Council retains Jones & DeMille for on-call planning services; $3,500 budget line discussed

Brunei City Council voted Sept. 19 to retain Jones & DeMille for on-call planning services to help the city keep ordinances and planning tasks current.

Staff described the contract as an on-call arrangement: the firm would perform a range of planning and engineering services on an hourly basis under work orders. The council discussed hourly-rate examples presented by the firms: the transcript cited a planner 3 at $146 per hour and a planner 4 at $161 per hour in one firms’ sample work release; earlier discussion referenced a range from roughly $115 to $160 per hour depending on level of staff assigned. Council members compared Jones & DeMille’s rates and proximity with a competing firm, Sunrise Engineering.

Council members also discussed a $3,500 line in the city budget associated with planning services. Staff clarified that the $3,500 figure represents an estimated amount budgeted for initial services; the firms would bill monthly for actual hours worked under work orders, and the city would not automatically forfeit unused funds. Councilors asked whether the amount functions as a retainer; staff said the agreement would be structured so work is invoiced monthly and adjustments can be negotiated in subsequent work releases.

After discussion of familiarity with prior planner Devon Fowles (who moved to a different firm) and the merits of the two firms, a motion to retain Jones & DeMille was made and seconded. The council approved the motion by voice vote; the meeting record does not show a roll-call tally for this item.

Staff said the arrangement will allow the city to address state legislative changes and ordinance updates on an ongoing basis and that the city will re-evaluate the arrangement annually if needed. The motion did not specify a contract number, precise maximum value beyond the budgeted $3,500 estimate, or a signed work-order schedule at the meeting.