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Wausau Board selects Becker Hoppe for city surveyor services after weighing hourly rates and travel costs
Summary
After reviewing two proposals, the Board approved Becker Hoppe for interim city surveyor services, citing local availability and overall cost trade-offs despite a higher hourly rate than a Wisconsin Rapids bidder.
The Wausau Board of Public Works on Feb. 25 approved hiring Becker Hoppe to provide city surveyor professional services until the city fills the position.
Staff said two proposals were received: Becker Hoppe and Quest. T. J., a city staff member who reviewed the proposals, described the evaluation method: "So, what we typically do when we receive these RFPs is, we distribute them to staff and then we each, review them and rank them individually. And then take a composite score of those 3 reviews. So, based on the composite score of the reviewers, we recommend hiring Becker Hoppe for the city surveyor services." The board adopted that recommendation.
Board members pressed staff on price. One board member noted that Becker Hoppe’s hourly rate was $150 and Quest’s hourly rate was $100 but raised the point that Quest’s travel time and mileage could narrow the apparent difference. Staff explained that Quest is based in Wisconsin Rapids and that Quest’s proposal included travel time and mileage; Becker Hoppe, by contrast, proposed a local presence and a $0.70-per-mile charge when travel occurred. Staff said the net cost could be similar after accounting for Quest’s two-hour drive and mileage on some staking visits, and that overall evaluation scores had favored Becker Hoppe despite the lower hourly rate proposed by Quest.
Given the composite scoring and locality considerations, the board approved Becker Hoppe to provide surveyor services under the RFP until the city fills the position or reissues the RFP.
The board recorded the approval by voice vote. Staff said it will continue to monitor costs and bring future procurements through the normal RFP process.
