Ross council weighs fast hire of architect vs. fuller interviews for civic center plan

Council members and staff devoted a large portion of the meeting to the Ross Civic Center master plan procurement and project delivery method.

David Kelly, project manager, and Dustin Alamo of Griffin Structures explained options for delivery (design‑bid‑build, design‑build, and progressive design‑build), noting the tradeoffs between owner design control, early contractor involvement, cost transparency and schedule certainty. Kelly told council that the next immediate step is an amended facilities master plan, which will be the basis for procurement; any alternative delivery method may require municipal code amendments.

Staff reported five proposals were received for the master plan amendment and evaluation of the proposals put Gensler, Noll & Tam, and HED/BRW among the top firms. Some council members (including two on the subcommittee) favored directing the town manager to negotiate immediately with the committee’s top choice, emphasizing an expedited schedule and one firm’s ability to deliver in roughly 12 weeks; others pressed staff to interview the top two or three firms and complete reference checks before committing, to preserve leverage during contract negotiation. "Interviews and reference checks are best practice and valuable for final selection," staff advised; the council directed staff to schedule interviews with the top firms and aim to return with a negotiated professional services agreement for council consideration by its next special meeting window (Aug. 4).