The Fox Cities Transit Commission met 10/24/2023.
Outside of the routine monthly approval of payments, they took up two action items, one requesting approval to sole source a consulting contract with SRF to assist in a grant application for the Transit Center and one to authorize a purchase order for the purchase and installation of audio visual equipment for the Whitman Avenue facility. Both of these items were approved unanimously after minimal discussion.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download.
Regarding the request to retain the services of SRF Consulting to assist Valley Transit in applying for a RAISE grant to pay for the construction of a new Transit Center, nothing was added beyond what was already laid out in the memo. Valley Transit has been working with SRF on master planning for the Transit Center and SRF helped them apply for a RAISE grant earlier this year, which, unfortunately, Valley Transit was not awarded.
Valley Transit needs assistance in applying for a RAISE grant in 2024, and General Manager Ron McDonald believed it would be more expensive to get another consultant up to speed on the issues surrounding the project rather than just continue to work with SRF. The cost of the contract was $21,512 with a contingency of $2,151 for a total not to exceed $23,663.
The commission voted unanimously to approve the request.
The agenda packet for the meeting had not included a memo related to the request to authorize a purchase order to Smart Spaces for audio visual equipment, but, thankfully, one has been attached to the meeting minutes, and General Manager McDonald provided details at the meeting.
The audio visual equipment in question was intended for the Whitman Avenue facility currently undergoing remodeling. Valley Transit received two quotes, one from Smart Spaces for approximately $118,000 and one from ASI for approximately $137,000. They were recommending going with the lower cost option. With a 10% contingency, that would bring the total potential cost to around $130,000.
General Manager McDonald noted that the cost of the equipment between the two companies was close with ASI’s being $500 less expensive, but ASI’s installation costs were markedly more expensive. One of the commissioners asked why there was such a disparity. Mr. McDonald didn’t know but mentioned that AVI was part of the state procurement system, and he wondered if they were trying to make up their lower equipment costs with higher installation fees.
The commission voted unanimously to approve the purchase order to Smart Spaces.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1090151&GUID=C26158A9-94F7-49F1-B681-E59F30CC85BB
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