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After WBQ withdraws, Eatonville council approves CPH to complete engineering work on town water and sewer program
Summary
Following WBQ's withdrawal, the council approved substituting CPH as the engineering consultant for Eatonville’s water and sewer program. Town staff said the project must submit its engineering package to FDEP by May 13 and complete construction by mid–late 2027; the town attorney explained indemnity and sovereign-immunity limitations.
The Eatonville Town Council voted on March 3, 2026 to approve substituting CPH as the engineering consultant on the town’s water and sewer program after the originally recommended firm (WBQ) declined to contract.
Valerie Monty, who presented the walk-on item on behalf of the administration, said the program has reached the regulatory milestone required by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and that remaining engineering work must be completed under a tight schedule. Monty said WBQ emailed on Feb. 23 declining the contract; of the remaining firms, CPH agreed it could meet the town’s May 13 submission deadline for the engineering package and complete the overall project by mid–late 2027.
Town Attorney Shepherd explained the legal concern that complicated negotiations: indemnity clauses shift contractual liability for job-site injuries or damages and interact with the town’s sovereign-immunity cap. "Indemnity is when... one part agrees to hold harmless the other party for things that may go wrong while they're involved in the work," Shepherd said, adding that municipalities must be careful not to waive sovereign immunity or exceed statutory liability limits.
Monty told council that CPH has experience replacing asbestos-cement (AC) water mains and has designed miles of AC piping replacement elsewhere; staff said GAI is already working on sewer design for this program and that Spectra is handling program-wide quality control with the program manager GCI.
Council moved and approved the substitution by voice vote. The administration said it will present a scope of work, milestones and contract terms reflecting limitations discussed by the attorney; staff emphasized the May 13 deadline for the DEP submission and the construction completion target of mid–late 2027.
Next steps: the town will execute a contract with CPH under terms that preserve the town’s sovereign-immunity protections, present a scope and milestones to council, and proceed to finalize the engineering package for DEP.
