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Regular Meeting July 17, 2006 Page 9 Mayor Narvaiz introduced a discussion regarding engineering services for capital improvements projects. Mr. O'Leary stated the Council wanted to discuss how the Engineering Department enters into contractual agreements with engineering firms for work on CIP. Laurie Anderson, Director of Engineering, stated on the significant projects with complicated scopes, high fees, projects the City has no experience with, or a project that a new perspective is needed, goes through the RFP process. She stated the Engineering Department has 2 significant projects a year, but does at least 50 engineering projects a year. Mayor Narvaiz inquired as to the average time the Engineering Department receives the project and the job is begun. Ms. Anderson stated if the project is an emergency, then the Engineering Department will get it out within one week, but then the project goes to the Legal Department for an additional week to two weeks. Mayor Narvaiz stated she was contacted by a firm who was concerned with their proposal being delayed. Ms. Anderson stated some projects get pushed aside due to prioritizing, and she will get better at notifying the firms about the delays. Mayor Narvaiz inquired as to whether the Engineering Department requires firms to do a proposal on each project. Ms. Anderson stated a proposal is requested on each project so the cost and the scope of the project are provided. She stated after a contract is signed and while the project is being performed, the firm sometimes finds out there is additional work that was not identified in the scope, and then the additional work is done by a Change Order with the advice of the Legal Department. She stated the City issues Job Orders, and the State and some Municipalities do a Master Service Agreement. She stated the Master Agreements are treated like an open end contract. Mr. Thomaides asked the City Attorney, Engineering Department and City Manager to review the Master Service Agreement process and provide an update to the Council. Mr. O'Leary stated the Master Service Agreement would be a time savings, because only the one Agreement would come to the Council for approval and not all agreements over $25,000.00. Mayor Narvaiz stated the Council is trying to get a handle on our engineering process as compared with other cities. Mr. Mihalkanin stated he feels the Council should consider additional staffing for the Engineering Department during the Budget process. Mayor Narvaiz stated adding additional personnel is not always the answer to the problem. Mr. Diaz stated he agrees with Mayor Narvaiz and Mr. Mihalkanin, but feels there needs to be a good policy developed for engineering projects. Mr. O'Leary stated prioritizing projects is a problem, because every engineering project is important. Mr. Thomaides stated this will be an opportunity to evaluate and examine the process of prioritizing the CIP. Mr. O'Leary stated during the budget process the Council can look at adding additional staff. Mr. Mihalkanin requested Staff get a copy of TxDOT's Master Service Agreement to review. Mayor Narvaiz introduced a discussion regarding 2006 TML Resolutions and direction to Staff. Mr. O'Leary stated if the City Council wants to submit any Resolutions to be considered by the TML Resolutions Committee at the