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Clay County commissioners review draft design-build procurement template, schedule consultant presentation
Summary
County commissioners discussed a draft design-build procurement template that would create a technical review committee and a best-value scoring system for select building and renovation projects; consultants from Integra are scheduled to present next week for a fuller briefing.
Clay County commissioners spent an extended portion of their meeting reviewing a draft design-build procurement template and agreed to invite consultants for a fuller presentation next week.
The item centers on using a design-build contracting process for smaller renovation and improvement projects where the county prefers a single contractor to propose design and construction together, rather than run separate engineering and architect procurements. The draft outlines creating a three-person technical review committee, minimum interviewing and selection steps, and a “best value” scoring system that weights timing, technical criteria and cost rather than automatically selecting the lowest bid.
A county official said the technical review committee would include the facilities manager, one county commissioner and a third member; the draft also allows multiple nonvoting members such as legal counsel or a contract manager. The presenters discussed a sample scoring chart that combines quality scores and price so that a higher-quality but more expensive firm can prevail if the committee determines it provides the best value.
Speakers referenced other South Dakota jurisdictions that have used the process, including Box Elder and a few cities, and said Stacy Walters of the State Engineer’s office has offered to be a resource. County staff flagged some draft language needing clarification: how to preserve anonymity when responses go to the facilities manager, whether a price threshold should determine when the county uses design-build, and how much in-house contracting expertise (a named staff member was referenced) the county should retain to run the process.
No formal policy vote was taken; commissioners directed staff to host a presentation by Integra representatives and related consultants planned for next Tuesday to answer outstanding questions and refine the draft.
The discussion included repeated cautions that the template is complex and will require work to adapt to the county’s projects and staffing capacity. The county’s next steps are to receive the consultant briefing, clarify language points (anonymity of submittals, thresholds, committee membership) and return with a revised draft for formal consideration.
