Council tables staff recommendation to award municipal engineering contract to Kimley Horn after extensive Q&A

City staff recommended awarding municipal engineering services to Kimley Horn after reviewing four RFQ responses, citing the firm’s institutional knowledge of Saginaw infrastructure and prior work on water and roadway projects. Jared (staff) told the council that staff gave Kimley Horn high marks based on long working experience, help during the 2021 winter weather event and recent grant work that included a $1,275,000 sidewalk and signal grant.

Council members pressed staff on the scoring criteria used in the RFQ, why some evaluators gave slightly different scores for the ‘experience of five years or more’ category, and whether the parks work should be split out and bid separately to reduce large estimated costs. Multiple councilors described seeing very large project estimates — including park proposals they considered excessive — and asked whether separate procurement or tighter scoping could achieve more cost‑effective outcomes. One council member asked that staff present more comparative data and several asked for better communication and periodic project reporting from staff and consultants.

Staff and other council members defended the recommendation on grounds of institutional knowledge and continuity, but councilmember (speaker 7) moved to table item 4a so staff can arrange presentations from other candidate firms; the motion was seconded and carried. No final award was made. The council directed staff to bring back additional candidate presentations or information and to continue work on clarifying scopes, cost breakdowns and communication procedures.