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City to ratify engineering contract for Walnut Street multimodal improvements after lead consultant withdraws
Summary
After an initial selected firm withdrew over insurance/indemnification language, the city executed an agreement with Wallace Montgomery for design of multimodal safety improvements on Walnut Street and the public works committee moved the ratification to the legislative session.
Harrisburg’s public works committee reviewed Feb. 20 a ratification of a professional services agreement with Wallace Montgomery & Associates LLP for design and engineering of multimodal safety improvements on the Walnut Street corridor from Front Street to Fourth Street.
City staff said the original top‑scoring consultant, Kimberly Horn (sic: earlier transcript reference), withdrew after contract execution because its insurer would not accept certain indemnification language; staff then executed an agreement with Wallace Montgomery — a firm already on the city’s open‑end services roster — to keep the project on schedule. Project scope described to the committee includes safety and multimodal improvements, resurfacing of the corridor, and a raised intersection at Second and Walnut.
Wayne Martin of Wallace Montgomery said the firm has longstanding experience in Harrisburg projects and that the contract includes an add‑alternate for additional survey work. Committee members asked about the fee and exhibit attachments; staff cited a base design fee shown in the contract exhibit (approximately $276,571) with an ad‑alternate survey that increases the not‑to‑exceed amount to roughly $3,033,509 (the exhibit and contract language were incorporated into the resolution packet). Staff emphasized the not‑to‑exceed approach and said the additional survey would only be billed if required.
Council members asked about minority and women‑owned business participation; the consultants noted MBE/WBE firms were included on the project team (staff cited approximate 15% MBE and 19% WBE participation). Because staff executed the agreement during council’s summer recess to avoid schedule delay, the committee was asked to ratify the contract and the public works committee moved Resolution 61 to the next legislative session for formal ratification.
