Overriding the Grand County Engineer’s advice, the Grand County Council chose instead to have staff prepare for and conduct a public presentation of the county’s storm water drainage plan.

County engineer Mark Wright had asked the council to authorize him to allocate $12,655 of taxpayer funds from his budget to pay Horrocks Engineers to prepare the materials and conduct the public meeting.

The storm water drainiage master plan was prepared by Horrocks at a cost of $34,000. Earlier this month, Wright asked the council to authorize expenditure of an additional $15,600 for Horrocks to prepare and conduct the public meeting. Wright said then that his existing budget could cover that amount.

That proposal was rebuffed by the council with instructions to come back with a less costly proposal based on county staff participation.

This week, Wright came back to the council two new options.

The first option, estimated to cost $12,655, was identical to Wright’s original proposal except that it shaved the cost of Horrocks doing the job down from $15,600 by cutting out 12 hours of engineering time priced at $142 per hour and 12 hours priced at $79 per hour.

The second option, which the county council approved by a 4-1 vote, was for the county engineering and planning staff to do the job at no additional taxpayer cost.

Council chairman Bob Greenberg voting against the measure. Council members Ken Ballantyne and Audrey Graham were absent.

“One meeting that costs $13,000... doesn’t make sense to me,” council member Chris Baird said. He said that the joint city/county affordable housing plan cost only $13,000 dollars and it involved “a lot of great” public meetings.

Baird said he believes a public meeting conducted by staff can get sufficient public input for the council to prioritize flood control projects. If not, “then we can spend the money,” he said.

“If we are going to do this... we need to prepare to respond to the public adequately,” Wright said as he explained that engineers are averse or unwilling to face the public unless they are totally prepared. He made it clear that that aversion applied to himself as well as to engineers employed by Horrocks.

Greenberg did not explain his no vote except to say to Wright that his budget would allow him to pay Horrocks for some graphics. That possibility was not part of the approved motion.