Council tables $78,700 landscape gateway feasibility study after residents question procurement and maintenance

The council on May 12 chose to table a $78,700 landscape gateway feasibility study after residents criticized the consultant selection, questioned the city's maintenance record for previous projects, and asked for clearer procurement transparency.

The staff presentation described a proposal to assess landscaping for city entryways, corridors and medians; the recommended task order was for a firm referenced in public comments as ACOM/ACECOM. Several residents, including Tony Shuffalo and Lee Thompson, said the city had previously spent money on gateway plans and that maintenance failures left past plantings dead or overgrown. "We spent all that money on two landscape projects... and within two months after the landscaping went in, the areas looked worse than they did before," Thompson said.

Speakers also questioned why the same small set of consultants are repeatedly used under continuing service contracts and asked whether the city had solicited other firms. Staff answered that continuing services awards allow the city to engage consultants on studies under statutory thresholds and that the contract framework dates to earlier RFP rounds.

Several council members expressed concern about maintenance capacity and funding sources. Member Mscoso noted the city had spent more than $600,000 on prior corridor plantings and worried about repeating the pattern without a maintenance plan. Vice Mayor Cole argued the item was a feasibility study, not construction, and said the study could be useful; other members preferred pausing until the council and staff could reconcile maintenance and funding questions.

On motion the council voted to table the gateway study and asked that it be discussed at upcoming budget workshops and the council retreat. The motion carried; the item will return to a future agenda after staff and council consider maintenance commitments and procurement documentation.