Ex-city planners will not get the city contract for which they had submitted a proposal.

That became evident after council voted unanimously Monday night to award the work to the Boulevard Transportation Group instead.

Former city planning manager Lesley Cabott and ex-city planner Zoe Morrison now work at the Whitehorse branch of the Urban Systems consulting firm.

At last night's council meeting, before the vote, Cabott appeared as a delegate to make a presentation. She did so in the same spot where she had made many presentations to council during her 15-year career with the city.

Cabott left Whitehorse in to attend the University of Leeds in England for her Master's degree in sustainable design. She is now back in the Yukon's capital, representing the B.C.-based Urban Systems.

Cabott made it clear her presentation had nothing to do with the Boulevard Transportation Group nor its proposal on the project, and didn't take issue with what they had brought forward.

Instead, she opted to focus on Urban Systems' proposal.

The city's project is aimed at cutting down on the number of single occupancy vehicle trips residents make around town.

The project is also out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and expand transit use, and vehicle-pooling and more active transportation.

Additional goals are encouraging sustainable transportation and paring the demand for infrastructure associated with vehicle traffic.

During her presentation, Cabott outline the strengths of Urban Systems' proposal and said she wanted to introduce council members to the Whitehorse branch.

Morrison left the city in 2008 after a number of years as a planner. She was identified as project manager for the transportation plan if Urban Systems had been awarded the project.

There were also a number of experts slated to work on the project, including a commuter bike planner who had done extensive work in Copenhagen, Denmark, among others.

Cabott said she believes Urban Systems had brought forward a proposal based on what the city was looking for. She noted it seems the $3,390 higher price than Boulevard's ended up making the difference.

Though Boulevard was recommended for the project, Cabott said she wants to ensure the city knows that Urban Systems is now in Whitehorse and brings extensive expertise to the table.

"Urban Systems has made a commitment to this town,” she said, adding her hope that the local office can work with the city on projects in the future.

Mike Gau, the director of development services (who once worked as a city planner under Cabott), told council that while Boulevard and Urban Systems were very close in the evaluation, Boulevard came out on top.

Along with Boulevard and Urban Systems, proposals also came in from HDR, MacKenzie Municipal Services Agency, MRC McCormick Rankin, Opus International and Urban Trans North America.

MacKenzies, however, did not have a separate envelope containing the fees as required and therefore wasn't evaluated. HDR's didn't provide proof of adequate insurance and wasn't evaluated.

In reviewing the remaining five proposals, staff first looked at approach and methodology (weighted at 30 per cent), project team (weighted at 25 per cent), relevant past experience (weighted at 25 per cent) and schedule (weighted at five per cent).

Projects must have a score of 68 points to go on and be evaluated for local content (worth five per cent) and project fees (worth 10 per cent).

Urban Trans didn't pass the first part of the evaluation with 67.4 points, leaving only four for the final part of the evaluation.

While Boulevard and Urban were very close on the first four criteria, Boulevard came out with the higher score or 76.5 points. Urban Systems had 73.6 with MRC receiving 71 and Opus coming in with 70.

"A narrow margin separated Boulevard and Urban Systems,” it was noted in an administrative report to council.

"Boulevard scored slightly higher on approach and methodology, and schedule, while Urban Systems scored higher on its team and experience. Both firms received excellent references.”

Opus and Urban Systems didn't receive the full five points for local content. Instead, they received 3.75 because they have local offices and proposed using non-local staff for more than two thirds of the project hours (a rule that falls under the city's procedures for selection of professional consulting services).

The fees were then opened, with Boulevard coming in with the lowest price at $71,340 compared to the highest price from Urban Systems at $74,730. MRC's price was at $71,480 while Opus came in with $73,145.

That meant Boulevard ended up with the highest evaluation at 86.48, followed by Urban Systems' at 82.39, Opus at 81.13 and MRC at 86.48.

While Boulevard is based out of Victoria, it has worked with the city in the past completing the Downtown Parking Management Plan in 2011.

Over the last five years, it has also worked with communities such as Halifax, Vancouver Island University and the University of Victoria.

As noted in the report: "Elements of the proposal that the review committee appreciated included conducting a detailed inventory and assessment of the active transportation network; multiple tools and venues for engaging the public; extra attention to communication with council and senior management; and consideration of the implementation and monitoring requirements.”

While council voted in favour of awarding the contract to Boulevard, it was not without some discussion around the weight given on local content.

Coun. Mike Gladish wondered if there is some advantage to having an Outside firm do the work or if that even figures into the equation.

Gau noted that both Urban Systems and Boulevard would have expertise from Outside even though Urban Systems has a local presence.

He later noted a review of the city's policy around contracts is slated for later this year, and that could include looking at local content.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mayor Dan Curtis noted the city has to consider both the benefits that come with local hire and fairness to taxpayers.

"It's a balance,” he said.

In this case, the numbers were very close but the Outside company won out.

While the city will be looking at its contract policy in the coming months, it can't simply change its practices to ensure a local company is awarded a contract, the mayor said.