Tumwater committee approves amendment to transportation consultant agreement to add bike-and-pedestrian work

The Tumwater Public Works Committee voted March 6 to place on the March 18 City Council consent calendar a first amendment to the service provider agreement with consultant Farron Piers to add a required bike-and-pedestrian plan, extend the contract term and increase the project budget by $50,000.

The amendment would extend the transportation-plan portion of the 2025 comprehensive plan periodic update from June 2024 to June 2026 and add scope to complete the city's bike-and-pedestrian planning work, city staff said. Brad, a city staff member presenting the item, said the bike-and-pedestrian work was omitted from the original agreement in error and must be added for the consultant to proceed. "The purpose of the First Amendment is to address the need to extend the term of the service provider agreement and also increase the scope of services to allow us to do the required bike and pedestrian plan," Brad said.

The committee heard that funding for the comprehensive-plan transportation work currently comes from three sources: $100,000 from a periodic update grant from the state, $100,000 from a climate grant and the remainder from the city general fund. Brad said the $50,000 increase included in the amendment would come from the general fund. He also noted the city is working on a separate transportation-modeling contract with TRPC that will trigger additional work on related deliverables.

Council member Swartout moved approval to place the amendment on the March 18 City Council consent calendar with a recommendation to approve and to authorize the mayor to sign; Council member Angelo seconded the motion. Committee members voiced their support and the chair said the action was approved. The committee's action places the amendment on the council consent calendar; final approval and signature by the mayor remain subject to the City Council vote on March 18.

Committee members asked whether the date changes and other schedule items would return in a later action; staff replied the amendment extends the overall term and adds the bike-and-pedestrian task and that additional schedule changes related to transportation modeling and other deliverables may come back to the committee or council as needed. The meeting lasted only a few minutes and included no further substantive items.

The City Council will consider the amendment on its March 18 consent calendar; if approved there, the mayor would be authorized to sign the amended agreement.