Commission recommends Sims Electric for city streetlight maintenance contract

The Roseburg Public Works Commission recommended that City Council approve a new streetlight maintenance contract with Sims Electric, the top‑scoring proposer.

Ryan, city engineering staff, told commissioners the city maintains about 350 city-owned streetlights — primarily downtown — and that the existing maintenance agreement with Sims Electric expires Dec. 31, 2024. The city issued a request for proposals on Oct. 8 and received three proposals; staff scoring (on a 100‑point scale) rated Sims Electric at 96 points, Kooner Electric at 87 and Aitken Corporation at 78.

Ryan said maintenance costs have risen in recent years, largely because vehicles striking poles have driven replacement expenses higher. “In the last 3 years, we've been averaging 2 to 3 street lights being replaced a year, and they're about $5,000 apiece,” he said. The city’s recent annual maintenance spending averaged about $25,000, Ryan said, and the contract’s expected value now approaches levels that trigger additional procurement review and Council involvement.

Commissioners asked whether the city performs in‑house repairs and whether there is a recurring pattern of collisions. Ryan said city staff audit lights and report outages to PPL for the larger utility-owned lights while reporting outages on city-owned fixtures to the contractor; some incidents are covered by insurance and some drivers leave the scene. The staff recommendation was to forward the award recommendation for Council consideration at the Dec. 9 meeting.

A commissioner moved that the commission recommend City Council award the streetlight maintenance contract to Sims Electric; the motion was seconded and carried.