LAKEPORT – The Lakeport City Council, sitting as the Lakeport Redevelopment Agency, will consider approving an engineering contract with a Ukiah firm for the city's downtown improvement project when it meets this Tuesday, Jan. 4.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

The agenda and accompanying staff reports can be downloaded at www.cityoflakeport.com/departments/docs.aspx?deptID=88&catID=124 .

At its last meeting on Dec. 15, the council received an update from city staff about the negotiations with Rau and Associates for engineering services on the Lakeport Downtown Improvement Project's phase two, as Lake County News has reported.

At that time, local business people had raised concerns with the city's consultant selection process and the prospect of sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to out-of-county firms.

City Redevelopment Director Richard Knoll told the council Dec. 15 that Rau and Associates estimated the total project – which will improve streets, sidewalks, lighting and other features along several blocks of the city's downtown – would run between $4.3 million and $4.7 million.

That number is far more than the “rough estimate” City Engineer Scott Harter said city staff originally had given to the project costs.

Rau and Associates' proposed fee is about 7.5 percent of the project cost, which Knoll said last time is below the 10 percent range that firms normally charge. City staff proposed having the entire project designed at that rate.

Knoll's report for the Jan. 4 meeting notes that Rau's proposed fee is $316,634, an amount that's about $5,000 higher than was noted Dec. 15.

Knoll's report to the council explained that the proposed fee is “based on a detailed, probable cost analysis of the proposed project, which was not available when staff developed the original construction cost and engineering cost estimates.”

Redevelopment business on Tuesday also will include a request for funding sidewalk ramp that's compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at the northwest corner of S. Forbes Street and Lakeport Boulevard.

The redevelopment agency's budget includes $30,000 for such projects, with no other expenditures so far, according to a staff report from Knoll.

The council also will hold a closed session to discuss property negotiations related to the Green Ranch and a case of public employee discipline.

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