The Apache Junction City Council on June 18 is to vote on a $450,000-a-year contract with Construction Engineering Inc. for construction inspection services and possible engineering services for Superstition Vistas master planned communities in development units No. 1 and No. 2. The term of the contract with CEI is to be July 1, 2024-June 30, 2028.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the City Council chambers, 300 E. Superstition Blvd.
All third-party consultants are funded by housing developers, said Michael Morris, principal engineer with development services, during a June 3 work session.
“(I)n April 2022 we established escrow accounts for the developers out there, which includes Brookfield and DR Horton. How that works is they give us money to put into the escrow accounts and then when we are billed by the consultant we then pull money out of that escrow account. So that way it’s quicker to get money to the consultant and it’s a pretty smooth process that way,” Morris said.
The city contracted with Entellus in January 2022 for engineering services including inspections within Superstition Vistas and in April 2024 the city decided it needed a more-specialized company for inspections, he said.
“That’s where the talks with CEI began. With this contract it’s been procured through the city of Buckeye’s current contract that they have with CEI and also vetted through Joel (Stern, the city’s attorney); he’s well aware of the contract,” Morris said.
Using the city of Buckeye contract is similar to using an Arizona cooperative contract, Assistant City Manager Matt Busby said later.
“We’re basically piggybacking off their contract like we do when we use a state cooperative contract. Many cities when they add these types of contracts they are created so they can be cooperative as well,” he said.
“(T)here’s an exemption under our procurement code for anything that’s competitively bid by another city or town,” City Attorney Stern said.
City staff recommend hiring CEI for engineering inspection services while maintaining Entellus for civil plan review within Superstition Vistas, Morris said.
Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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