Committee asks engineers for itemized walking-path quote; decision expected in June

The Finance Committee directed staff to collect a written proposal and an itemized cost estimate from the village’s engineers for the proposed walking path in the park and to compare that material against two revised design proposals the village already has.

“We asked that the engineer submit a proposal,” staff member Brittany said. “So in our June meeting, we will make a decision and recommend it to council whether or not we go with one of the two organizations that submitted bids or if we go with our engineers.”

Committee members said the engineer’s submission should be itemized so the committee can see what costs would be necessary for specific features (for example, whether the path would be drivable and which elements could be deleted to lower cost). Brittany said the engineers will provide a scope-of-work markup and an itemized cost list by mid-June so the committee can review comparable written proposals before executive review.

No final procurement decision was made at the meeting; staff said the committee will compare written proposals at its June meeting and then recommend the preferred option to council. Members emphasized that for an apples-to-apples comparison they need the engineer’s written proposal in hand before the executive discussion.

Less-critical details: a previously quoted design cost mentioned in committee discussion was about $110,000, but members said the engineer’s itemization could remove or change specific line items that drove that total.