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Oak Ridge council approves contracts, grant applications and equipment purchases totaling several million dollars
Summary
Council authorized multiple contract awards (CDBG parking improvements, vegetation management, transformers, fleet vehicles and software), approved a CDBG amendment for sidewalks and agreed to apply for a state SRO grant that could fund up to about $600,000 for school resource officers.
At the July meeting Oak Ridge City Council approved a string of resolutions to procure equipment, award contracts and amend grant planning documents.
A contract to 1st Place Finish, Inc. for accessibility improvements at three Oak Ridge Housing Authority parking lots was approved not to exceed $206,285.10, to be paid with FY25 Community Development Block Grant funds. Miss Williams said the project is fully CDBG-funded and includes a 5% contingency.
Chief Smith told the council the police department will apply for the FY27 statewide School Resource Officer grant; Oak Ridge is eligible for up to $75,000 per school for eight schools, and staff said the department typically applies for all eight positions (approximately $600,000 if fully funded). Chief Smith said the grant reimburses eligible SRO costs including salaries, benefits and training and requires no local match.
On electric-department procurements, staff requested an amendment to a prior authorization: add three additional 40 MVA transformers from Virginia Transformer Corporation at an added cost of $7,473,443 for a new not-to-exceed total of $12,072,500. City staff said transformers will be dedicated to industrial customers and will be paid by those customers via construction agreements; council approved the amendment.
The council also awarded a two-year vegetation-management contract to Dark Horse Vegetation Management LLC not to exceed $2,584,832 for zone work (routine clearance) and hourly work (hazardous tree removal, storm response). Staff noted only one responsive bidder returned and that the service has improved reliability in problem areas.
Other procurement approvals included purchase of a bucket truck and digger derrick from Altec (not to exceed $483,479), three-phase pad-mounted transformers from Gresco Utility Supply (not to exceed $425,868), and a three-year OpenGov procurement and contracts software bundle through vendor Vertosoft for $148,592.83. Council also approved a DIA design contract for Solway Park improvements tied to a NRDA grant (DIA agreement not to exceed $419,980), and authorized annual materials bids up to $1,386,500.
Votes on these resolutions were recorded in the meeting minutes; most passed unanimously or with recorded majorities after Budget & Finance committee review. Staff noted lead times for some equipment (big transformers especially) and said several items were coordinated with potential industrial customers to reduce procurement risk.
The council asked staff to ensure that purchase orders would not be issued until required construction agreements were executed for equipment intended for specific industrial customers.
