The secretary or his designee, or the secretary of the highway and transportation department or his designee or a designee of a local public body shall negotiate a contract with the highest qualified business for the architectural, landscape architectural, engineering or surveying services at compensation determined in writing to be fair and reasonable. In making this decision, the secretary or his designee or the designee of a local public body shall take into account the estimated value of the services to be rendered and the scope, complexity and professional nature of the services. Should the secretary or his designee or the designee of a local public body be unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with the business considered to be the most qualified at a price determined to be fair and reasonable, negotiations with that business shall be formally terminated. The secretary or his designee or the designee of a local public body shall then undertake negotiations with the second most qualified business. Failing accord with the second most qualified business, the secretary or his designee or a designee of a local public body shall formally terminate negotiations with that business. The secretary or his designee or the designee of the local public body shall then undertake negotiations with the third most qualified business. Should the secretary or his designee or a designee of a local public body be unable to negotiate a contract with any of the businesses selected by the committee, additional businesses shall be ranked in order of their qualifications and the secretary or his designee or the designee of a local public body shall continue negotiations in accordance with this section until a contract is signed with a qualified business or the procurement process is terminated and a new request for proposals is initiated. The secretary or the representative of a local public body shall publicly announce the business selected for award.

History: Laws 1984, ch. 65, § 95; 1989, ch. 69, § 14; 1993, ch. 72, § 5.

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, inserted "or the secretary of the highway and transportation department or his designee" and substituted "or surveying services" for "and surveying services" in the first sentence.