Argyle council approves on‑call street engineering contract with Kimley Horn; delays one task order

The Argyle Town Council on March 23 approved a professional services agreement selecting Kimley Horn to provide on‑call street engineering and town‑engineer services, and it authorized multiple task orders for pavement work, Main Street preliminary design and site assessments. Council also placed an explicit hold on the LiDAR pavement‑assessment task order pending further direction.

The contract on the agenda was described as "not to exceed $28,285,000" for the umbrella agreement; staff said the figure reflects a summation of separate task order not‑to‑exceed amounts rather than an immediate single appropriation. Town staff told the council the street maintenance sales tax provides roughly $1.0–$1.1 million per year for road work and that project work will be phased across fiscal years.

Scope and task orders: Kimley Horn representatives outlined work broken into task orders: a Summer Streets task order (task 1) to address pressing needs with a not‑to‑exceed amount of $50,000; a pavement‑assessment program using LiDAR (task 2) with a listed not‑to‑exceed of $98,000; a Main Street preliminary design task (task 3) with a not‑to‑exceed amount of $50,000 for initial feasibility and cost opinions; and task 4 to evaluate site work for new road sections and police department access. Colton Hermas, Kimley Horn pavement lead, said task 1 would focus on immediate repairs such as selected mill‑and‑overlay, crack sealing and preparation for upcoming larger projects.

Engineer comments and construction oversight: Colton Hermas and other Kimley Horn staff described the firm’s process: drive‑scan data collection to produce a pavement condition library; package segments into projects that match the town’s annual budgets; and provide specifications and construction oversight. Councilmembers pressed for assurance that construction inspection and warranty follow‑up would be enforced; staff clarified that construction inspection and some specialty services may be handled under separate task orders or procurements.

Council direction to delay a task: While the council approved the town‑engineer contract (item 21) that included town‑engineer general services and site services, members expressed concern about immediately issuing the LiDAR pavement assessment (task order 2). The council adopted a motion to approve the town‑engineer contract with direction to staff not to issue a notice to proceed on Task Order 2 until the council indicates the timing is appropriate.

Why this matters: Staff said the programmatic approach — combining a summer quick‑fix program with a multi‑year pavement assessment and Main Street preliminary designs — will let the town prioritize investments and demonstrate year‑over‑year network improvement. Councilmembers stressed the need for clear scope, site selection decisions for the police facility and stronger inspection to avoid poor construction outcomes observed on previous projects.

Next steps: Staff will finalize contract documents, manage individual task orders as directed by council, provide the Main Street concept drawings to the Capital Improvements Advisory Committee and bring future notices to proceed for council consideration.