Board committee approves recommendation to hire Plant Moran RealPoint as owner's rep for new Public Works building

The water resources department recommended and the committee approved forwarding a contract recommendation to the full board to hire Plant Moran RealPoint LLC (RealPoint) to serve as owner's representative for a new Public Works building.

Water Resources Commissioner Mitch introduced project staff and said the owner's rep will provide day-to-day program oversight, coordinate consultants and manage stakeholder engagement for the project. Steve Korth summarized the procurement process: five qualified proposals were received, seven staff evaluated the submissions, and two firms were interviewed before RealPoint was recommended.

Commissioners asked why the recommended proposal had a higher cost than the other finalist. Water Resources staff answered that the selection was qualifications-based and that RealPoint proposed a higher level of services and staffing hours appropriate to the project's complexity, which justified the price differential in the evaluation.

The committee voted to recommend the contract award and the selection will be forwarded to the Board of Commissioners for final approval.