ESCONDIDO — The City of Escondido agreed to a $1.5 million contract with an Oceanside-based consulting firm it has worked with for years to oversee several upcoming and ongoing capital improvement projects.
Hoch Consulting previously entered into a $300,000 contract with the city for project management and engineering services, executed in May 2023, according to city records. That agreement covered management support for the South Escondido Gateway project, the fiscal year 2022-23 Annual Street Maintenance Program and completion of a storm drain project.
In March 2024, the city executed a $2 million contract with Hoch to provide the staffing equivalent of five full-time employees to manage, design and inspect several major capital improvement projects. The projects include the Grape Day Park restroom project; Mountain View pickleball courts; traffic signals at the intersection of Centre City Parkway and Brotherton Road; and a corrugated metal pipe rehabilitation project, according to documents.
The Escondido City Council approved the latest $1.5 million contract at its April 1 meeting as part of a consent calendar unanimously adopted by council members.
Projects included in the latest contract include about $156,000 for continued work on the Grape Day Park restrooms, $178,000 for a storm drain project and $301,000 for pavement rehabilitation efforts, according to documents.
Hoch also agreed to provide services related to traffic impacts in South Escondido for $34,000 and to provide services for the Citywide Energy Roadmap Project to upgrade energy efficiency at multiple city facilities for $648,000.
In an email from Adam Hoch, president and principal engineer at Hoch Consulting, to Jason Christman, interim city engineer for Escondido, Hoch wrote that “as the City’s needs evolved,” the consultants “adjusted our efforts to meet the changing needs.”
Hoch also requested a rate increase for various hourly roles on the projects, as outlined in the email, adding that the increases “are still below industry average.”
The City Council accepted the new rates, which total $1.5 million for consulting labor.
