Report to: General Committee-                                                    Report Date: January 9, 2008

Finance & Administration

 

SUBJECT:                          Contract Extension for Streetlight Maintenance, Repair and Re-lamping Program

 

PREPARED BY:               Alan Laver, Manager, Utilities & Contracts ext. 3400

                                            Alex Moore, Acting Manager, Purchasing ext. 4711

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report entitled “Contract Extension for Streetlight Maintenance, Repair and Re-lamping Program “  be received;

 

AND THAT the Contract Extension for 2008 Streetlight Maintenance and Repair be awarded to PowerStream in the estimated amount of $ 591,430 exclusive of GST;

 

AND THAT the 2008 Streetlight Re-lamping Program contract be awarded to PowerStream in the estimated amount of $ 143,983 exclusive of GST;

 

AND THAT the tendering process be waived in accordance with Purchasing By-Law 2004-341, Part II, Section 7 (1) C which states “ when the extension of an existing contract would prove more cost-effective or beneficial”;

 

AND THAT funds be provided from account # 720 720 5497 Streetlight Maintenance and Repair in the total amount of $ 735,413 subject to council approval of the Town’s 2008 Operating Budget;

 

AND THAT the Town and PowerStream continue to work together on an ongoing basis to review options to enhance service delivery and cost efficiencies, share information, and exchange inventory data;   

                                                                                               

AND THAT staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The following table is a summary of the financial considerations for this report:

 

 

 

 

 

Proposed Budget and Account #

 

$882,218

 

720-720-5497 Light Maintenance and Repair

Current Budget Proposed (unspent)

 

$882,218

 

 

Less Cost

 

($735,413)

 

Award to PowerStream

Less Contingency

 

 

 

 

Budget Remaining

 

$146,805

 

 

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to seek authorization for PowerStream to continue providing service to the Town for streetlight maintenance, repairs, and re-lamping of existing fixtures in 2008.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

The streetlight network is owned by the Town of Markham.  The Town has historically engaged PowerStream to provide streetlight maintenance services since the Town acquired the asset from Ontario Hydro in 1987.   The full cost of the service by PowerStream is paid by the Town.

 

Currently there is an inventory of approximately 21,000 streetlights within the Town boundaries.  The Town’s streetlighting electrical supply circuits in most cases are buried with PowerStream’s transmission lines and connected directly to the hydro transformers.  Before repair work can be initiated on the streetlighting cables the electrical supply must be disconnected by a certified linesman before the Town can work on the system.  All work must be in accordance with the Electrical Safety Association (ESA) requirements.

 

The services provided by PowerStream include repairs to damaged poles and fixtures, replacement of burned out bulbs, ballasts, light sensors (based on residents’ requests to the Contact Centre and outages reported by the Operation Department’s regular patrolling), underground and overhead supply line repairs (burn outs), and locating services for underground streetlight infrastructure.  The services also include costs for the yearly re-lamping and cleaning program where all lamps are replaced on a 5 year rotation, for preventive maintenance (approximately 4000 units are scheduled for re-lamping in 2008).

 

The Town also uses PowerStream to design and construct additional streetlighting that are often requested by residents; provide for the relocation of streetlights to accommodate road construction; and provide for the replacement of streetlights that are worn out.

 

Funding for Streetlighting Maintenance is contained in the proposed 2008 Asset Management Department’s Operating Budget ($882,218.00).  This estimate is based on the 2007 budget plus an allowance for additional lighting added during 2007 and an inflationary rate adjustment of 2.5%. 


In Jan. 2008, the Town received an updated estimate from PowerStream (Attachment ‘A’) for 2008 which is summarized as follows:

 

General Maintenance-   $381,430

Streetlight Fault Repairs-           $210,000

Re-Lamping-                            $143,983

Total-                                       $735,413 (not including hit & run*)

 

*PowerStream also estimates $ 65,000 for Hit and Run Accident repairs. This item is covered by insurance through the Clerk’s Department and is not funded through the Streetlight Maintenance account.

 

PowerStream invoices their actual costs monthly based on the actual time and materials used for the required work.

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Prior to the award of the streetlight maintenance contract for 2007 PowerStream had informed the Town that they could no longer continue to manage the Town’s streetlight maintenance contract.  This was due to their interpretation of the Ontario Energy Board’s Affiliate Relationship Code.  Subsequently, the Town and PowerStream reviewed options and the decision was made to continue our relationship for these services and also to continue to improve the Town’s internal knowledge of field maintenance practices and operations.

 

During 2007 the Asset Management Department staff worked with PowerStream to improve the services provided and to provide a better exchange of information.  Hightlights of these actions included working together to prepare a Request For Proposals for streetlighting works. These are works that PowerStream had previously done internally or subcontracted out to their pole line contractors.  Their new contract included going out to additional subcontractors more specialized in this type of maintenance in order to reduce the Town’s costs for regular maintenance items.

 

As a result, a new subcontractor (Langley) was hired as of September 2007 for a 2 year contract by PowerStream.  This arrangement represents an approximate 10% savings in costs for the 2008 General Maintenance section of the contract compared to 2007, as outlined in the Attachment ‘A’ letter from PowerStream.  The General Maintenance estimated cost for 2008 is $381,430.  The previous General Maintenance estimates were; for 2007 - $426,150 and for 2006 - $413,738.

 

The contract arrangement also allows the Town to use the negotiated unit prices for our pole replacement program and infill lighting requests.  Previously these works had been coordinated through PowerStream’s Engineering Department.  This ability should reduce; coordination time, PowerStream Engineering Department’s work load and the Town’s costs, for these specific works.   More complicated streetlight infill designs would still have to be either coordinated through PowerStream or a private consultant depending on PowerStream’s work load.

 

Through negotiations with Asset Management, PowerStream and our Contact Centre in 2007, it was established that as of September 2007 all streetlight repair requests would be coordinated/recorded through the Town’s Contact Centre to allow the Town to have a better handle on complaint responses and to be able to respond directly to escalated and repeated requests.  PowerStream now receives daily detailed reports of complaints directly from our Contact Centre for follow up. This has substantially reduced calls to PowerStream’s response centre.  Emergency response, such as accident pole damage will still being handled through direct contact to PowerStream.

 

The Asset Management Department has undertaken substantial work in 2007 to update our internal mapping and data collection system.  In 2008 we will undertake a capital project to do data collection/condition analysis in the field for all existing streetlight infrastructure.  The results of these works will be able to feed into the Town’s PSAB requirements for streetlighting.

 

Asset Management also coordinated and received mapping of streetlighting from the Region of York who have recently updated their inventory. This will allow us to review and better understand jurisdiction/maintenance requirements.                                              

                                                                                                                                   

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE: (external link)

Attached

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Not Applicable

 

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Not Applicable

 

ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:

Not Applicable

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The Finance Department has reviewed the funding and budget requirements.

 

RECOMMENDED BY:

 

______________________                                        _______________________

Steve Andrews, P Eng.                                                 Peter Loukes, P Eng.

Director, Asset Management Commission Lead, Community &

                                                                                    Fire Services

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment ‘A’ - PowerStream 2008 Estimate

Attachment ‘B’ - Financial Template

 

O:\Commission Share\Operations and Asset Management\Reports\2008\Asset Management\ROW\Streetlight Maintenance Award 2008.doc