The Appleton City Finance Committee voted 4–1 Monday to award a sustainability and resiliency master planning contract to Pale Blue Dot LLC for $98,966, with an 8.7% contingency of $8,659, for a project total not to exceed $107,625.

Committee members and staff said the plan will identify priority projects across flood risk, energy (including solar and geothermal feasibility at municipal facilities), and greenhouse gas reduction, and will include life-cycle cost analysis and potential funding sources. The recommendation followed a competitive request for proposals that produced six responses and multiple review panels that rated Pale Blue Dot highest.

Committee Chair directed staff to move the contract forward as presented. Director Tew summarized the procurement process, saying staff “put it out for RFP, and we got 6 companies to respond,” and that an evaluation panel and internal director review “unanimously” recommended Pale Blue Dot.

Opposition centered on spending priorities and whether the planning contract represents the best immediate use of funds. Alder Hartstein said he would vote against the contract, noting the city faces flooding problems and that $107,625 could be spent on more immediate, tangible projects. “I just feel that there are far better ways that are tangible that we will find to spend $107,000 on,” Hartstein said, adding that the amount would cover roughly a third of a recently discussed $330,000 project that was sent back for further discussion.

Staff and other council members defended the selection on technical grounds. Director Gazzo described the scoring criteria used by evaluators — including team qualifications, past comparable projects, responsiveness to the RFP and optional services such as benchmarking and solar-feasibility analysis — and said Pale Blue Dot’s proposal stood out for including optional services that some other firms excluded. “This firm was really good,” Gazzo said, and reviewers examined the actual plans the firm had produced for other municipalities.

Alder Van Zielen, an evaluator on the panel, said Pale Blue Dot’s proposal addressed a resilience framework requested in the RFP: identifying vulnerabilities in stormwater systems, green infrastructure, energy reliability, high-level climate modeling for future flood risk and adaptation strategies. Van Zielen also noted the firm agreed to identify 30 high-priority municipal projects and perform life-cycle cost analyses and funding-source identification. “They know how to get this grant money, and I think that that’s a big advantage,” Van Zielen said.

Committee members asked staff about near-term cost savings the plan might identify. Staff said some recommendations could be operational or educational changes with little or no capital outlay; other items would require investment but be prioritized so the city’s “first dollar is going towards our greatest need.” Members discussed geothermal performance at the new library and were told a reliable year-over-year comparison will be possible after the systems have operated through a full winter and summer cycle.

After discussion, the committee voted to approve the contract. The motion and second were made on the record but the transcript does not identify the members who moved or seconded the action. The outcome was recorded as approved, 4–1.

The approved contract will be funded from interest earnings on ARPA funds, as noted during discussion. Implementation details, timelines and community engagement plans will be developed once the consultant begins work.