Title
Resolution to Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Regents of the University of Michigan for the Evaluation Services of Dr. Lesli Hoey Related to Bryant Neighborhood Decarbonization Work ($80,000.00)
Memorandum
Attached for your review and consideration is a Professional Services Agreement with Regents of the University of Michigan for Dr. Lesli Hoey and her team to conduct a holistic suite of pre- and post-intervention evaluations related to the City’s work to decarbonize the Bryant neighborhood in Ann Arbor.
For over three (3) years, City staff have been working with the residents of the Bryant neighborhood and Community Action Network to determine what it would look like to make Bryant one of the nation’s most sustainable and resilient existing neighborhoods. Ideas emerging through these engagements have helped inform a scope of services and fundraising efforts by both the City and Community Action Network. Now that significant funding has been secured to make neighborhood and household improvements, the City would like to hire a professional evaluator to help set up mechanisms to evaluate the impact and efficacy of this work.
Dr. Lesli Hoey was on the project team that developed and submitted a winning grant application to the Michigan Public Service Commission (“MPSC”) to support work in the Bryant neighborhood. This grant included $50,000.00 of funding to support Dr. Hoey in conducting evaluation services related to making decarbonization improvements in up to 50 homes. However, given the success of other recent fundraising efforts, the Office of Sustainability and Innovations would like to expand the scope of evaluation services from what was included in the MPSC grant to a larger scope of work that would allow for a holistic assessment of how project-based work in the Bryant neighborhood is impacting people’s lives and their lived experiences. To move from the grant-funded support of a 50-home evaluation to a program that supports evaluations of up to 100 homes, the team is seeking to include an additional $30,000.00 in funding from the Community Climate Action Millage, making the total recommended compensation under the Professional Services Agreement with Regents of the University of Michigan for Dr. Hoey’s services $80,000.00. This contract would run over a two-year period.
Budget/Fiscal Impact: $50,000.00 in funding is available through the Renewable Energy and Electrification Infrastructure Enhancement and Development Grant which was recently awarded to the City by the Michigan Public Service Commission’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, and an additional $30,000.00 is available from the Fiscal Year 2025 Community Climate Action Millage.
Staff
Prepared by: Missy Stults, Sustainability and Innovations Director
Reviewed by: Valerie Jackson, Assistant City Attorney
Reviewed by: Kim Buselmeier, Interim Chief Financial Officer
Approved by: Milton Dohoney Jr., City Administrator
Body
Whereas, The City’s A2ZERO Plan calls for massive efforts to decarbonize buildings throughout the City of Ann Arbor;
Whereas, The City’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations has been working for three years with Community Action Network and the residents of the Bryant neighborhood to identify solutions and actions that will help make the Bryant neighborhood one of the first carbon neutral neighborhoods in the country;
Whereas, Through these engagements, the City’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations has identified a series of home improvements that are necessary to help improve the health, safety, and sustainability of homes in the Bryant neighborhood;
Whereas, The City’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations submitted an application to the Michigan Public Service Commission’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs under the Renewable Energy and Electrification Infrastructure Enhancement and Development Grant program to support the implementation of decarbonization solutions in the Bryant neighborhood;
Whereas, The City’s grant application included $50,000.00 in proposed funding to support hiring an external evaluator to measure the impact and efficacy of the work in the Bryant neighborhood;
Whereas, The Michigan Public Service Commission’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs selected the City’s grant application for award and has approved a total assistance amount of $3,115,600.00 to accomplish the tasks in the City’s application, including $50,000.00 in funding for the evaluation services of Dr. Lesli Hoey the University of Michigan;
Whereas, The Office of Sustainability and Innovations has funding available in Fiscal Year 2025 to support expanding the scope of evaluation services to cover an additional $30,000.00;
Whereas, Dr. Lesli Hoey is a recognized expert in evaluation and has been involved in the Bryant neighborhood decarbonization project for years;
Whereas, The City has successfully secured numerous other grants to help advance the work in the Bryant neighborhood, all of which could be enhanced by Dr. Hoey’s evaluation services; and
Whereas, Regents of the University of Michigan is compliant with the City’s living wage, conflict of interest, and non-discrimination policies;
RESOLVED, That City Council approve a Professional Services Agreement with Regents of the University of Michigan in the amount of $80,000.00 for the implementation of evaluation services by Dr. Hoey and her team in connection with the decarbonization efforts in the Bryant neighborhood;
RESOLVED, That City Council approve a 10% contingency in the amount of $8,000.00 to be allocated at the City Administrator’s discretion should additional work be necessary;
RESOLVED, That all amounts herein are without regard to fiscal year;
RESOLVED, That the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized and directed to execute said Professional Services Agreement after approval as to substance by the City Administrator and approval as to form by the City Attorney; and
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator be authorized to take all necessary actions to implement this resolution, including execution of related additional agreements necessary to effectuate the terms of this Agreement; execution of authorized renewals and amendments not exceeding the approved expenditure amount; and termination of this Agreement as needed.