HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-11-20 I01C_02 Professional Consulting Svcs Agr_Sustainability PlanAGENDA ITEM:
CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA
CITY COUNCIL MEETING COMMUNICATION
MEETING DATE: November 20, 2023
AGENDA ITEM:Approving Agreement for Professional Services with paleBLUEdot LLC
[Sustainability Plan]
FORMAT:Resolution
SYNOPSIS INCLUDING PRO & CON: In 2023, the City Council identified developing a
sustainability plan as a Strategic Planning Priority. City staff sought proposals for consultants to assist
in the development of a sustainability plan for city operations. Out of the four submitted proposals, the
scoring panel rated paleBLUEdot most highly. They have performed similar services for the City of
West Des Moines, Polk County, and the City of Dubuque.
FISCAL IMPACT INCLUDING COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS: The development of a
sustainability plan will cost $76,759.
COMMISSION/BOARD/COMMITTEE COMMENT:
STAFF REVIEW AND COMMENT:
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval
ATTACHMENTS: I. Proposed Resolution
PREPARED BY: Nick Osborne
REVIEWED BY: Nick Osborne
PUBLIC NOTICE INFORMATION –
NAME OF PUBLICATION:
DATE OF PUBLICATION:
I1C2
AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL CONSULTING SERVICES
This Agreement is made and entered into this ____ day of ____________, 2023, by and between City of
Waukee, a municipal corporation, hereinafter referred to as "City," and Pale Blue Dot LLC party of the
second part, hereinafter referred to as "Consultant" as follows:
THE CITY HEREBY AGREES TO RETAIN THE CONSULTANT FOR THE PROJECT AS
DESCRIBED IN THIS AGREEMENT AND CONSULTANT AGREES TO PERFORM THE
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND FURNISH THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION FOR THE
PROJECT AS GENERALLY DESCRIBED IN THIS AGREEMENT.
1. SCOPE OF SERVICES
Services provided under this Agreement shall be as further described in Attachment 1 , Scope of
Services.
2. SCHEDULE
The schedule of the professional services to be performed shall conform to the Schedule set forth in
Attachment 2. Any deviations from the Schedule shall be approved by the authorized City
representative. The City agrees that the Consultant is not responsible for delays arising from a change
in the scope of services, a change in the scale of the Project or delays resulting from causes not
directly or indirectly related to the actions of the Consultant.
3. COMPENSATION
A. In consideration of the professional services provided herein, the City agrees to pay the
Consultant $__76,759___________, including any authorized reimbursable expenses, pursuant to
the Schedule of Fees set forth in Attachment 3.
B. The Consultant shall invoice the City monthly for services, any reimbursable expenses and any
approved amendments to this Agreement, based upon services actually completed and progress
made toward deliverables at the time of the invoice. The final project payment shall be due and
payable within 30 days of the City's acceptance of Consultant's submission of final deliverables in
accordance with the Scope of Services.
C. In consideration of the compensation paid to the Consultant, the Consultant agrees to perform all
professional services to the satisfaction of the City by performing the professional services in a
manner consistent with that degree of care and skill ordinarily exercised by members of
Consultant's profession currently practicing under similar circumstances. If the performance of
this Agreement involves the services of others or the furnishing of equipment, supplies, or
materials, the Consultant agrees to pay for the same in full.
4. INSURANCE
A. Consultant understands and agrees that Consultant shall have no right of coverage under any and
all existing or future City comprehensive, self or personal injury policies. Consultant shall provide
insurance coverage for and on behalf of Consultant that will sufficiently protect Consultant or
Consultant' representative(s) in connection with the professional services which are to be provided
by Consultant pursuant to this Agreement, including protection from claims for bodily injury,
death, property damage, and lost income. Consultant shall provide worker's compensation
insurance coverage for Consultant and all Consultant's personnel. Consultant shall file applicable
insurance certificates with the City, and shall also provide evidence of the following additional
coverage.
