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Cobb DOT holds public hearing on King Springs Road sidewalk design; DOT says consultants speed delivery
Summary
Cobb County held a public hearing on engineering design services for the King Springs Road sidewalk (SPLOST project B2745). Residents asked for transparency and suggested hiring staff rather than outside consultants; DOT said master task orders and outside firms provide specialized expertise and speed project delivery.
Cobb County’s Department of Transportation held a public hearing on Jan. 13 for proposed engineering design services on the King Springs Road sidewalk (project B2745), a sidewalk-improvement item selected under the 2022 SPLOST transportation program.
DOT Director Drew Ressler told the Board that the county must hold a public hearing when it anticipates spending $100,000 or more on an independent consultant, and said the department expects the King Springs design contract to be roughly $200,000. Ressler outlined the procurement steps: public-hearing authorization, solicitation under master task-order contracts, a selection committee review, and then an agenda item before the board to authorize negotiations and a contract award.
Several residents used the hearing to press for greater transparency and to question the use of outside consultants. Craig Harfoot said residents do not see transparency in consultant selection and questioned whether the county could hire recent local engineering graduates or use in-house staff. Ray Emkin, who identified an engineering background, suggested that if the county lacks needed engineering talent it could hire a full-time engineer for roughly the same cost as a $100,000 consultant and get longer-term capacity.
Ressler explained why DOT frequently uses outside consultants: dozens of concurrent projects require expertise across surveying, geotechnical, structural, hydraulic, and traffic engineering. He said the department acts more as project managers and relies on embedded consultants and master task-order contracts to deliver projects at the speed the public expects. “In order to be competitive, to, to match the the speed at which the public expects those projects to be delivered, by contracting it out, we're able to, select those firms that have those expertise, in house,” Ressler said.
Ressler added that for King Springs the department expects to receive task-order proposals this week and will bring a contract recommendation to the board in February. No contract was approved at the hearing; the public hearing record allows residents to comment on the project before the county proceeds with procurement and an eventual agenda item for contract award.
Project details given at the hearing: project number B2745; DOT’s preliminary estimate for design services is about $200,000; the public-hearing requirement is triggered when anticipated consultant fees exceed $100,000; the procurement route is a master task-order contract intended to accelerate entry into design.
The board closed the hearing after public comment and DOT’s explanation. The design contract for King Springs Road sidewalks will return as a formal agenda item for board consideration in February.
