Report
to: General Committee-Finance and
Administration Report
Date:
SUBJECT: Contract Extension for Streetlighting Maintenance, Repair and Relamping Program
PREPARED BY: Alan Laver ext. 3400
Alex Moore ext. 4711
RECOMMENDATION:
1) THAT the report entitled “Contract Extension for Streetlighting Maintenance , Repair and Relamping Program” be received;
2) AND THAT the Contract Extension for 2010 Streetlight Maintenance and Repair be awarded to PowerStream in the estimated amount of $780,000 exclusive of GST;
3) AND THAT the 2010 Streetlight Relamping Program contract be awarded to PowerStream in the estimated amount of $145,000 exclusive of GST;
4) AND THAT the tender 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”;
5) AND THAT funds be provided from account #720 720 5497 Streetlighting Maintenance and Repair in the total amount of $925,000 of the Town’s 2010 Operating Budget;
6) 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 data to control the 2010 expenditures;
7) AND THAT staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the report is to seek authorization for PowerStream to continue to provide service to the Town for streetlight repairs and relamping of existing fixtures in 2010.
BACKGROUND:
The Town’s streetlighting network (approximately 23,000 lights) has been owned and operated by the Town since it was transferred from Ontario Hydro in 1987.
The Town has
historically engaged Markham Hydro then PowerStream to provide streetlight
related maintenance services due to their expertise and background with the
electrical systems.
The services provided by PowerStream include emergency repairs to damaged poles
and fixtures, replacement of burned out bulbs, ballasts, light sensors,
fixtures (based on residents’ complaints to the Town’s Contact Centre and
outages reported by the Town’s Operation Department’s twice yearly night
patrol), underground and overhead supply line repairs (burn outs/faults) and
locating services for underground streetlight infrastructure. The service also
includes a yearly relamping and fixture cleaning program where lamps are
replaced on a 5 year rotation (approx. 1/5th of Town’s lighted areas
/year) for preventive maintenance.
Separate to the
maintenance contract the
Funding for
Streetlighting Maintenance/Relamping is contained in the 2010
In 2008 the cost of streetlight maintenance exceeded the budget. Staff reviewed the costs with PowerStream to determine the reasons for the over expenditure. PowerStream advised that they had experienced a significant increase in bulb failures and buried streetlight power cable faults. PowerStream correspondingly also experienced an increase in the amount of repair work on their underground infrastructure over previous years. They suspect that the increase was attributed to the excessive amount of rainfall experienced in 2008. PowerStream had also authorized their subcontractor (Langley) to do repairs identified by their own night patrolling which was in addition to the Town’s patrols. PowerStream’s patrolling was suspended to save duplication of works identified by our patrol and complaints.
In 2009 Town staff worked with PowerStream and their subcontractor to more closely monitor expenses and to have a better understanding of maintenance trending for the year. At present as of the end of September there is an over expenditure of approx. $36,000. There is also an understanding from discussions with PowerStream’s subcontractor that the rest of the year is estimated to be at or below budget due to a trending of reductions in complaint calls and underground faults repairs. PowerStream was authorized in Sept. 2009 to proceed with the programmed relamping. The Relamping program had to be deleted in 2008 due to budget constraints.
Attachment ‘C’ outlines
the Town’s comparison of maintenance works/costs on a yearly basis and has been
updated to reflect projections for the end of 2009.
In Oct. 2009 PowerStream provided the Town with their projected costs for 2010. Their estimate is contained in a letter from PowerStream dated Nov.1, 2009 (Attachment’A’). The projection is summarized as follows:
General Repairs- $395,000
Streetlight Faults $385,000
Relamping - $145,000
Total- $ 925,000 (Not Including Hit and Run*)
* PowerStream also estimated $105,000 for Hit and Run Accident repairs. This item is covered separately in the Clerk’s Department’s Budget.
PowerStream performs maintenance work based on the Town Contact Centre’s complaint requests and the Town’s night patrols. PowerStream invoices their costs monthly based on actual time and materials used for the required repairs.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
In 2007 the Town did an overall review of the
extension of services using PowerStream for Streetlight Maintenance and it was
determined that the Town would continue to use PowerStream services on an
ongoing basis. In addition, prior to the 2009 award to PowerStream, the
In 2009 we have had no major issues with the performance of the streetlight maintenance contract. For 2010 PowerStream has also acknowledged they are able to maintain their 2009 unit pricing due to their existing subcontract.
The expenditure process now in place with the
In Summary for 2010 the Town will ask PowerStream to;
a) Continue to provide monthly statements of preliminary maintenance works to the Town by the 15 day of the following month. This allows more timely review of quantities of works completed and budgeting.
b) Address only night patrol items generated from the Town’s twice yearly patrols and general repair requests initiated from the Town’s Contact Centre.
c) Not to replace deteriorating poles under the maintenance program. Requests will be forwarded to the Town and will be addressed through the Town’s Life Cycle Capital Program where possible.
d) Continue to contact the Town to review options prior to any major underground repairs taking place as part of the Maintenance Program.
Town staff will also continue to monitor the progress of this contract in relation to the 2010 budget to ensure budgetary goals are met and if necessary, deal with any additional amounts through the Town’s expenditure control policy.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)
Attachment ‘B’
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The following
table is a summary of the financial considerations for this report: |
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|
|
|
|
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Original Budget and Account # |
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$930,230 |
|
720 720 5497 |
|
Current Budget Available (unspent) |
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$930,230 |
|
|
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Less Cost |
|
($925,000) |
|
Awarded
to PowerStream |
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Less Contingency |
|
|
|
|
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Budget Remaining |
|
$5,230 |
|
|
HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS
Not Applicable
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
Not Applicable
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The Finance Department has reviewed the funding and budget requirements.
RECOMMENDED
BY: ________________________ ________________________
Steve Andrews P.Eng. Brenda Librecz
Director,
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment ‘A’- PowerStream 2010 Estimate
Attachment’ B’- Financial Summary
Attachment ‘C’- Comparison Charts
q:\commission share\operations and asset management\reports\2009\asset
management\2010 award streetlight maintenance.doc