B. The Consultant shall provide evidence of comprehensive general liability coverage and
contractual liability insurance by an insurance company licensed to do business in the State of
Iowa in the limits of at least $1,000,000 each personal injury accident and/or death; $1,000,000
general aggregate personal injury and/or death; and $1,000,000 for each property damage
accident. The coverage cannot be canceled or materially altered without giving the City at least
thirty (30) days written notice by registered mail, return receipt requested.
C. The Consultant shall also provide evidence of automobile liability coverage in the limits of at
least $1,000,000 bodily injury and property damage combined. The coverage cannot be cancelled
or materially altered without giving the City at least thirty (30) days written notice by registered
mail, return receipt requested.
D. The Consultant shall provide evidence of professional liability insurance, by an insurance
company licensed to do business in the State of Iowa, in the limit of $1,000,000 for claims arising
out of the professional liability of the Consultant. Consultant shall provide City written notice
within five (5) days by registered mail, return receipt requested of the cancellation or material
alteration of the professional liability policy.
E. Failure of Consultant to maintain any of the insurance coverages set forth above shall constitute a
material breach of this Agreement.
5. NOTICE
Any notice to the parties required under this agreement shall be in writing, delivered to the person
designated below, by United States mail or in hand delivery, at the indicated address unless otherwise
designated in writing.
FOR THE CITY: FOR THE CONSULTANT:
Name: City of Waukee Name: Pale Blue Dot LLC
Attn: Nick Osborne Attn: Ted Redmond
Title: Assistant City Administrator Title: Co-Founder
Address: 230 W. Hickman Road Address: 2515 White Bear Ave A8, Suite 177
City, State: Waukee, IA 50263 City, State: Maplewood, MN 55109
6. GENERAL COMPLIANCE
In the conduct of the professional services contemplated hereunder , the Consultant shall comply with
applicable state, federal, and local law, rules, and regulations, technical standards, or specifications
issued by the City. Consultant must qualify for and obtain any required licenses prior to
commencement of work, including any professional licenses necessary to perform work within the
State of Iowa.
7. STANDARD OF CARE
Services provided by the Consultant under this Agreement shall be performed in a manner consistent
with that degree of care and skill ordinarily exercised by members of the same profession currently
practicing under similar circumstances.
8. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR
Consultant understands and agrees that the Consultant and Consultant's employees and
representatives are not City employees. Consultant shall be solely responsible for payment of salaries,
wages, payroll taxes, unemployment benefits, or any other form of compensation or benefit to
Consultant or Consultant's employees, representatives or other personnel performing the professional
services specified herein, whether it be of a direct or indirect nature. Further, it is expressly
understood and agreed that for such purposes neither Consultant nor Consultant's employees ,
representatives or other personnel shall be entitled to any City payroll, insurance, unemployment,
worker's compensation, retirement, or any other benefits whatsoever.
9. NON-DISCRIMINATION
Consultant will not discriminate against any employee of applicant for employment because of race,
color, sex, national origin, religion, age, handicap, or veteran status. Consultant will, where
appropriate or required, take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that
employees are treated, during employment, without regard to their race, color, sex, or national origin,
religion, age, handicap, or veteran status. Consultant will cooperate with the City in using
Consultant's best efforts to ensure that Disadvantaged Business Enterprises are afforded the maximum
opportunity to compete for subcontracts of work under this Agreement.
10. HOLD HARMLESS
Consultant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the City, its officers , agents, and employees from
any and all claims, settlements and judgments, to include all reasonable investigative fees, attorney's
fees, and court costs for any damage or loss which is due to or arises from a breach of this Agreement,
or from negligent acts, errors or omissions in the performance of professional services under this
Agreement and those of its sub consultants or anyone for whom Consultant is legally liable.
11. ASSIGNMENT
Consultant shall not assign or otherwise transfer this Agreement or any right or obligations therein
without first receiving prior written consent of the City.
12. APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS
The funds appropriated for this Agreement are equal to or exceed the compensation to be paid to
Consultant. The City's continuing obligations under this Agreement may be subject to appropriation
of funding by the City Council. In the event that sufficient funding is not appropriated in whole or in
part for continued performance of the City's obligations under this Agreement, or if appropriated
funding is not expended due to City spending limitations, the City may terminate this Agreement
without further compensation to the Consultant. To the greatest extent allowed by law, the City shall
compensate Consultant as provided in Section 18(6) of this Agreement.
13. AUTHORIZED AMENDMENTS TO AGREEMENT
A. The Consultant and the City acknowledge and agree that no amendment to this Agreement or
other form, order or directive may be issued by the City which requires additional compensable
work to be performed if such work causes the aggregate amount payable under the amendment,
order or directive to exceed the amount appropriated for this Agreement as listed in Section 3,
above, unless the Consultant has been given a written assurance by the City that lawful
appropriation to cover the costs of the additional work has been made.
B. The Consultant and the City further acknowledge and agree that no amendment to this
Agreement or other form, order or directive which requires additional compensable work to be
performed under this Agreement shall be issued by the City unless funds are available to pay
such additional costs, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any additional compensation
for any additional compensable work performed under this Agreement. The Consultant
expressly waives any right to additional compensation, whether in law or equity, unless prior
to commencing the additional work the Consultant was given a written amendment, order or
directive describing the additional compensable work to be performed and setting forth the
amount of compensation to be paid, such amendment, order or directive to be presented to the
Waukee City Council for consideration and approval prior to proceeding with any such work.
14. OWNERSHIP OF CONSULTING DOCUMENTS
All sketches, tracings, plans, specifications, reports, and other data prepared under this Agreement
shall become the property of the City and transmitted either via email and/or a USB flash drive . All
drawings and data shall be transmitted electronically . The Consultant's liability for use of the
sketches, tracings, plans, specifications, reports, and other data prepared under this Agreement shall
be limited to the Project.
15. INTERPRETATION
No amendment or modification of this Agreement shall be valid unless expressed in writing and
executed by the parties hereto in the same manner as the execution of the Agreement. This is a
completely integrated Agreement and contains the entire agreement of the parties; any prior written or
oral agreements shall be of no force or effect and shall not be binding upon either party. The laws of
the State of Iowa shall govern and any judicial action under the terms of this Agreement shall be
exclusively within the jurisdiction of the district court for Dallas County, Iowa.
16. COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL LAW
This project does not utilize any federal funds.
17. SOLICITATION AND PERFORMANCE
A. The Consultant warrants that it has not employed or retained any company or person, other than a
bona fide employee working for the Consultant, to solicit or secure this Agreement, and that the
Consultant has not paid or agreed to pay any company or person other than a bona fide employee,
any fee, commission, percentage, brokerage fee, gift or contingent fee.
B. The Consultant shall not engage the services of any person or persons in the employ of the City at
the time of commencing such services without the written consent of the City.
18. SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT
A. The right is reserved by the City to suspend this Agreement at any time. Such suspension may be
affected by the City giving written notice to the Consultant, and shall be effective as of the date
established in the suspension notice. Payment for Consultant's services shall be made by the City
for services performed to the date established in the suspension notice. Should the City reinstate
the work after notice of suspension, such reinstatement may be accomplished by thirty (30) days
written notice within a period of six (6) months after such suspension, unless this period is
extended by written consent of the Consultant.
B. Upon ten (10) days written notice to the Consultant, the City may terminate the Agreement at any
time if it is found that reasons beyond the control of either the City or Consultant make it
impossible or against the City 's interest to complete the Agreement. In such case, the Consultant
shall have no claims against the City except for the value of the work performed up to the date the
Agreement is terminated.
C. The City may also terminate this Agreement at any time if it is found that the Consultant has
violated any material term or condition of this Agreement or that Consultant has failed to maintain
workers' compensation insurance or other insurance provided for in this Agreement. In the event
of such default by the Consultant, the City may give ten (10) days written notice to the Consultant
of the City's intent to terminate the Agreement. Consultant shall have ten (10) days from
notification to remedy the conditions constituting the default.
