The council considers a process for a key consultancy.

City review of a proposal for parking garages and other downtown improvements could be curbed for several months.

The Bainbridge City Council tonight will consider going through a formal process to select a consultant to guide the review process. The move follows recent debate over how best to engage the public in the review.

“The most important factor is the appearance of fairness, and having the public perception that we are exploring every avenue,” Councilman Bill Knobloch said.

At issue is a series of improvements including parking garages, roundabouts and pedestrian treatments called for by downtown property owners and presented to the council last month.

Various city projects, including underground utility upgrades and reconstruction of Winslow Way from Ericksen Avenue to the highway, have been “paused” while the property owners’ ideas are evaluated against other downtown plans.

The council’s public works committee voted 2-1 last week – with Knobloch and Debbie Vancil prevailing over Jim Llewellyn – to recommend a formal process to select a consultant.

Public works officials had proposed using the Seattle firm KPG, an engineering and design outfit that has already gone through the city’s selection process twice and come out on top both times.

The firm was previously picked to guide work on the “Gateway” strip from Ericksen to the highway, and to assist with the Non-Motorized Transportation Plan.

KPG also has designed numerous neighborhood traffic circles in Seattle, and recently worked on restoration of a downtown core in Burien, company principals said.

“If you look at their background, this type of project really fits well with their skill set,” said Randy Witt, public works director.

Cities are not required to undergo formal bid processes for professional services such as architects or other consultants, on the theory that each firm brings its own particular range of experience and vision. Such contracts are typically awarded on scope of work, not cost.

Nor would the consultant hired design any improvements; rather, it would assist a yet-to-be-named citizen committee and facilitate public meetings and input to arrive at a common vision.

The process envisioned by KPG, as described at the last council meeting, would have taken about eight months, at which point formal recommendations would be made to the council.

But several citizens argued that the city should reopen the process to other firms. Knobloch found their arguments persuasive, and said public perception was key.

“When all is said and done, we have to go to the public and ask for funding,” he said. “If we don’t have their confidence from the start, how can you feel you’re part of a successful project?”

But Llewellyn said he was impressed by the KPG proposal, which he said was crafted in direct response to issues raised by the public at previous workshops on the downtown proposals.

“What the public cares about is the process, not who’s facilitating the process,” Llewellyn said. “There was interest on the part of the whole council to have this process not languish. It’s my considered opinion that the end of the process, we’ll still end up with this firm (KPG).”

If the council decides to find a new consultant, Witt said, the process could take up to three months.

While there is some concern over the condition of some of the utilities under Winslow Way, the city is not under any particular deadline to complete planning or construction there.

One issue, though, could be the more than $300,000 in state grant funding earmarked for Winslow Way upgrades.

“They’ll take it away if it looks like we’re not doing anything with it,” Witt said.