The Spring Hill City Council voted Jan. 9 to approve a three-year master services agreement with 19 engineering and architecture firms to provide on-call specialty services.

Staff said the city issued a request for qualifications in October, received 40 responses (one rejected for a late submission) and selected 19 firms after scoring qualifications, team resumes and references. Firms listed in the packet include BBN Architects; BG Consultants; Black & Veatch; Burns & McDonnell; Garver; George Butler Associates; HDR; Kaw Valley Engineering; Terracon; and others.

Why it matters: staff said the master agreement will let city departments issue task orders quickly for time-sensitive items — for example, traffic studies, structural review for retaining walls, construction materials testing and stormwater engineering — without restarting an RFQ or open selection process for every small project.

How it will work: the city will issue individual task orders under the master agreement for specific projects and will update hourly rates annually. Staff said larger firms on the list can provide broad capabilities and smaller firms provide focused specialties (traffic, stormwater) that the city can call directly.

Council members who spoke supported the approach, saying it preserves competition while helping staff move projects more quickly.