Shortage of engineers pushes Cape to seek contract with private firm

Cape Girardeau city officials hope to bridge an engineering gap at city hall by contracting for services with a local firm for at least the next six months.

The city has been looking for a qualified candidate to serve as city engineer for several months, but has not found a candidate with the desired training, experience and qualifications, said development services director Alex McElroy.

As a result, officials hope to negotiate a contract with a private firm to fill the vacancy.

The city advertised for proposals.

It received five proposals by Friday’s 4 p.m. deadline. The proposals were submitted by BFA Inc., Bowen Engineering & Surveying, KLG Engineering LLC, J.T. Blankinship Inc., and Cochran.

McElroy said the firms with suitable proposals will be interviewed. The goal is to iron out a contract by Feb. 27. The Cape Girardeau City Council then would be asked to approve the contract at its March 4 meeting, he said.

McElroy said the city expects to spend about $8,000 to $10,000 per month for the engineering services. The contract would include an option to renew for another six months, he said.

At the end of the first six months, city officials will evaluate whether to advertise again for a permanent city engineer, McElroy said.

Several cities have contracted such services for a time because of the difficulty of finding qualified candidates, he said.

“Some cities have searched for years,” said McElroy, adding municipal governments must compete with the private sector where civil engineers can earn higher salaries.

Low unemployment adds to the challenge of filling the position,

he said.

McElroy said the city has not specified how the city engineering duties would be handled by a private firm, nor the hours that would be worked.

Some firms might only seek to provide 20 to 30 hours of service weekly, he said.

The arrangement might involve having someone spent part of his or her time at city hall and the rest of the time at the company office.

“They don’t necessarily have to be here the entire time,” he said.

Casey Brunke had served as city engineer since 2010.

But last year she was promoted to assistant public works director. For several months, she handled duties of her new position and her old job as city engineer.

“Within the past month, she made the full transition to assistant public works directors,” McElroy said.

Council members are expected to approve resolutions Monday night authorizing the city manager to execute general-service agreements with seven engineering firms to assist with planning for various parks and stormwater projects.

But McElroy said the engineering vacancy has nothing to do with those proposed agreements. He said the city would have pursued those agreements regardless of whether the city engineering position was filled.

The city regularly contracts out engineering services for major capital improvements, he said.

“We do contracting for a lot of projects,” McElroy said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641