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Typical Pavement Life Cycle and associated costs. <br />Figure 1: <br /> decisions involve a number of factors, including: <br />Contracting and in-house work <br />Availability of staff and/or equipment in-house <br />C <br />Amount of specialized knowledge and/or equipment required <br />C <br />Scope of work <br />C <br />Time frame <br />C <br />In general, the City seeks to make the best and most efficient use of both public and private resources in <br />its public works projects. For small jobs that need to be done right away, the City utilizes the <br />investments it has made in staff, equipment, and other resources necessary to perform ongoing municipal <br />operations efficiently and cost-effectively. When a job requires specialized knowledge or equipment, or <br />if the scope of work is large and does not require immediate completion, the City contracts out the work. <br />There is no absolute price threshold, although larger projects tend to be contracted out. Smaller jobs <br />(such as slurry seals or smaller overlay projects) often are "bundled" into a larger contract. <br />Performing routine maintenance (such as pothole patching) or emergency response activities with Public <br />Works staff is typically more cost effective and expedient than contracting those activities. The mix of <br />equipment and training provided for staff is targeted to maximize effectiveness in these areas. Public <br />Works staff are not trained or equipped to perform large projects (such as street overlays or <br />reconstructions) or those atypical projects requiring unique equipment. Contracting is typically more <br />cost effective in these cases. <br />In general, good candidates for contracting are easily-described projects which are large enoughto gain <br />vendor interest and to absorb the costs of engineering analysis, plan and document preparation, and <br />contract management. Routine maintenance activities are generally smaller projects not requiring <br />engineering analysis, plans and document preparation, or contract management. Staff are dispatched to <br />perform this type of activity without extensive project oversight and no contract overhead. <br />7 <br />