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Council delays action on ordinance to allow build–operate–transfer delivery method for city projects
Summary
After an introduction and discussion, Richmond City Council held Ordinance No. 36-2025 — which would enable a build–operate–transfer procurement option in city code — for second reading and asked staff to return with additional information.
Richmond City Council heard a presentation on Ordinance No. 36-2025, a general ordinance to permit the city to use a build–operate–transfer (BOT) delivery method for public projects, but council members declined to advance the ordinance to final action and held it for second reading.
The city’s parks superintendent introduced the ordinance and representatives from Butler, Fairman & Seifert — identified as consultants with expertise on BOT delivery — attended to answer questions. The superintendent said the ordinance would open the code to the BOT method for any city project and that if the city later chooses a BOT approach for a specific project, the project would return to the appropriate board (for example, the park board) and to council later in the procurement process.
Finance committee members reported they had no recommendation because committee members were not all present and had many questions, particularly about transparency and council oversight if BOT is used within multiple departments. One council member pointed out that any committee recommendation or selection under the RFPQ (request for qualifications) process would still return to council for approval, and legal counsel confirmed that future specific contracts or project awards would come back to council.
Council voted earlier in the meeting to suspend the rules and advance ordinances on first reading to title only (a procedural step that covered both Ordinances 36 and 37). After discussion and questions in finance committee, council’s final direction on Ordinance No. 36-2025 at the meeting was to hold the ordinance and return it for second reading at a future meeting.
