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Council authorizes five on-call engineering firms to speed street and infrastructure work
Summary
The council approved five non-exclusive, five-year on-call engineering agreements to allow project-specific task orders (no retainer fees) up to $75,000 per task; staff said the move helps the city tap specialty firms and manage grant-funded projects more efficiently.
The Barstow City Council unanimously approved contracts on Sept. 15 to place five engineering firms on a city on-call list for civil and specialty engineering services.
Community Development Director Helworth told the council the request follows Caltrans'recommended procurement practices and allows the city to assign task orders by specialty (traffic engineering, civil design, drainage, etc.) when specific projects arise. The five firms authorized are David Evans & Associates, EXPUS Services Inc., KPFF Consulting Engineers, Merrill & Johnson Companies and Southstar DCCM.
Under the agreements, firms will not receive a retainer; rather, individual task orders will authorize specific work and budgets. City staff said task orders not to exceed $75,000 can be executed administratively if within approved project budgets and grant allocations; task orders that exceed that amount would come back to council for approval. Council Member Hernandez said the approach will increase flexibility without adding upfront costs.
"There's not a standby fee or a retainer or an access fee," the city's procurement explanation noted; firms will be contracted by task order as projects require. Council members also confirmed that the existing contract city engineer remains in place and that these agreements add capacity and specialty access.
The motion passed 5-0.
