Evanston’s City Council is scheduled to vote Monday on a consulting contract to plan how to right-size and electrify the city’s fleet.
A staff memo recommends awarding the contract to Wood Environmental & Infrastructure Solutions, although it was not the low bidder for the project.
Although Wood’s bid, at $126,000, was nearly double that offered by the lowest-priced respondent to the request for proposals, the staff report says Wood offered “the most thoughtful and innovative approach to fleet rightsizing and electrification” and tailored it for Evanston.
The memo said Wood also offers a proprietary software forecasting model that “is of high value” and aligns directly with city goals to control air and noise pollution.
Cara Pratt, the city’s sustainability and resilience coordinator, says the simulation and forecast modeling software “will greatly serve the community and will be useful for years to come.”
The consulting contract is to be funded through general obligation bonds and the city’s sustainability fund.
The city has set a goal of having half of its fleet operating on electricity by 2025 and being all electric by 2035.
The staff memo says the city is not on track to meet those goals — with less than 1% of its fleet now powered by electricity.