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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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August 2011 |
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VICTORIA TERMINATES TKDA CONTRACT REHIRES CITY ENGINEER CARA GEHEREN Council voted unanimously July 25th to terminate the city's contract with TKDA, its engineering firm for the last ten years, and appoint Cara Geheren of FOCUS Engineering as the City Engineer. Cara Geheren had been Victoria's designated city engineer with the city's engineering firm of TKDA. Cara resigned from TKDA in order to start her own firm, FOCUS Engineering. City Administrator Don Uram said that retaining Cara Geheren would provide the City of Victoria continuity of service, retention of knowledge, and reduced billing rates. "The proposal tonight is to evaluate the options," he said. "The option that staff is recommending is to terminate our contract with TKDA as city engineer -- only as the title ... TKDA is involved in existing city projects -- and hire FOCUS and appoint Cara Geheren. You could also look at other firms." He said that from 2007 through 2010, the City of Victoria paid TKDA $2.6 million for a variety of services. "I suspect we would save at least 10% with FOCUS, but that is not strict science." TKDA had two representatives in the audience who spoke at the podium. Said Larry Bohrer, a Manager with TKDA in Municipal Services. "We've provided services for Victoria for over ten years. We've had two engineers here for you in that time, Jack Griffin first and then Cara Geheren. When you saw them, you didn't see the 185 people behind them who did considerable work behind the scenes assisting with many things like the Comprehensive Plan, downtown redevelopment, and your many development projects." Mr. Bohrer pointed out that TKDA is currently involved with four projects in the City of Victoria: Krey Lakes, 86th Street, Lift Stations, Soccer Field Regrading. The city contract with TKDA was non-exclusive, which means the city was always allowed to contract with other engineering firms simultaneously. Said Mr. Bohrer, "We are willing to continue working with Victoria in any capacity." He introduced Frank Ticknor, a Registered Engineer new to TKDA, but not to municipal engineering. Mr. Ticknor could step forward to be Victoria's city engineer with TKDA, he said. Then Cara Geheren, seated in the audience rather than at her usual spot upfront with councilmembers and staff, spoke at the podium. She introduced herself as the President and Senior Municipal Engineer with FOCUS Engineering. And she introduced her two partners -- Jack Griffin, Sr. Municipal Engineer who was Victoria's city engineer with TKDA from 2000 to 2005, and Brian Stempski, Municipal Engineer who has eight years of experience in a municipal engineering role. Said Cara, who has served as Victoria's city engineer since 2005, "I really enjoyed my time working with the City of Victoria. I drove around Victoria with Brian. It's a rewarding career experience to watch things happen and see things grow." "I've always wanted to start my own business," she said. "Being a city engineer is a way to serve the community. I try to be fair in my interactions with the public."
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Cara Geheren, Victoria city engineer with TKDA, resigned from her position with TKDA and formed her own company, FOCUS Engineering, with Brian Stempski, left, and Jack Griffin, also formerly with TKDA. |