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Engineering asks for $788K in professional services and additional staff to speed projects
Summary
City engineer Luis Vargas told the commission that increased development and grant opportunities have stretched in-house capacity; staff requested roughly $788,000 to $850,000 for outsourced design, surveying and testing and asked to add at least one professional engineer and an EIT to increase in-house capacity.
Luis Vargas, the city engineer, told the Harlingen City Commission that demand for design packages, grant-ready projects and construction oversight has outpaced in-house capacity and that the department is seeking funding to outsource professional services and to add staff.
Vargas outlined a request of roughly $788,000 (discussed as part of a larger $850,000 ask) for professional services covering drainage, parks, public buildings, trails, transportation and land surveying. He said the department would split the funding roughly as: $200,000 for drainage, $200,000 for transportation (streets/traffic/right-of-way), and smaller allotments for parks, public buildings, trails, architectural services, geotechnical testing and surveying.
Why it matters: Vargas said outsourcing will speed design and make more projects shovel-ready for grant applications from sources such as Texas Parks and Wildlife and CDBG. He asked the commission to consider adding a licensed professional engineer and an engineer-in-training (EIT) to allow more work to be completed in-house and reduce recurring outsourcing needs.
Details from the discussion - Vargas described multiple near-term projects that require design packages, including the Lipscom outfall, Palmetto/Breedlove drainage work, Horseshoe Lake regional detention acquisition and intersection work at Treasure Hills and 20 Fifth. He said some projects — notably those linked to grant applications — need BCA (benefit-cost analysis) and other technical work that is time-consuming. - Roberto Hernandez, assistant city engineer, said the requested professional-services funding is likely to be a minimum or baseline estimate because RFQ and contract negotiations will vary by project. - Vargas said his 2022 RFQ list of engineering consultants is now several years old and needs refreshing; the new funding would let the city contract a rotating list of firms so projects can move forward without overloading staff.
Commission requests and next steps Commissioners asked staff to return with a clearer breakdown of which tasks must be outsourced versus which could be accomplished by additional in-house staff, and for cost estimates showing the long-term tradeoff between hiring staff and paying consultants. Vargas agreed to provide a follow-up that separates projects that can only reasonably be outsourced from those that an additional engineer/EIT could handle in-house.
Evidence: discussion and project-by-project examples were given verbally during the engineering presentation and Q&A.