D. In the event that this Agreement is terminated in accordance with paragraph C of this section, the
City may take possession of any work and may complete any work by whatever means the City
may select. The cost of completing said work shall be deducted from the balance which would
have been due to the Consultant had the Agreement not been terminated and work completed in
accordance with contract documents.
E. The Consultant may terminate this Agreement if it is found that the City has violated any material
term or condition of this Agreement. In the event of such default by the City, the Consultant shall
give ten (10) days written notice to the City of the Consultant's intent to terminate the Agreement.
City shall have ten (10) days from notification to remedy the conditions constituting the default.
19. TAXES
The Consultant shall pay all sales and use taxes required to be paid to the State of Iowa on the work
covered by this Agreement. The Consultant shall execute and deliver and shall cause any sub-
consultant or subcontractor to execute and deliver to the City certificates as required to permit the
City to make application for refunds of said sales and use taxes as applicable. The City is a municipal
corporation and not subject to state and local tax, use tax, or federal excise taxes.
20. SEVERABILITY
If any portion of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction,
the remaining portions of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.
21. MISCELLANEOUS HEADINGS
Title to articles, paragraphs, and subparagraphs are for information purposes only and shall not be
considered a substantive part of this Agreement.
22. FURTHER ASSURANCES
Each party hereby agrees to execute and deliver such additional instruments and documents and to
take all such other action as the other party may reasonably request from time to time in order to
effect the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.
23. COUNTERPARTS
This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall constitute an
original document, no other counterpart needing to be produced, and all of which when taken together
shall constitute the same instrument.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed by their duly
authorized officers or agents on the day and year first above written.
CONSULTANT CITY OF WAUKEE
By: ________________________________ By: __________________________
Name: _Ted Redmond__________ Courtney Clarke, Mayor
Title: __Co-Founder______________________
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ATTACHMENT 1
SCOPE OF SERVICES
Methodology
Project Kickoff
Successful project launch through a kick-off meeting to confirm relevant past and current studies and data
from the City ; reaffirm project goals and objectives; confirm project scope, methodology, and schedule; and
identify respective project contacts. paleBLUEdot will also review our Sustainability Planning On-boarding
Questionnaire to collect pertinent information to help us audit existing city initiatives, policies, and relevant
sustainability actions, efforts, and programs.
Deliverables: Review of city data/reports and relevant policies
Existing Condition Research and Assessment (Including RFP scope items B, K)
paleBLUEdot believes effective, meaningful, and community specific Sustainability Planning is grounded in
robust data collection and assessment of existing conditions metrics. Establishing comprehensive baseline
data is a necessary element that provides a point from which to inventory what you have before you set out
to improve it, and from there, aid in identifying and establishing strategies, and measuring the progress of
them. The broader the baseline data available, the more effective goal setting and action planning can be. As
such, the paleBLUEdot sustainability planning project approach includes an assessment of existing conditions
and baseline indicators.
Background Review of Existing Plans and Frameworks
paleBLUEdot’s review of baseline conditions always begins with a survey and review of existing plans and initiatives
which may inform, influence, or need to be included in a final sustainability plan. For an agency like the City of
Waukee, this review is anticipated include internal city policies, procedures, and data as collected through the
Sustainability Planning On-boarding Questionnaire.
Internal Department Review
paleBLUEdot will also collaborate with the city to review existing City of Waukee operational practices supporting
sustainability. This review will include data collection through the paleBLUEdot Sustainable Practices
questionnaire provided to each city department in electronic survey form to capture information on existing
sustainable practices, policies, programs, history and past successes. This process can also be used to collect
ideas and suggestions departmental leaders or staff have for goals, strategies, or actions for the sustainability
plan. The result of this engagement will be a baseline review of City of Waukee sustainable operations and
procurement practices. This review may then be used in the Sustainability Plan goal setting.
GHG Emissions Inventory Review
paleBLUEdot will review the City’s energy consumption data and greenhouse gas emissions calculations for
all city properties and vehicle fleet. The review will include inventory methodologies, raw consumption data,
emission factor utilization, and sources. Based on the team’s review, paleBLUEdot will prepare a memo
providing recommendations for revisions or reassessments if appropriate.
