Fee proposal review, Route 613 (Depot Street) design, Sumac Station

The fee estimate and cost proposal form for the Route 613 (Depot Street) roadway and drainage design were checked against the staffing plan before submittal. Three errors leave the lump-sum fee $51,800 low: corrected, it is $300,960, not $249,160.

Fee estimate v3 and draft fee proposalLump-sum labor fee, Preliminary and Final DesignStaffing plan Rev BPrepared Nov 5, 2026

Summary

Formula error · Labor!J14

The fee total leaves out two roles

Cell J14 is =SUM(J6:J11) and stops above the Landscape Architect and QA/QC Reviewer rows. Their 208 hours are in the hours total but not in the fee, which comes out $39,600 low.

Fix: change the range to J6:J13.

Hours vs. staffing plan · Task 3

Final Design is 64 hours short of the staffing plan

The estimate carries 652 hours for Final Design; staffing plan Rev B has 716. The gap is the Designer/CADD Technician: 160 hours in D11 against 224 in the plan, worth $8,000.

Fix: enter 224 hours, or confirm with the project manager that the plan should change.

Amount vs. hours × rate · Table B-1

The drainage line doesn’t equal hours × rate

Table B-1 shows 324 hours at $150/hr for the Engineer II (Drainage) but an amount of $44,400, which is 296 hours. The correct amount is $48,600. Cell J8 in the estimate holds a typed-in value instead of a formula.

Fix: restore =H8*I8 and update Table B-1.

Fee estimate, staffing plan and cost proposal form

Pick a document. Flagged cells carry review comments; click a cell to see its formula and the cells it uses. Switch between the draft and the corrected version, or apply one correction at a time, to see how the fee changes.

Document
Version
Display
0Lump-sum fee (J14)
0Hours in estimate (H14)
0Average rate (J15)
0Change from draft
Fee_Estimate_Route613_Depot_St_v3.xlsxLabor tab · click a cell
J14
Error Deviation from staffing plan Cells the formula uses Rows outside the SUM range Corrected cell

Sources and method

Sources

  • Fee_Estimate_Route613_Depot_St_v3.xlsxFee estimate with Labor, Rates and Summary tabs3 tabs
  • Design_Schedule_Staffing_Plan_RevB.xlsxTask-based design schedule and staffing plan by task and labor classification, Rev B, Oct 29, 2026, with change log3 tabs
  • Fee_Proposal_Route613_DRAFT.docxDraft fee proposal with Attachment B, Cost Proposal Form, Table B-112 pages
  • Request_for_Fee_Proposal_Route613.pdfTown of Sumac Station request for fee proposal: scope of services for roadway, drainage and sidewalk design on Route 613 (Depot Street), tasks and fee format24 pages

Method

  1. Every formula on the Labor tab was extracted, and each SUM range was compared with the rows and columns it should cover.
  2. Each amount was checked as hours × rate, and each rate against the Rates tab.
  3. Hours by task and classification were compared cell by cell with the Staffing tab of staffing plan Rev B.
  4. Table B-1 in the draft proposal was compared line by line with the estimate and recalculated.
  5. The estimate’s tasks were compared with the tasks in the Town’s scope of services.

Assumptions and limitations

  • Staffing plan Rev B governs the hours. If the plan is to change instead, C2 drops out.
  • The Town selected the firm on qualifications and asked for this fee proposal as the basis for negotiation. Billing rates were not tested against market levels or the Town’s expectations; the review covers arithmetic and consistency between the documents.
  • The fee covers labor only. Direct expenses and subconsultants are outside Table B-1 and were not reviewed.
  • The corrections are independent and add up directly: $39,600 + $8,000 + $4,200 = $51,800.