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Council reviews $1.0M‑scale master plan contract with OHM Advisors; first reading and questions on scope and timing
Summary
Council held a first reading of Ordinance 45‑2025 authorizing a contract with OHM Advisors (with subconsultant Barry Dunn) to update the city's master plan over about 20 months, with council members asking about firm selection, phase hours and how prior studies would be incorporated. No vote was taken.
City staff presented Ordinance 45‑2025, a first reading to authorize a contract with OHM Advisors (with Barry Dunn as a subconsultant) to perform a comprehensive master plan update for Upper Arlington. Director Gibson told council the last full master plan ran from 1999–2001 and said the proposed process will be a roughly 20‑month undertaking including heavy public outreach and an implementation platform to track progress.
Gibson said OHM Advisors was selected from a competitive process that produced 10 responses and four finalists; the selection committee found OHM stood out for fitting the RFP, offering creative approaches and being willing to incorporate council feedback. Staff emphasized the consultant team’s parks, urban forestry and recreation experience and noted Barry Dunn’s parks expertise.
Council members asked technical questions about the contract and project scope. One council member asked, “This is a big spend at just over half $1,000,000,” reflecting concern about cost; staff did not provide a clear single numeric figure in the transcript. Staff responded that the process phases and invoicing structure are intended to allow easier tracking of hours and costs by phase and that existing studies (such as the housing study and Envision Henderson) will serve as context and be incorporated, not shelved.
The presentation also highlighted deliverables including a parks/recreation comprehensive plan, an urban forestry plan update, video documentation of outreach, and an implementation platform to monitor progress. Council asked about the typical 10‑year ‘shelf life’ of a master plan and staff said long‑range plans typically last about a decade unless fundamental changes occur in community values or circumstances.
Because this was a first reading with questions from council, no formal vote on the contract was recorded in the transcript; staff indicated further action will be scheduled in subsequent meetings.
