Planning board narrows town‑engineer candidates to three firms for interviews

The Brentwood Planning Board reviewed five responses to its town‑engineer request for proposals and identified three firms for interviews: SFC, McClure, and CMA Engineers. Staff presented a comparative chart; members cited SFC's local relationship and mediation work with the fire department, CMA's regional experience and traffic‑engineering capacity, and McClure's strong technical lead and prior town projects despite a higher price.

Board members discussed insurance and indemnification levels after noting one firm proposed a lower insurance minimum; staff said higher limits could be required. Members agreed interview questions should cover price, insurance, personnel and typical site‑review practices, including file delivery and follow‑up site visits. Several members volunteered to attend interviews; staff will coordinate schedules, aiming to hold interviews on a weekday when quorum members are available.

The board considered the applicant‑paid cost model for a town engineer (applicants generally pay fees) and asked staff to prepare a short set of interview questions and availability options. The board took a nonbinding straw poll to proceed with interviews and asked staff to send digital copies of proposals to members who missed the packet.

Next steps: staff will schedule interviews with SFC, McClure and CMA and circulate questions and proposal documents to board members.