Loading...
Exhibit 1 - Agenda Information SheetCity of Denton _____________________________________________________________________________________ AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET DEPARTMENT: Materials Management CM: Todd Hileman DATE: October 9, 2018 SUBJECT Consider adoption of an ordinance of the City of Denton, Texas, a Texas home-rule municipal corporation, authorizing the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with POWER Engineers, Inc., to provide services for Capital Improvement Projects where design or relay and control commissioning has been initiated; for providing North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) required periodic relay and protection system testing for two substations; for meeting obligations of the Texas Municipal Power Agency (TMPA) Transmission Operator, Maintenance, and Construction Services Agreement; for providing a contingency for unforeseen engineering support requirements; and for providing a contingency for emergency relay and control system support; providing for the expenditure of funds therefor; and providing an effective date (File 6861 – awarded to POWER Engineers, Inc., in the not-to-exceed amount of $776,600). The Public Utilities Board recommends approval (5-0). INFORMATION /BACKGROUND Denton Municipal Electric (DME) requires the services of consultants to develop structural and electrical designs for electric transmission lines and substations and to provide other engineering and operations related support services. Examples of services required are designs for transmission lines and substations, substation relay and control system commissioning, NERC required periodic testing of relay and control systems, support for Texas Reliability Entity (TRE) audits of commissioning and testing activities (verification of records, interpretation of records and test results, explanations of testing, etc.), review and analysis of relay operations in response to system events, technical consultations when system protection events occur or system protection questions arise, and consultation for NERC standards compliance. Over time, there will not be sufficient work to justify a full-time staff with the expertise necessary to address all needs. Using outside resources is an efficient and reasonable method for obtaining the temporary and specialized services needed. DME has a contract with POWER Engineers, Inc. (PEI), in place for such services, but the funds approved for the contract have almost been expended. Several design projects and station commissioning projects are underway and must be completed. A list of the tasks that PEI is currently working on is contained in Exhibit 3. DME proposes to arrange for a new contract with PEI for the professional and technical services needed for designs related to the projects that are in progress, for support in the procurement and construction phases of transmission line projects, for completion of as-built records and drawings, and for other engineering and operations technical consulting needs related to substation projects. Two contingency items are included. One provides a small buffer to cover unforeseen needs related to the projects listed in Exhibit 3 and to provide engineering services for unforeseen items that might arise. The second is more of a City Hall 215 E. McKinney Street Denton, Texas www.cityofdenton.com contingency to provide immediately available funding for responding to emergencies or urgent needs related to relay and control system issues. If the design responsibilities for the projects listed in Exhibit 3 are reassigned to an engineering group other than PEI, every aspect of the work that they have completed and the information that has been gathered would have to be verified before any other engineering firm could professionally seal the designs or complete the final records necessary. The TEXAS ENGINEERING PRACTICE ACT AND RULES CONCERNING THE PRACTICE OF ENGINEERING AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING LICENSURE requirements state: §137.33 Sealing Procedures (a) The purpose of the engineer’s seal is to assure the user of the engineering product that the work has been performed or directly supervised by the professional engineer named and to delineate the scope of the engineer’s work. Texas Engineering Practice Act and Rules Page 54 of 67 Effective 9/10/07 (b) License holders shall only seal work done by them, performed under their direct supervision as defined in §131.81 of this title, relating to Definitions, or shall be standards or general guideline specifications that they have reviewed and selected. Upon sealing, engineers take full professional responsibility for that work. Further, if any commissioning or testing work that has been undertaken by PEI is transferred to another firm, all testing and commissioning work would have to be reaccomplished before that firm could certify the results. PEI has been providing these types of services to DME and Texas Municipal Power Association (TMPA) for several years. They are TMPA’s engineering firm of choice for transmission line design and for system protection testing and commissioning. PEI has completed aerial surveying in the Denton area for the all of TMPA transmission line facilities to aid in insuring that NERC clearance compliance requirements are verified and to use in the design of upgrades for TMPA transmission lines. DME has used PEI for all design activities related to upgrading of lines that were originally owned by TMPA. This avoided the expensive and time-consuming effort to resurvey the transmission line routes that TMPA had already surveyed. PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW (COUNCIL, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS) On September 24, 2018, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) recommended this item to the City Council for consideration. RECOMMENDATION Award a Professional Services Agreement with POWER Engineers, Inc., to provide services for Capital Improvement Projects where design or relay and control commissioning has been initiated, in the not-to- exceed amount of $776,600. PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS POWER Engineers, Inc. Hailey, ID ESTIMATED SCHEDULE OF PROJECT This project will be started upon approval. FISCAL INFORMATION These services will be funded from the CIP account 603246491. Requisition #139677 has been entered into the Purchasing software system in the amount of $776,600. Approximately $40,000 will be funded out of funds budgeted for NERC required periodic testing of protective relay and control systems. These costs for transmission projects and maintenance expenses will ultimately be recovered through the Public Utility Commission transmission cost of service program (TCOS). Amounts for all capital projects were included in the approved CIP. STRATEGIC PLAN RELATIONSHIP The City of Denton’s Strategic Plan is an action-oriented road map that will help the City achieve its vision. The foundation for the plan is the five long-term Key Focus Areas (KFA): Organizational Excellence; Public Infrastructure; Economic Development; Safe, Livable, and Family-Friendly Community; and Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship. While individual items may support multiple KFAs, this specific City Council agenda item contributes most directly to the following KFA and goal: Related Key Focus Area: Public Infrastructure Related Goal: 2.5 Develop a Capital Improvement Program that will meet our community's needs EXHIBITS Exhibit 1: Agenda Information Sheet Exhibit 2: Ordinance and Contract Respectfully submitted: Lori Hewell, 940-349-7100 Purchasing Manager For information concerning this acquisition, contact: George Morrow at 940-349-8487.