City Manager Kaufman asked the council to consider a second proposal from Schneider Engineering LLC (DBA Synergy) to perform additional engineering services for the TxDOT-required relocations of municipal utilities along U.S. Highway 377 between Pirate Drive and Overstreet Boulevard.

Kaufman said easement constraints had required design changes, including narrower profiles and four self-supported poles to avoid acquiring additional right-of-way. He told council that, while buying right-of-way could be costly (he cited an example where the state paid $900,000 for a narrow strip in a separate context), the expanded engineering work was intended to reduce overall project cost by avoiding extensive easement purchases. Kaufman said the existing contract was $67,700 and the new contract was expected to be approximately $180,000 (he noted the company president had indicated the final price would likely be lower).

Kaufman also explained the additional services would include preparation of legal exhibits for remaining easements, post-construction inspection to ensure installations met engineering specifications, and construction-administration and bid-document services. He said approving the proposal would let the city resubmit plans to TxDOT for review within two weeks and then move forward to advertise the work for construction.

A motion to approve item 6.6 was made by Mister Hallam and seconded; the transcript records the motion but does not include an explicit recorded tally for this specific item.

What to watch: the city characterized this as a new contract rather than a change order because of the expanded scope; staff said the additional engineering costs were intended to reduce much larger potential right-of-way acquisition costs.