Lawton to restart design firm selection process for South Sheridan Road

The City of Lawton is relaunching the process to find a design firm for the South Sheridan Road improvement project.

Members of the Council Engineering Selection Committee are making that recommendation, after deciding Wednesday that from now on, they want city staff to closely follow the City Council’s engineering and architectural selection process policy. Because the Oklahoma City design firm Cowan Group Engineering was not selected by the engineering selection committee, that committee voted Wednesday to restart the process for a recommendation they will take to the full council. Council members tabled a decision on the firm’s $668,425 contract earlier this month at the request of Ward 4 Councilman George Gill, a member of the engineering selection committee.

Gill said the council policy wasn’t followed because he and other committee members didn’t see it, and that is why he challenged the award of the contract. Gill was the committee member who made the motion to restart the engineering firm selection process for the 1.5 mile project that will rebuild South Sheridan Road from West Lee Boulevard to a point one-half mile south of Bishop Road.

Ward 5 Councilman Allan Hampton, engineering selection committee chair, said the policy was created specifically so the council can oversee the selection process, oversight that is important.

“We are a team,” he said, adding the policy specifies the committee shall make a recommendation to the full council on all engineering and architectural firms.

City Engineer Joseph Painter said that wasn’t done in this instance — and other instances — because his directive when he became Lawton city engineer was to get engineering firms identified for city projects as quickly as possible. He said the engineering selection committee hasn’t met since August 2022.

“We haven’t been following this committee policy,” Painter said, explaining City of Lawton departments have been using another selection process: identifying three firms that then are invited to submit their qualifications for specific projects.

Painter said that “invitation only” process follows the dictates of state law, explaining law mandates that municipalities select the most qualified engineering/architectural firm. He said the process the City of Lawton uses is one many municipalities have adopted, an invitation process that seeks out a limited number of qualified firms, which lessens the time frame for the selection process. Cities also could use a pre-qualified process for its firms, or select a firm the city already has experience with, he said.

Hampton and Gill said the council policy specifies all firms that show an interest in a project must be sent an invitation to submit proposals. Gill said an invitation only process limits the firms submitting bids and that, in turn, leaves the city open to selecting the “good ‘ole boy” for a city project, adding he doesn’t believe that happened here.

“It didn’t,” Painter said, adding the policy the City of Lawton staff uses is one that closely follows state law while allowing firms to be selected quickly so projects can continue.

Painter said his concern is the invitation only process has been used to select engineering/architectural firms for ongoing projects (Lawton City Hall renovation) and projects planned for the near future (the mass transit bus terminal, an aquatics center and multiple water/sewer projects). Council members said they don’t want to revisit those projects, but insisted the council policy be followed “going forward.”

Painter said that was possible, but he warned the process would take more time.

Hampton said the committee’s actual recommendation is to direct the city manager to, in turn, direct city staff to follow the council policy.

“As the council, we are not to deal with city employees,” Hampton said, adding that directive would be supplied by the city manager to those employees who work for him.

Hampton and Gill said council members want to remain involved in the process, which is why they voted to relaunch the Sheridan Road design process.

“We need to follow council policy and don’t need to make an exception,” Gill said.