Anyone ever done a Local Gov't 271.119 Design-Build Contract for constructing a county or municipal facility? We're trying to build a jail and the Commissioner's Court is considering the 271.119 process as the project delivery method. Basically, architect is chosen by Request for Qualifications (RFQ), does design criteria, then a second RFQ is done to choose the firm that will finish the initial design and build the project (with the initial architect then acting as the agent of the county to assure scope and other compliance).

We haven't used that mode of service delivery primarily because there is only one group of professionals our commissioners court distrusts more than lawyers. That would be architects. Unless one of our more learned and battle-tested colleagues can provide a form used by his or her county in such an arrangement, I fear you may wind up being confronted with a thin variation of an AIA contract. That, of course, obligates you to take out enough insurance to pay for the war in Iraq for the benefit of the architect. Then, for good measure, you're also required to indemnify him if he spills hot coffee on the plans or if the stars aren't in alignment on a given day of the project. But if you come up with a good form, I'd sure like to see it.