Kossuth County board selects Berglund and Grama to design emergency response complex

The Kossuth County Board of Supervisors voted to select Berglund and Grama as the architect for a proposed emergency response complex after reviewing proposals from multiple firms.

Board members said state procurement rules require selection be based on qualifications rather than price. “We’re supposed to choose based on qualifications,” a supervisor said during a discussion of the proposals, and added that fees could be negotiated with the chosen firm later. Several supervisors said they were satisfied with Berglund and Grama based on prior work and familiarity; one supervisor said the packet materials made it difficult to rank qualifications and suggested interviews or a scoring matrix for future procurements.

A motion to select Berglund and Grama was made and seconded; the board approved the selection by voice vote. Supervisors said the next step will be a detailed, board-level discussion of the scope and expectations for the architect — what elements the board expects the firm to design — before moving further in the process.

Representatives from the shortlisted firms attended the meeting and answered questions during the selection discussion. The board chair noted the negotiation option: if the board prefers a different firm on qualification grounds but another firm offered a substantially lower fee, the board could ask the preferred firm to match or improve its proposed fee during contract negotiations.

The board did not set a contract value at the meeting; it approved the firm selection to proceed with the design phase and follow-up discussions.

The board approved the selection by voice vote and said additional meetings with the architect and stakeholders will follow.