Brentwood commissioners spent substantial time on Oldsmarie Road (sometimes referenced in discussion as the frontage/Harlem rezoning area), focusing on whether to proceed with previously authorized Sullivan Engineering services or to disapprove that earlier authorization and direct staff to obtain an expanded scope.

City staff explained the background: earlier briefings and public meetings left some commissioners and residents uncertain about whether the existing roadway could be preserved as a travel lane, repurposed as a frontage road, or preserved as a pedestrian amenity. Staff said the revised Sullivan scope would explicitly study whether the existing road could be preserved as travel lane or a frontage road, would refine the community meeting format, and would include an arborist-style tree survey. Staff told commissioners the new proposal includes roughly $15,000 for a tree survey; staff characterized that expense as reasonable given the project's scale and the high value residents place on the tree canopy.

The commission discussed options to either approve the older contract (thereby continuing prior direction) or to "disapprove" it at the upcoming meeting so staff could return with a revised contract for new community input and the tree survey. Commissioners asked whether tree identification would be part of the next engineering phase; staff said it would. Staff said Sullivan would not start the new level of work until the commission approved a contract amendment or new contract.

Why it matters: The Oldsmarie/Harlem corridor project involves right-of-way, potential tree removals, property impacts and detailed community preference decisions. Commissioners noted that preserving mature trees would conflict with some full road reconstruction approaches, underscoring the need for a formal tree survey and broader stakeholder meetings. Community members and commissioners raised specific questions about whether to keep one or two lanes on the new north-side roadway, how to treat the existing road bed and the fate of driveways and adjacent parcels.

Next steps: staff said it will place a motion to disapprove the earlier Sullivan item on the next meeting agenda; if the commission votes to disapprove, staff will return at a future work session with Sullivan's proposed new scope and a contract or amendment to authorize the next level of study and community meetings.