Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Town Board weighs consultants, seeks to secure $75,000 state grant before deadline
Summary
Board discussed three proposals to lead the town's 10-year comprehensive plan, debated costs and travel fees, urged quick follow-up to capture a $75,000 CFA grant, and scheduled a June workshop to finalize the award; the board separately named Keystone Associates as the town engineer.
The Highland Town Board on June 11 debated which firm should lead its 10-year comprehensive plan and moved to gather more cost details before making a final award to avoid missing a state CFA grant deadline.
Laura, speaking for the personnel committee, recommended MRB Group for its cost controls and monthly invoicing but also proposed naming Keystone Associates as the town engineer because Keystone has long worked with the town’s planning and zoning boards. "I recommend that we hire MRB," Laura said, adding that Keystone should be retained as the town engineer to provide ongoing technical support.
Board members pressed for clearer fee schedules and asked each firm to detail travel expenses and hourly rates. Council member Maro noted the CFA grant is worth $75,000 and closes at the end of July; staff estimated the total comprehensive-plan project could cost about $150,000, with the CFA intended to cover roughly half of it. "We have 10 days before the grant applications close," one member said, urging the board to schedule a short follow-up so the town would not forfeit the grant.
The board agreed to a special public meeting (a workshop) to review final fee comparisons and to ask each proposer to clarify travel and supplemental costs; that meeting was scheduled for June 20 at 5:30 p.m. until the board takes a final vote. The board’s motion to simultaneously hire MRB and adopt Keystone as the town engineer was proposed but the comprehensive-plan hiring decision was deferred pending the special workshop and additional written clarifications.
Why it matters: the comprehensive plan sets zoning and land‑use priorities for the next decade and the CFA grant would fund a substantial portion of the work, reducing the direct cost to town taxpayers.
What comes next: Town staff will request travel and fee breakdowns from each firm, circulate the comparisons to board members, and reconvene at the scheduled June 20 workshop to consider a final award.
