Consider Request for Proposals - Civil Legal Services

In 2021, the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for civil legal services. Following the evaluation process, the City Council selected the firm Holstad & Knaak, PLC and entered into a two-year agreement commencing on November 1, 2021. On October 24, 2023, the City Council approved the renewal of the Civil Legal Services agreement with Holstad & Knaak, PLC for an additional two-year term, beginning November 1, 2023, and expiring October 31, 2025. 

City Code Sec. 2-275 - Purchasing alternatives, addresses professional service contracts via a request for proposal (RFP).   Within that, it generally states that the city conduct a RFP for legal services every three years.  A clause is present that would allow the City Council, at its discretion, to formally extend a current contract upon the recommendation of city staff.
 

The current civil attorney legal services contract, attached, identifies a 60-day notice period should the City Council desire to terminate the contract without cause or not renew.  The timeframe to conduct an RFP, hold interviews and ultimately select a final firm would span approximately two and a half months.  A tentative timeline would be as follows:

• July 9 - City Council Authorize advertisement for RFP
• August 1 - Submittal deadline for proposals
• August 15th - Complete proposal evaluations
• August 26 or September 9 - City Council interviews (may need a special work session to conduct interviews)
• September 23 - City Council formal approval of firm
• November 1 - Contract begins in correlation to the expiration of the current contract

This would not preclude current City Attorney, Fritz Knaak, from submitting a proposal.

 

This process would be handled as part of normal staff duties.  Legal fees incurred by the city are paid both through the city's budget and developer reimbursements.

Staff recommend an RFP process.

Provide clear guidance to staff on the procedures for securing Civil Legal Services following the expiration of the current contract.