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Council declines additional payment to consultant on comprehensive plan after complaints about performance
Summary
Council members and planning‑commission representatives criticized LS3P’s responsiveness and late, substandard deliverables on the comprehensive plan and declined a contract amendment to cover perceived overruns; staff will finish the project in-house.
The council voted Sept. 10 not to approve a contract amendment that LS3P requested to cover additional time and to continue work on the Kiawah comprehensive plan.
Multiple planning commission members and council members described a pattern of missed deadlines, last‑minute deliveries and a product they judged inconsistent with Kiawah’s context. Planning‑commission alums who participated in the project said edits were repeatedly ignored and that the consultant spent considerable extra time reworking documents without prior approval. “The work product from this consultant has been substandard,” one council member said.
Staff explained the consultant reported roughly $42,430 of activity beyond the original contract and asked the town to cover a portion of that overrun; staff declined to recommend further expenditures, noting LS3P had not produced necessary deliverables since June and that staff could finalize the plan. Council members who served on the planning commission emphasized the town’s responsibility to manage consultant relationships and flagged opportunities to improve contract oversight going forward.
The council’s decision means the town will not approve additional payments to LS3P; staff will complete remaining tasks and return to council as needed.
