CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Waive the applicable provisions of the Naperville Procurement Code and award Procurement 21-354, Grant Application Assessment, Preparation and Submittal Services, to West Monroe Partners, LLC for an amount not to exceed $150,000 (requires six positive votes)
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DEPARTMENT: Electric Utility
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Groth, Director
BACKGROUND:
On November 5, 2021, the U.S. Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ("Act"). This bipartisan legislation is designed to invest in the nation's infrastructure, including funding for roads and bridges, rail, transit, ports, airports, electric grid, water systems, broadband, among other priorities.
The City seeks to identify and submit grant applications based on the different funding mechanisms within the Act in anticipation of it becoming law by the end of the year and estimates a total grant value of approximately $20-$30 million.
Based on an initial assessment, the following six areas in the Electric Utility have been identified to have shovel ready projects that may be potentially eligible to receive funding:
1. tollway substation improvements
2. distribution automation upgrades
3. undergrounding primary and secondary cable
4. fiber optic cable upgrades
5. EV charging infrastructure (for municipal and public access)
6. Cyber security (likely to be bundled within the other five main areas)
DISCUSSION:
The City does not have in-house expertise and resources to identify, research, and prepare grant application submittals. In addition, with the Act just approved on November 5 and the grant application submittal process scheduled to begin in December 2021, there is not enough time to conduct a formal Request for Proposal ("RFP") process to identify a consultant.
To be proactive and improve the likelihood of obtaining funding, staff requests that the Council authorize a contract with West Monroe Partners ("WMP") without conducting a formal RFP. WMP ...
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