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Council hires outside permit‑tech help to respond to heavy Mesa Drive public‑records requests
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Summary
Facing a high volume of public‑records requests tied to a Mesa Drive subdivision, the council approved a $10,000 amendment to an engineering services contract to hire a permit technician from NV5 to prepare PRA responses more cost‑effectively; a resident urged the council to address the underlying permit and enforcement issues.
The Villa Park City Council approved an amendment to the city’s engineering contract to provide extra permit‑review support for responding to a concentrated volume of public‑records requests (PRAs) related to a Mesa Drive subdivision.
City staff explained the workload: since January staff time recorded about 45.5 hours on one project alone, billed at the current contract engineer’s $167/hour rate. To improve responsiveness and reduce cost, staff proposed contracting with NV5 for a permit technician at $100/hour and asked for a $10,000 not‑to‑exceed allocation. Staff said the amendment is “as needed” and will only be used if the PRA workload continues; available budget can cover the change.
Public commenter Catherine McBride told the council that the PRA volume is driven by residents’ need to investigate alleged developer accommodations and unpermitted work on nearby properties. “These requests are being generated… because of the city engineer’s failure to protect private property rights,” McBride said, describing missing inspection reports and concerns about drainage and a 10‑foot retaining wall built without permits.
Councilmembers noted the legal obligation to respond to PRAs and the lack of a statutory limit on request volume, but also emphasized cost considerations for a small city. Several councilmembers supported the amendment as a cost‑effective way to meet legal obligations without diverting the part‑time contract engineer from other tasks. The council approved the $10,000 amendment 4–0 with Councilman McBride abstaining.
Why it matters: The vote funds temporary help to comply with public‑records law while raising questions about staff capacity, the cost of transparency and resident concerns about a development project that has generated repeated PRA activity.
Next steps: NV5 will assist with document gathering and permit‑related responses as needed; staff will continue enforcement and provide updates if the PRA workload persists or leads to enforcement action.
