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City staff outlines 20-year electric-franchise bidding plan; council hears rights-of-way, tree and reconstruction concerns
Summary
City staff explained a proposed 20-year electric franchise bid process and what a franchise agreement would cover, including rights-of-way use, potential franchise fees and provisions on tree maintenance; no ordinance or vote was taken at the meeting.
City staff presented an overview of a proposed 20-year electric franchise the city plans to advertise for bid, saying the agreement would define how an electric utility operates in Florence’s rights of way and set restoration and operational standards.
“To explain it, a franchise agreement is basically a contract between a city and a utility provider and it allows that utility provider to operate within the city's right of way,” said a staff presenter, describing the document’s role in authorizing utility work, protecting the city’s proprietary interests and establishing restoration requirements for sidewalks and streets.
Staff said the draft framework would permit Florence to reserve the right to impose a franchise fee of up to 5 percent during the 20-year term, but emphasized that council members have expressed no current desire to levy such a fee. The presenter said the fee would be optional and would be the subject of a public discussion and vote if future councils chose to adopt it.
Staff identified Duke Energy and Owen Electric as interested bidders for the nonexclusive franchise in the municipal district, and said the bid would be advertised after council passes an ordinance authorizing the city to solicit proposals; staff noted the ordinance text was still being finalized and would be provided to council before advertising.
Council members focused questions on technical and practical consequences for streets, water mains and tree canopy. The presenter explained that full or crowded rights of way can force water-main replacement into the street, increasing project costs because of different bedding and flowable-fill requirements. He said the city sought provisions requiring utilities to coordinate with the public-services department before trimming or removing trees, to avoid “decimating the trees” along rights of way.
No ordinance was introduced or voted on at the meeting; staff asked council to authorize sending the project to bid and to expect franchise agreements and responses to return to council for review and a later vote.
The discussion was informational. Staff said the city will circulate the draft ordinance and bidding documents to council members before any advertisement or formal action.
