Council delays decision on HDR owner's‑agent language for sewer project; asks for committee oversight

Council members directed staff to return next week with more context and greater committee involvement on changes to an owner's‑agent contract for the Paradise Sewer Project, deferring a proposed cleanup of contract language that would delegate certain amendment authority to the town manager.

The agreement in question is the owner's agent / staff augmentation contract with HDR that the town executed in 2023 to provide program management for the progressive design‑build sewer project. Staff described the contract as intended to extend town staff capacity for right‑of‑way, environmental, permitting and other project tasks. The original contract was for $5.0 million and, staff said, is funded 100 percent by a Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG‑DR) or similar federal grant; about $3.0 million of that allocation has been spent so far.

Town staff explained the requested change was intended to be a technical "cleanup" to the existing resolution and contract language to permit programmatic flexibility so the owner's agent could be given authority to identify additional scope and continue work without waiting for council action, which staff said is necessary to avoid schedule slippage. The staff presenter said the change is consistent with other master on‑call agreements the town uses for staff augmentation.

Multiple council members pushed back, saying the project has changed substantially during implementation and that decisions affecting scope and direction should be made with greater oversight. Council members asked that the sewer committee be reconvened and included in interim oversight rather than allow a broad delegation of authority to the town manager before the council had heard next‑week briefings. One council member asked to delay the amendment until the special sewer meeting scheduled for Jan. 21 so the public and committee could see the completed project history and provide input.

Council direction and next steps By consensus, council directed staff to return with the item at the special meeting on Jan. 21, and asked that the sewer committee be activated to provide a line of oversight while staff continues program work. Staff said some contractual cleanups requested by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (audit comments) can be made but agreed to bring recommended language and context to the special meeting for council action.

Ending — transparency and oversight Council members said they want clearer committee involvement and stepped‑up reporting on the sewer program while staff acknowledged the contract has been used to provide flexible, on‑call staffing and to produce project deliverables. No contract amendment was approved on Tuesday; the council’s direction was to review revised language at the special meeting next week.