City approves $546,700 engineering contract for multiple CIP projects; residents question outsourcing

The Pacific Grove City Council unanimously approved a one‑year agreement on July 16 to retain Neil Engineering to perform surveying and engineering services for multiple capital improvement projects, including street rehabilitation and ADA work. Council members and staff said the work is budgeted and intended to complete projects carried over from prior years.

The vote authorizes a staff‑recommended package that includes a $546,718 allocation for project engineering, a $12,000 retainer for ad hoc plan review and short tasks, and a small ongoing services line for routine consulting. Council members said a planned in‑house civil engineer/CIP manager will supervise the consultant work once hired.

City Public Works Director Dan Go said the city lacks licensed surveyors and in‑house capacity to prepare the detailed plan sets and quantities needed to bid and build street and ADA projects. “Public works doesn't have the capability to do that. We don't have licensed surveyors within our organization,” Go told the council. He described Neil Engineering’s role as preparing the survey, mapping, and plan sets that contractors will use in bids.

At least two residents urged the council to rely more on municipal staff and avoid large consultant payments. Resident Andy Kubica questioned whether the city had sufficient internal expertise and asked, “Do we really need to spend another $600,000 for somebody to watch somebody else do work?” Another resident said public works employees had historically handled similar tasks and cautioned against “double dipping” on salaries and consultants.

Council members acknowledged those concerns while stressing operational constraints. Councilmember Peduri and others noted the city has advertised for a civil engineer or CIP manager for months with few qualified applicants. Peduri said the planned in‑house hire would “oversee Neil Engineering, manage hired contractors and review the plan sets” but that the consultant work is still necessary now to keep multi‑year projects moving.

Councilmember WalkingStick described the contract as a stopgap while the city builds internal capacity, saying staff are “stretched very thin” and the city lacks training, equipment and bandwidth to perform some specialized tasks in house.

The contract was approved by voice vote. Council discussion noted that much of the $546,718 will be funded not from the general fund but from capital sources such as sewer funds and Measure X/ SB1 allocations.

The council directed staff to proceed with the one‑year contract and continue efforts to recruit a civil engineer/CIP manager who will supervise consultants and contractors going forward.