Citizen Balks At Paving Costs Businessman Calls City Engineering Charges Too High

Steve Riffle wants the dusty dirt-and-gravel strip of Calispel Street in front of his Spokane photography business paved.

But he thinks the city-sponsored project could be done a lot more cheaply by a private engineering firm.

“I just looked at the whole cost and thought that was too expensive,” said Riffle, owner of R & R Custom Colorlab.

“Obviously, no one wants to pay more than they have to.”

Like many other residents and business owners, Riffle was shocked to discover how much the city charges for engineering a paving project.

In his case, the city estimates the cost of planning the one-block project at $25,400. That’s nearly a quarter of the project’s $102,200 price tag.

“The question then becomes: Is that really a reasonable price?” said Steve Eugster, the attorney hired by Riffle to sort through the city’s proposal. “Could a private party hire an engineer to do the project cheaper?”

At least one owner of a Spokane engineering firm thinks the answer to Eugster’s last question is “yes.”

“I’m convinced we could knock their socks off in terms of efficiency,” said the engineer, who asked that his name not be used because his business frequently does work for the city.

Riffle’s property recently was tagged for a local improvement district, or LID. The city forms these districts so property owners share the cost of improvements such as paving an adjacent street or alley.

The Calispel proposal calls for three property owners - Riffle, his neighbor to the north and the city - to share the cost of paving and adding sidewalks and curbs to the one-block section between Sinto and Mission avenues.

The city owns the maintenance facility at 1433 N. Normandie, and would pay nearly half the cost. Riffle would pay about $31,000.

City engineers are sensitive to the widely held belief that their engineering costs are high. They often take jabs from residents during City Council hearings on LID projects.

They’ve even taken hits from city officials, who wonder why they hear the same complaint over and over.

“We’ve heard this discussion before,” deadpanned Mayor Jack Geraghty during a hearing on the Calispel LID last month where Eugster questioned the engineering costs.

“For once in a blue moon, I agree with Mr. Eugster on this,” said City Manager Bill Pupo.

The council sent the Calispel project back to the engineering department for review, and Pupo has vowed to have a team of private business people review the city’s LID process.

John Bjork, the city’s new construction services director, said he, too, complained about the engineering costs when he was head of the city water department. Now, he understands the reasons behind the figures.

“The engineering costs do seem high … but it’s just very costly,” said Bjork.

Part of the problem is that what the city calls “engineering costs” also includes the costs of establishing the LID, plus administrative and overhead charges, Bjork said.

“We’re supposed to operate like a business,” he said, adding that the city tends to use high estimates so property owners aren’t surprised when they see the final bill.

“The costs are what they are,” said Phil Williams, the city’s director of planning and engineering services. “It isn’t like we do anything more than what needs to be done to get the street designed.”

Williams said the engineering fees are based on an hourly rate that includes everything from bid advertisement to surveying costs. “We roll these exact costs in the LID project - of course with no profit,” he said. “We’re always looking for ways to do that more efficiently.”

Eugster calculated that the city would have to charge $50 an hour for 500 hours of engineering and associated costs to arrive at the Calispel project’s $25,400 planning fee.

“I can’t believe a project of this size would require 500 hours of time,” he said. “I understand that the city is trying to recoup its costs … but it’s possible these small projects are bearing the larger share of the billing costs.”

Williams said he’s looking for cheaper ways to do LID projects, such as having standard engineering specifications drafted for a variety of jobs the city repeatedly encounters.

Councilman Mike Brewer got together with his neighbors and paved his alley without the city’s help. It was a special situation, made possible by the fact the alley was privately owned, not public right of way.

Paving the 600-foot-long alley cost $8,200 - and Brewer did the engineering.

“I have panned the city several times on this subject,” Brewer said. “I’d like to see the city … work out a program where these projects can be done cheaper.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo