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Commissioners table request for extra costs, more detail on Harrison Park master plan amendment
Summary
The Board delayed a vote on a contract amendment with SC Group — requested to cover an additional open house, a traffic study and related work — asking the consultant to return with cost breakdowns and clearer deliverables; the amendment was tabled to March 18.
The Lake County Board of County Commissioners voted to table consideration of an amendment to a professional services agreement with SC Group for the Harrison Park master plan, asking the consultant to return with a clearer itemized scope and cost breakout.
Why this matters: The amendment would add public engagement work, additional traffic analysis tied to school district plans, and advertising for outreach related to the master plan. Commissioners and some members of the public pressed SC Group and county staff for a breakdown of costs for an additional open house, survey advertising and a traffic study.
Jackie Wellahan, who presented the amendment request, said the work covered a second open house the previous January, extra outreach to neighborhood businesses, survey work and a traffic-study add-on to address school drop-off and pedestrian safety around the Harrison site. Wellahan said the additional work, advertising and traffic-study costs would add $16,200 to the contract, bringing the total to about $205,122.50. She also noted the work is grant-funded through an incentives grant.
Commissioner Matt and other commissioners sought more detail, including an itemized invoice or an explanation of the timeline extension fee referenced in the amendment. One commissioner said the $5,600 for an apparent timeline extension and $3,500 for open-house costs merited clearer documentation before the board approved payment.
County staff and consultants said that much of the requested additional work was prompted by earlier direction from the previous board and neighborhood feedback that the county should conduct further engagement. Staff noted the traffic study timing is constrained by the school calendar and data collection needs (traffic counts must be taken while school is in session), and that coordination with the school district’s separate architecture work made the additional traffic work timely.
Action taken: The board voted to table the amendment to the SC Group contract to a date certain — March 18 — and directed SC Group to appear prepared to answer detailed questions about hourly breakdowns, what the extra coordination would cover, the advertising invoice, and the traffic study scope and procurement approach.
Ending note: Staff said the additional work is 100% grant-funded but commissioners requested the consultant provide better documentation and to explain whether waiting two weeks would jeopardize the grant; staff said it would not. The board scheduled the item for March 18 for a fuller presentation and for SC Group to respond to commissioners’ questions.
