budget authority.