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Safford staff outline on-call professional services and job-order contracting pilot with Gordian
Summary
City staff briefed the council on plans to advertise a request-for-qualifications for on-call professional services and to develop job order contracting (JOC) for construction delivery; staff proposed partnering with Gordian to set pricing catalogs and manage procurement procedures while the city retains contract awards above $60,000 for council review.
City staff presented a proposal to establish two parallel procurement tools: an on-call roster of design professionals and a job order contracting (JOC) umbrella for repeated, smaller construction projects.
Staff described a request-for-qualifications (RFQ) published in the Eastern Arizona Courier and said categories will include archaeology, architectural design, drainage, electrical and SCADA, geotechnical services, surveying, traffic engineering and water/wastewater systems. The on-call list would identify two to four consultants per category and remain available for five years with a one-year extension option.
On JOC, staff proposed using Gordian to assist in creating a predetermined pricing catalog and an overall adjustment factor to allow contractors to perform multiple small projects under a single umbrella contract. Staff said Gordian would help set the catalog and review bids but would not implement contracts; Gordian is paid only when a city-awarded project proceeds. Councilors asked whether the on-call list eliminates project-level competition; staff replied that procurement occurs at the catalog/pre-solicitation stage and that any contract above $60,000 will still be brought to council for approval.
Bill Sims, who participates in the procurement discussion, described JOC as an alternative delivery method that can shorten procurement timelines and reduce change orders on recurring or emergency work. Staff said project caps for state-managed JOC programs are typically around $2 million and that the program is intended as a supplemental tool, not a full replacement for design-bid-build or other methods.
Council had clarifying questions about the Gordian relationship, fee structure (presenters said Gordian charges no setup fee and typically is paid via a small percentage on awarded work, with board/administration fees around 5–6% noted in the presentation), and the degree of local contractor participation. Staff said JOC can increase local subcontractor access by using preset unit prices and that the on-call list allows the city to rotate consultants if performance is poor. No formal action was taken at the presentation beyond informational briefing and staff requests to proceed with RFQ timelines.
