SUBJECT: CONSENT
Title
A Resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Erie Approving a Professional Services Agreement with Tanko Lighting for Utility Negotiations
Body
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
PRESENTER: Tyler Kesler, Sustainability & Water Conservation
Specialist
TIME ESTIMATE: N/A
only required for non-consent items
FISCAL SUMMARY:
Cost as Recommended: $50,000.00
Balance Available: $110,200.00
Budget Line Item Number: 100-70-780-560100-000000
New Appropriation Required: No
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve the Resolution to enter into said agreement, authorize the appropriate Town officer to execute said agreement, and authorize staff to expend funds.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
In June, the Town engaged Tanko Lighting to conduct an initial study to evaluate the costs and benefits of acquiring all existing streetlights within Erie from Xcel Energy and United Power, converting the streetlights to LEDs, and assuming responsibility for maintaining the streetlights on an ongoing basis. Tanko representatives presented the results of this initial study to the Board on June 16, 2020. The Board approved proceeding with a comprehensive streetlight inventory and audit on August 25, 2020 and Tanko completed that inventory and audit in November.
That initial study made assumptions about the age and wattage of existing streetlights in Town and on projected maintenance expenses. Based on those assumptions, the study concluded the Town could save about $220,000 annually on energy and maintenance costs, recover the estimated $2 million acquisition and conversion cost in about 10 years, and result in net savings of about $2.4 million over a 20-year period. Thus, the initial study suggested acquiring the streetlights in Town presents the opportunity for the Town to reduce total operating costs associated with streetlights in Erie and is in line with Erie’s goals around sustainability.
The next step to realizing these potential savings of the Town owning streetlights in Town is to negotiate the purchase of the streetlights. If the Board approves it, the Agreement for Professional Services presented with this agenda item will authorize Tanko to negotiate for this purchase on the Town’s behalf.
This negotiation and expenditure will cost $25,000 for each utility (Xcel and United Power) that has streetlights in Town, or a total of $50,000. Although this contract is a fixt fee, the fee is due only if the Contractor is able to secure an offer from each utility for the sale of the entire streetlight system to the Town and the Town determine the offer is viable. If a viable offer is not received, Contractor is not be entitled to any compensation.
Additionally, because an ownership transfer from Xcel Energy may be an expedited process, if the Contractor's level of effort was less than $25,000, Contractor shall only bill the Town for the level of effort actually utilized. If the level of effort exceeds the fixed fee, Contractor shall not be entitled to any amounts over the $25,000. The negotiations will begin in 2021 and thus will be expended from the 2021 budget.
Tyler Kesler, the Town’s Sustainability & Water Conservation Specialist is available to address any questions.
Fiscal Impact: Use of 2021 budgeted funds
Board Priority(s) Addressed:
ü Attractive Community Amenities
ü Prosperous Economy
ü Well-Maintained Transportation Infrastructure
ü Small Town Feel
ü Safe and Healthy Community
ü Environmentally Sustainable
ü Fiscally Responsible
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution 20-200
2. Agreement