City scraps plans for engineering department

A proposal to establish a three-person city engineering department has been scrapped in favor of a modified relationship with French-Reneker-Associates Inc.

?I propose that we change our relationship with French-Reneker by requiring a work plan be submitted to the city prior to awarding engineering services for a job or project,? Fairfield City Administrator Jeff Clawson wrote in a memo to the council?s ways and means committee.

The engineering agreement prepared prior to beginning a project will address all the steps from design to construction management, detailing who will take responsibility. Several steps that had been managed by French-Reneker in the past will be assumed by city staff.

?The real big piece, in my opinion, is construction observation,? Clawson said. In many instances, city staff can complete inspections, saving Fairfield the expense of an engineer?s rate.

Managing the bid process in-house is another cost-saving measure the city can take.

The new engineering relationship came about after a meeting between Clawson, Mayor Ed Malloy and John Meyer and Jerry Long of French-Reneker in response to the initial proposal.

The city currently averages at least $600,000 per year in engineering fees ? about 75 percent of that is contracts with French-Reneker. The city has worked closely with the company since the 1960s.

Clawson estimated a city engineering department ? budgeted at $200,000 per year ? would be able to handle 80 percent of street, water main and sewer main design, but outside consultants would still be needed for specialty projects, such as the biosolids storage tank now under construction.

Meyer felt the cost of an engineering department was underestimated and the expectation that an engineer complete 80 percent of the city?s work ?was a little optimistic.?

Looking at engineering fees the last several years, Clawson?s goal was to find an alternative to reduce the growing totals.

?The whole idea was to lower the overall cost of engineering, and I feel pretty confident this will do that,? Clawson said.

?I think we came to a good understanding,? said Meyer.

The expectations of city staff and the engineering firm will be made clear before a project begins.

?Jeff Clawson feels strongly things we were asked and expected to do in the past, he is able to manage with staff,? Meyer said. ?We don?t disagree with that.?

Meyer said the company was handling much of the administrative work that ? while associated with a project ? really had little to do with engineering. That was especially the case for projects involving outside funding, such as State Revolving Fund loans, he said.

Meyer agreed city staff can take on inspections to some degree. Projects regulated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, for example, mandate an engineer?s involvement.

Meyer also said, ?If department heads are busy now, to fit that in, is asking them to do quite a bit.?

The city will track the relationship over the next year and evaluate the feasibility of a retainer fee structure during the next budgeting process.

Clawson said a retainer was discussed now, but the city needs to determine what would be a reasonable retainer fee and what work that would cover. The complex biosolids storage tank, for example, is a project that likely would have been excluded.

?The discussion we?ve had with Jeff and the mayor has been very productive and very good,? Meyer said. ?It?s gotten us all together to find ways to save money.?