Council action to award a purchase order to Toth and Associates in the amount of $61,205 for performing self-supporting steel distribution pole designs for eight (8) structures required for the MoDOT Highway 24 Improvement project.

IPL staff recommends issuing a purchase order for engineering design services for eight (8) self-supporting steel distribution structures.

In the Spring of 2023, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) expects to let bids for the creation of a 10-foot wide bike path and walking trail along the south side of US Highway 24 from Grand Avenue to Missouri Hwy 291 within the city limits of Independence, MO.

Independence Power and Light is obligated to move its distribution services back from the highway in order to accommodate the construction of this trail. It is our plan to complete the moving of our services prior to the letting of bids for the actual construction work on the trail. We have determined the need for eight self-supporting steel distribution poles at specific locations along the trail to accomplish our goal.

IPL engineering staff does not have the specialized software to perform steel pole designs and as a matter of practice use consultants to perform this part of the design task.

IPL chose Toth and Associates as they are an approved Engineering and Architecture firm and agree with COI terms and conditions. COI Procurement Policy allows for selection of engineering firms without the need for competitive bidding of services. IPL has experience with Toth in performing steel pole designs and they are familiar with our design criteria and have performed well on previous steel structure designs. Based upon this, IPL selected Toth and Associates for this service.

The fiscal impact to the City is $61,205. Funding for the MoDOT Highway 24 Improvement engineering services will come from Division 6160 Operating Budget account 5226 (Professional Services), for fiscal 2021-2022.