Yuma area engineers, architects appeal to council over contract preferences

  It's not right, said a representative for a local engineering firm, that it is having to lay off professionals it worked hard to attract while the city awards contracts to companies from out of town.

  "There isn't enough work in Yuma for engineers," Marisol Canales, vice president of Nicklaus Engineering, told the Yuma City Council during its roundtable meeting Tuesday afternoon.

  She said the company recently had to lay off seven people and is facing a second round of layoffs. It took years for the firm to build up its professional staff and now these people are having to leave Yuma, she said, adding that 200 families are being affected by the lack of work for engineers here.

  Along with the loss of professionals, the community is losing people with a working knowledge of local conditions that can impact a project, she said.

  "We're not asking for a handout," she told the council. "We want an opportunity to do good projects for the city."

  But the city's current process for selecting engineering and architectural firms for public works projects is stacked against the local companies, several people said.

  James Davey, principal engineer with James Davey and Associates, urged the council to find a solution that would give the local firms a better chance at being awarded some of the city's projects, thereby retaining a professional workforce that would make Yuma more self-sufficient.

  "We just want criteria that is more fair to the locals," he said, and enable them to compete against the larger firms from Phoenix and Tucson. In turn, he said, he believes the local professionals can provide the best value to the city and the most benefit for the community.

  "We think it would be in the best interests of engineers and the city. Our mutual goal is to provide the best services to the city. Local management will make a difference. It should be part of the criteria."

  When the city is in need of design services for a project, it puts out requests for qualification, weighing each proposal by a point system for various criteria.

  Doug Hipp, of Development Design and Engineering, took exception to the city's short list of criteria, none of which take into account local knowledge and experience.

  He noted that other communities have much longer lists that give points to local firms. He asked that the city consider adopting some of those criteria in its own selection process.

  Yuma has a number of local firms that have won national recognition and have credentials "behind our names for a reason," he said. "We're able to handle most of the local work."

  He also suggested that the city not lump projects together so they become so large only a big company can do them. "Break them down and pass it around."

  In his 27 years as an architect in Yuma, Barry Patterson said he has never done a project for the city. For example, he said, he has not been considered to design any of the city's new fire stations because he has never done one.

  That doesn't mean he lacks the expertise, he said. "I could design a fire station in my sleep ... I've done projects that are similar in size and scope."

  He appealed to the council to direct city staff to tap local firms whenever they can. "It's up to the council to determine the benefits of local contractors."

  For one thing, he said, local companies have a reputation to uphold. They also have knowledge about local suppliers so, for example, they wouldn't specify an alarm system that could be serviced only by an out-of-town company. Local designers likely would also result in better bids from construction contractors because "they have confidence in local engineers and architects."

  In addition, hiring a local firm means there's an onsite manager, one who is minutes instead of hours away if there is need for a meeting.

  Besides, he said, local firms pay local taxes.

  A study shows that the use of local firms has a "profound ripple effect" in the community, said Ken Rosevear, executive director of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce. "Dollars spent locally generate activity beyond the contract. Let's resolve the legal issues, if there are some, and change the scoring system. We don't ask that you overweigh it in favor of local firms, but make it in line with other communities and raise the sensitivity whenever a local vendor can be hired first."

  The city charter states that local preference cannot be given to engineers, architects and contractors, a compromise to gain state approval of the document, said Steve Moore, city attorney. Furthermore, state law says public works contracts can be awarded only on the basis of qualification and not price.

  However, City Administrator Mark Watson said he thinks expanding on the criteria is something the city could do.

  "I think the current criteria may not be fair to local firms. When people are losing a (contract) by 2 points and having to lay off people, we need to design the criteria to meet our needs."

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Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.