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Council hears Keller Associates on‑call planning, engineering proposal; staff to consider on‑call vs. hiring
Summary
Keller Associates presented an on‑call planning and engineering services model, citing potential cost savings versus a full‑time planner and an average billing rate near $135/hour. Council asked follow‑up questions about billing, data ownership and task orders; staff will review an MSA option.
Representatives from Keller Associates outlined an on‑call planning and engineering model the firm uses with other small cities. Jake Olson and Jeff Mansfield described services including subdivision review, water/wastewater modeling, permit support and grant writing, and said the advantage for a community the size of Soda Springs is flexibility: "We're only getting paid when we're doing that work," one presenter said, describing time‑and‑materials on‑call arrangements.
On costs, Keller staff estimated an average loaded rate "around $135" per hour depending on staff mix, said there is no markup on material costs and described options to set a year‑budget target (for example $30,000–$40,000) and issue task orders. Council asked about hourly billing, travel charges, refunds for unused budget, data ownership, and whether the city would be required to use only Keller for design bids. Keller confirmed the city would own data from projects and could use other engineers when soliciting bids. Council directed staff to continue negotiations and bring a master services agreement and rate schedule back for more detailed review.
