Highland Beach approves on-call engineering contract and amends fee schedule for larger projects

The Town Commission approved a professional services agreement with South Florida Engineering Services Inc. to provide ongoing engineering consulting on an hourly basis to support public-works succession planning, technical plan review and on-site construction inspection.

Town Manager Labradi described the arrangement as a cost-effective alternative to hiring a full-time professional engineer, saying the firm can provide structural, sewer and transportation expertise as needed. Labradi said the firm would help develop standard detail sheets for water and sewer connections and be available to act as an owner's representative on technical matters.

Commissioners asked how fees would be handled; Labradi and staff explained that large commercial projects would place escrow to cover construction inspection and on-site oversight costs, while smaller residential connections would be handled by town inspectors with lower fees. The commission then approved a related resolution (2026-003) amending the FY 2025–26 schedule of fees to reflect installation costs and escrow requirements tied to the engineering services arrangement.

Motion and voting: a motion to approve the professional services agreement passed by roll-call vote with all commissioners present voting yes. The commission similarly approved Resolution 2026-003 to add fee schedule language requiring escrow for commercial-size connections and clarifying when the town will perform smaller residential work.

Next steps: staff will finalize the agreement and post the fee schedule revisions; applicants for large connections will be informed of escrow requirements.