Title
Resolution to Approve Professional Services Agreement with CDM Smith for the Wind Generator Project, RFP-814 ($49,883.00)
Memorandum
Approval of the Professional Services Agreement with CDM Smith for engineering services for the wind generator project is requested. Award of a Professional Services Agreement to complete a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Analysis (EA) that includes public engagement is the next milestone in the project to construct a wind turbine within the City pursuant to the grant received by the City from the Department of Energy and accepted by Council as part of Resolution R-13-015.
The following summary of the background on this project provides the context for the award of this contract.
The City issued RFP-814 in Jan/Feb 2012 for consulting services to study, design, lead the public engagement, and complete the environmental assessment as required by NEPA for the City’s prospective wind turbine project. The City assembled a team of City staff and a representative from the University of Michigan to evaluate the proposals. Three proposals met the qualifications and the three firms were selected for interviews. Interviews were conducted on March 28, 2012. In April the City evaluated and ranked the firms interviewed with input from the University of Michigan, which at that time was still a partner for the project.
In May of 2012 the University of Michigan withdrew its commitment to partner on this project. Upon the loss of its financial partner, the City began exploring alternatives to obtain the required funding to meet the grant match requirements. This was no different than its exploration for partners in 2010. The City had discussions with Michigan State University, the Veterans Administration, wind turbine vendors, and energy project developers. The City pursued all paths coincidentally. Through this process only one avenue became viable, which was the alternative to work with Wind Products Inc., and the...
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