Moraine to join 23 communities in MVCC street‑lighting negotiation; estimated city share about $500

City staff told the Moraine City Council’s committee of the whole that the city will pursue a new street‑lighting contract through the Miami Valley Communications Council (MVCC) and asked council to authorize legislation that will allow the city to participate in a multijurisdictional negotiation.

The City Manager said Moraine joined other jurisdictions under MVCC to obtain better pricing for street lighting with Miami Valley Lighting under a 10‑year agreement that expires at year’s end. He said 23 communities want to continue in the pooled procurement effort and that the group has retained negotiators including Mike McNamee and MK Pope Engineering; the cost for negotiation services is estimated at $60,000 to be distributed across the jurisdictions. “The buying power of having all 23 jurisdictions will secure us a much better rate if we were to go out on our own,” the City Manager said. He said the fee for the negotiators will be allocated by population, not by the number of poles, and that Moraine’s expected share is “just over $500.”

Why it matters: Staff said pooled purchasing through MVCC historically produced favorable rates and that continuing as a group should save the city money compared with negotiating alone. The City Manager said legislation is required under the Ohio Revised Code and that the final ordinance will authorize the mayor to sign a required letter for the negotiation process.

Council action: A council member moved to have legislation drawn up for the MVCC street‑lighting contract; the motion passed on a roll call with unanimous support. At roll call Mr. Miller, Mr. Doherty, Mr. Brejette, Mrs. Webb, Ms. Allen, Mayor Murphy and Ms. Marcus voted yes (7–0).

Next steps: Staff will prepare ordinance language for the next regular meeting and, if approved, the mayor will be authorized to sign the required negotiation letter.