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Council approves $200,000 downtown traffic-signal study after debate over procurement
Summary
The City Council approved a $200,000 contract with engineering firm Fuss & O'Neil for a multi-intersection traffic and signalization study funded by a state Community Connectivity grant after members debated vendor selection and scope differences with a lower-priced bidder; vote was 6–1.
The New London City Council on Jan. 5 approved a $200,000 contract with engineering firm Fuss & O'Neil to perform a traffic-flow and signalization study covering multiple downtown intersections. The contract, funded by a state Community Connectivity grant, passed on a 6–1 vote after a lengthy discussion about procurement and scope.
City Public Works Director Brian Cyr told the council the funds were previously appropriated under the grant and that the city used a negotiated professional-services process for the engineering work. Cyr said purchasing reached out to a prequalified list of firms; only one other firm, SLR (formerly Malone & McBroom), responded with a lower-priced proposal but omitted several items Cyr and staff considered essential, including survey mapping, full design beyond concept level, final implementation documents and applications to the Connecticut Department of Transportation for required approvals and permits. Cyr said the purchasing agent submitted the recommendation to the state for review and the state approved the Fuss & O'Neil selection.
Several councilors pressed Cyr on repeated use of the same vendors, the roundness of the Fuss & O'Neil fee, and the potential for change orders on municipal projects. Cyr said the scope is comprehensive — covering signal timing, crosswalk and safety features, and full specifications for up to four or five downtown intersections — and that the grant-funded amount reflects the negotiated scope.
The motion to award the contract was moved and seconded during the meeting; the council recorded the motion as passing 6–1. The transcript does not list individual yea/nay votes for the 6–1 tally.
The study’s deliverables, as described by staff, include 100% design-level documents and bid-ready specifications aimed at informing later construction contracts. Because the work is grant-funded, staff said the state must review and sign off on the procurement and scope.
The council’s next procedural step is to finalize the contract documents through the purchasing department and, if necessary, submit final approvals to the state agency overseeing the grant.
