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Council weighs design'build to speed street work, seeks protections for local contractors
Summary
Staff proposed using design'build contracting for 2027 pavement projects to accelerate delivery; council members raised concerns that earlier use of design'build discouraged local firms and asked staff to explore preferences, bonding capacity and partnership requirements.
City staff presented design'build as a potential delivery model to speed up backlog work and consolidate design and construction under a single contract. "A design build project is we hire 1 entity that does both the design and the building," Leo explained, describing the model's potential to start construction while design continues.
Leo acknowledged past local controversy: "I wasn't here. I'm only relay what I've heard is that it was kind of discouraged our local contractors and took opportunities away from them." Council members pressed staff on how to protect local contracting opportunities, noting an existing local preference of 5% with a $10,000 cap that has limited value on multi'million projects. Members asked whether procurement policy (not charter) could be adjusted and whether bonding capacity among local firms is sufficient to take on design'build work.
Staff proposed a phased approach: use design'build for the $4'$5 million of targeted 2027 overlay and reconstruction work but keep shelf projects on traditional design'bid'build so smaller local contractors retain opportunities. Staff also proposed exploring requirements for design'build teams to include local subcontractors or set a local subcontracting percentage, similar to federal DBE practice.
Council asked for staff analysis and an RFP timeline if the committee wants to pursue the model. Leo recommended issuing an RFP in the fall and, if the pilot proves successful, extending the contract into 2028'29.
