CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Approve the award of Option Year #2 to Contract 23-152, Underground Distribution, Directional Boring and Services, to Meade Electric Company, Inc. and Electric Conduit Construction, for an amount not to exceed $8,180,574.30
body
DEPARTMENT: Electric Utility
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Groth, Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The Electric Utility (Utility) delivers energy to approximately 63,000 residential and commercial customers. To provide timely and reliable services, the Utility requires the services of a qualified contractor to provide the labor and equipment necessary to perform capital and emergency maintenance work.
On December 5, 2023, the City Council awarded Contract 23-152, Underground Distribution, Directional Boring and Services, to Meade Electric Company, Inc. (Meade) for a one-year term from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, with two, two-year options to extend.
On April 4, 2024, the City Manager approved the award of Change Order #1 to add overhead transmission/distribution services to the Meade contract.
On June 4, 2024, the City Council approved the award of Change Order #2 to add Electric Conduit Construction (ECC) as a second contractor to perform work that Meade is unable to complete for any reason.
On December 3, 2024, the City Council approved the award of Option Year #1 of the contract for underground distribution and directional boring services.
On December 2, 2025, City Council approved the award of Change Order #2 to Option Year #1 to add $800,000 to finish work due to customer delays.
DISCUSSION:
During the first option year, both Meade and ECC completed work to the Utility’s expectations. Some of the most notable projects performed pertained to existing facility system improvements and new facility installations, including:
• Cable replacement projects for spans that were determined to be uninjectable or had a significant number of faults.
• Transformer and other equipment inspections that could not be performed by city crews due to other scheduled work. These inspections provide system condition information and are necessary for the Utility to plan for the procurement and replacement of equipment.
• New facility installations such as Block 59 and the major cable installation project to provide another feed to the Springbrook water treatment facility.
• Transmission line maintenance as determined by the Utility’s drone inspection program.
Meade has been an excellent partner in providing services and creating positive experiences for our customers. They manage and adapt to Utility administrative requests, and they surge personnel to complete new business work to meet customer “need-by” dates.
Utility staff re-evaluated the original bid tabulation sheets and provided the most accurate estimate of work currently planned for 2026 to both vendors. Staff then negotiated rates based on estimated work. There are over 200 different potential unit costs within the contract. For the high-volume units, the overall increase is approximately 2.5%.
Staff recommends extending the contract to both Meade and ECC for a one-year option year versus the two-year option permitted within the contract terms and conditions. Meade will serve as the primary contractor under this contract, with ECC serving as the secondary contractor. Maintaining two vendors provides an alternate resource, which has proven to be extremely beneficial and has allowed the Utility to maintain schedule commitments for both Electric Utility and customer-driven projects.
The term of this option year is January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026, with no option years remaining on the agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP#: Various
Underground distribution and direction boring services are expensed to the infrastructure account listed below. These services are utilized across various projects within the Electric Utility’s CIP. The 2026 budget includes $25,151,000 for Electric Utility infrastructure upgrades. The requested award is within the amount budgeted for these expenses.
|
Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
|
40251300-551502 |
Electric Utility Fund |
$25,151,500 |