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Council to consider up to $60,000 for access ramp to city's community solar site
Summary
City staff requested authorization to place a not-to-exceed $60,000 expenditure on next week's agenda to build an access ramp and turnaround for the community solar project, funded from the sewer construction fund; council asked for clearer savings numbers and asked staff to solicit bids.
Mayor Welch and city staff asked the Committee of the Whole on Feb. 11 to place a request on next week's regular agenda to approve up to $60,000 from the sewer construction fund for a gravel access ramp and turnabout to reach the city's community solar parcel.
Project representative Mr. Bounds told the council the access route off Kickapoo Street will provide construction laydown space and a permanent maintenance access that keeps work on city-owned property, avoiding easements from adjacent owners. "This road and turnabout coming off Kickapoo...this is going to be a rough outline of where this access will come off Kickapoo," Bounds said, noting the timeline is tight for an April build window if Ameren approves final design.
Staff said no hard bids were in hand and that they planned to solicit bids quickly; the request that evening was for authority to accept the lowest responsive bid and approve a not-to-exceed $60,000 expenditure from the sewer construction fund. Treasurer Conso noted the sewer rebate program had unspent dollars and staff explained the money requested would use available funds earmarked for sewer programing.
Councilors pressed for more precise savings data from the existing community solar installation. Staff and the project representative described the city's reserved generation capacity differently during discussion: earlier contract language allows requesting up to 40% of generation capacity, but staff said they now expect roughly 15% will be sufficient to cover city buildings outside sewer loads. Staff and councilors agreed to provide actual kilowatt-hour usage and historical billing comparisons so the council and public can see estimated savings and payback periods for the ramp investment.
Councilors approved placing the $60,000 not-to-exceed request on next week's regular agenda and directed the mayor to accept the lowest responsive bid when bids are received; no expenditure was approved Feb. 11. Staff will solicit formal bids, produce a more detailed cost estimate and report generation/usage savings figures to the council before final approval.
