La Plata — The Town Council voted unanimously Nov. 18 to authorize the town manager to execute a professional services agreement with Mead & Hunt to continue work on the Southwest Access Management Plan. The resolution (25-29) approves a scope of work estimated at $175,000 to carry the project through preliminary design.

Town project lead Jamie Kendrick told the council staff recommended “piggybacking” on an existing City of Cambridge contract to comply with federal Safe Streets for All rules and to meet an internal May deadline for a concept and cost estimate. Kendrick said using the existing contract avoids a 3–5 month delay that a separate procurement would create.

“The scope of work…is a $175,000 that covers all the way through preliminary design,” Kendrick said, adding the grant structure is “80% federal, 20% local.” He said the approach will define precise locations, traffic impacts and environmental effects so the town can move quickly to final design if the project is later funded for construction.

Council members recorded consensus to advance the matter to legislation and then adopted the resolution by roll call. The town clerk recorded aye votes from Councilmembers Guttenberg, McCormick, Sampson, Johnson and Mayor James.

Why this matters: the authorization preserves the town’s ability to meet federally driven schedule milestones tied to Safe Streets funding and reduces procurement time by using an existing compliant contract. The council’s decision allows staff to proceed to refined cost estimates, environmental review and later construction-phase funding efforts.

Next steps: staff will execute the professional services agreement with Mead & Hunt and return to council with any material contract amendments or funding updates.