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La Grande landmarks commission recommends consultant to prepare Carnegie Library National Register nomination
Summary
The La Grande Landmarks Commission voted June 12 to recommend a staff-selected preservation consultant (listed in materials as Brunsell Historical) to City Council to prepare a National Register nomination for the Carnegie Library, after public comments from the building's tenant and questions about low bids and scoring; staff will check references before forwarding the recommendation.
The La Grande Landmarks Commission on June 12 voted to recommend a staff-selected historic preservation consultant to the City Council to prepare a National Register nomination for the Grama (Carnegie) Library.
Staff told commissioners the effort aims to qualify the city for preservation grants to fund repairs that include brick and mortar work, historic window repairs and potential accessibility upgrades. The project scope was described as a $12,500 award from the state grant program, with $7,500 held for training and preservation education for commission staff.
Darcy Dolch, executive director of Art Center East and tenants of the Carnegie building, addressed the commission during public testimony, saying the tenant group replaced the roof in 2015 and asking whether the city had previously worked with any firms listed in the proposals. Dolch said visible soffit deterioration does not necessarily indicate roof failure and urged clear communication between tenants and the selected consultant.
Staff said the city received nine proposals ranging from about $9,300 to just over $12,000 and used a weighted scoring system that prioritized price and experience with similar library projects and regional history. The staff recommendation favored the highest-scoring firm, which in packet materials is identified variously but summarized as Brunsell Historical; staff noted that the recommended firm offered up to two rounds of revisions on the nomination before submission to the state reviewer.
Commissioners asked whether the lowest bid contained reimbursables or hidden charges; staff said they found none. The commission also discussed an internal scoring adjustment used in other procurements (a 5% inflation for California firms for scoring purposes) and agreed staff's choice to omit that adjustment here because it did not alter the ranking and could unfairly penalize one bidder.
A commissioner moved and the commission seconded a motion to recommend the staff-chosen consultant to City Council for approval; the motion passed by voice vote. Commissioners asked staff to check references for the top-scoring firm before formally forwarding the recommendation to council; staff agreed and said they would present the recommendation to City Council in July.
The commission did not take a final contract action; the City Council will consider the recommendation and award the contract if it concurs.
