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RELEVANT LINKS: <br />League of Minnesota Cities Handbook for Minnesota Cities 10/15/2018 <br />Expenditures, Purchasing, and Contracts Chapter 22 | Page 34 <br /> VIII. Purchasing consultant services <br /> Cities often hire consultants such as attorneys, architects, engineers, <br />accountants, or other persons with technical, scientific, or professional <br />training. In certain cases, a city must hire a state licensed professional. <br />Professional services generally do not have to be competitively bid; <br />however, a city can choose to use competitive bidding, if the council <br />decides to do so. <br /> More commonly, cities will advertise a request for proposals (RFP) to find <br />their consultants. An RFP broadly defines the scope of the contract and <br />asks interested persons to submit proposals describing the services offered <br />as well as the price. <br /> A. Types of Consultants <br /> 1. Engineers and architects <br />Minn. Stat. § 326.03. <br />Kariniemi v. City of <br />Rockford, 882 N.W.2d 593 <br />(Minn. 2016). <br />Most city construction projects (buildings, streets, remodeling) require the <br />use of a licensed architect or engineer. Only a few limited exceptions to <br />this requirement exist. Failure to use a qualified person creates the <br />possibility of future liability for the city. <br />Compare W. V. Nelson <br />Const. Co. v. City of <br />Lindstrom, 565 N.W.2d 434 <br />(Minn. Ct. App. 1997) with <br />Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. <br />v. Metropolitan Sports <br />Facilities Com'n, <br />381 N.W.2d 842 (Minn. <br />1986). <br />A design-build contract represents a contract for both design services and <br />building construction services jointly awarded to one firm. Minnesota’s <br />Court of Appeals, in a review of a design-build contract, held that the <br />contract for design and build contracts should have complied with <br />competitive bidding laws. However, an earlier Minnesota Supreme Court <br />decision may, in some instances, suggest a different outcome since, in that <br />case, the court found the public bidding statutes inapplicable to a mixed <br />contract for a scoreboard (equipment) and advertising services associated <br />with the scoreboard since the nature of the contract made it more than <br />simply a contract for “materials, supplies and equipment.” Cities should <br />work with their city attorneys when considering mixed contracts. <br />Minn. Stat. § 326.03, subd. <br />1. <br />Minn. R. 1800.5200. <br />A registered architect, engineer, or land surveyor must prepare plans, <br />specifications, reports, plats, or other engineering or architectural <br />documents for most public works projects. <br />Kariniemi v. City of <br />Rockford, 882 N.W.2d 593 <br />(Minn. 2016). Minn. Stat. § <br />444.18, subd. 3. <br />Also, prior to a municipality awarding a contract for the improvement of a <br />storm sewer system, “the council shall secure from the city engineer or <br />some other competent person a report advising it” about matters such as <br />feasibility and cost.