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Board approves $38,000 amendment to consultant contract for updated stormwater manual after debate over authorization
Summary
The Little Rock Board of Directors approved a $38,000 amendment to the Half Associates contract to finish an updated stormwater and drainage design manual. The vote followed extended debate about whether the city had previously authorized spending for the work and how close the consultant is to a final draft required by ADEQ.
The Little Rock Board of Directors on Jan. 21 approved an amendment authorizing an additional $38,000 to the contract with Half Associates Inc. to complete the city’s updated stormwater and drainage design manual, a document the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) requires before the city seeks its next MS4 permit.
The board approved the amendment by voice vote after extended discussion; Director Hines said he would vote no. The measure directs staff to pay up to $38,000 for engineering services to finish the manual and related deliverables.
The vote followed a lengthy exchange about how the city reached this point. Brad Jordan, a city staff member involved in the matter, told the board that Half Associates was selected through a competitive process and that an ordinance had redirected funds to pay for the manual, but that no separate resolution awarding the contract had been located in the record. Jordan said, “there was an ordinance to authorize that, there was no resolution passed to actually award the contract.” Director Hines said the absence of a board resolution authorizing the expenditure was “very concerning” and that he found it “very hard to support a resolution, in my opinion, spending good money after bad.”
Board members pressed staff on the contract’s history and on whether the consultant’s work could be completed by city staff if the board declined the amendment. Tom (staff member) said completing the manual without the consultant “would put a major burden on both of our staffs,” and that substantial staff time would be required to finish a draft already under development.
Planning staff and consultants described the current product as a draft in progress — the city is on the fourth draft — and outlined the remaining deliverables the extra funding is intended to cover: a final digital copy of the manual, 20 bound hard copies, a final notification to stakeholders after board and Planning Commission approval, cost-assessment work for development impacts under the new standards, additional stakeholder meetings and workshops, and coordination with ADEQ. Planning staff said consultants have been responsive and engaged.
Board members also discussed timing. Staff reported the city obtained an extension from ADEQ that runs through March 31 to complete the manual; staff said the additional $38,000 is intended to take the work to a stage suitable for the permit application and that the team believes the amount will be sufficient unless the board requests further delays or ADEQ requires additional revisions.
The amendment papered before the board listed the contract amendment as increasing the amount for engineering services related to updating the Little Rock stormwater management and drainage manual by up to $38,000. No mover or seconder was recorded in the public voice-roll discussion. Director Hines stated for the record he intended to vote no; the board’s voice vote concluded with the ayes carrying the motion.
The board’s discussion also included repeated clarifications that, while funds had been appropriated in a budget ordinance, the typical separate resolution awarding the contract could not be found in the minutes. City staff acknowledged that the absence of a standalone resolution was atypical and pledged to add clearer history and review procedures to future resolutions to avoid similar confusion.
Background: staff said the consultant was engaged after an RFQ issued in 2022 and that Half Associates’ first day on the job was Jan. 1, 2023. That contract ran through July 2024; staff said the consultant remained available under remaining funds and agreed to continue working while additional expenditures were finalized.
Director Adcock and other board members said they supported the amendment to ensure the manual could be completed in time for the ADEQ deadline, citing the public-permitting risk of not submitting an adequate manual.
The board approved the amendment; staff will incorporate the consultant’s remaining work into the final draft and continue coordination with ADEQ and stakeholders.