Methodology
Pages from paleBLUEdot example GHG Inventory Summary report
City Facility Solar Potentials Study
This effort will begin with the paleBLUEdot team reviewing city provided energy consumption data for all city
facilities. paleBLUEdot will then calculate electrical, natural gas, and total energy use intensity (EUI) for each
facility, and conduct solar PV feasibility assessments.
For each site to be reviewed, paleBLUEdot will:
Identify energy use and efficiency levels of city facilities.
A. Receive summarized annual energy use data from city. City shall also provide a sample electric invoice
for each subject site.
B. Review energy use and comparison energy efficiency for all subject buildings.
C. Identify on-site renewable energy targets for feasibility concept designs based on energy profile.
Feasibility of solar energy and develop solar pv array concept design for city facilities
A. Conduct remote review of each building using satellite data.
B. identify and record solar obstructions.
C. Create solar concept design for each building, including configuration, tilt, azimuth, preliminary panel
and inverter selections, and preliminary wiring diagram.
D. Create solar pv concept design report, sufficient to support development of future procurement
package, including: Summary metrics, energy production, performance ratio; Monthly and annual
production values; System loss factors and detailed loss tree; records of condition set
assumptions; Preliminary bill of materials; Preliminary electrical design assumptions; Preliminary
Mechanical assumptions; concept plan/layout.
Solar PV Master Plan for City Owned facilities, including economic and environmental benefits to
community.
A. Create draft Solar PV Master Plan report, including: Executive Summary; Energy Efficiency Review; On-
Site Solar PV Feasibility; Concept Design and project budget review for each subject building; Review of
renewable energy project delivery, ownership, and funding sources; Economic and Environmental
Impacts; Recommendations and Next Steps.
. Review Draft Solar PV Master Plan with city officials and finalize.
Example report: https://cutt.ly/4wb3M6mk
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Methodology
Electric Vehicle & Charging Station Feasibility Analysis
Bolton & Menk will provide a feasibility analysis for city electric fleet vehicle replacement purchases and make
recommendations regarding city fleet electric vehicle charging stations.
We will use Waukee’s provided fleet, facility data, and our knowledge of industry trends to provide fleet
electrification recommendations. We will further schedule discussions with Waukee staff regarding their fleet,
facility information, and facility planning. The goal will be to ensure that suitable vehicles will be replaced with
electric options at the right time. We also want to understand any facility replacement or change of use plans.
Using that facility information and projected fleet electrification plans/goals, we will provide an outlay for
electric vehicle charging station planning, including when, where, type, and how many charging stations should
be provided. Finally, we’ll provide recommendations for overall fleet electrification goals.
Vehicle Monitoring (Optional Service)
To provide an optimal electric vehicle and charging station feasibility analysis as described above, significant
fleet information is required. Data that will help to make the analysis most effective are annual vehicle miles
driven, peak daily miles driven, seasonal usage, and any idling data. At a minimum, annual miles driven will be
necessary to understand the effectiveness of electric vehicle replacement. If sufficient data is not readily
available and the city requests that the project team complete a monitoring exercise, we can provide that.
We’d request to discuss vehicle monitoring options and costs with the city if data is unavailable with the city’s
fleet department.
Community-Wide EV Charging Analysis (Optional Service)
Vehicle and transportation industries are changing rapidly including electrification of personal and commercial
vehicles. One of the biggest hurdles to move citizenry towards electric vehicles is the lack of convenient
availability of electric vehicle charging stations. Beyond making electric vehicles easier to own, electric vehicle
charging stations also can provide a draw to a location such as parks, business districts, and entertainment
facilities. Bolton and Menk proposes that the City consider adding a scope for creating a city-wide public
electric vehicle charging station analysis to the project. This will help the city compete for future grant
opportunities to provide these chargers, sometimes, at no cost to the city.
ENERGY STAR Benchmarking (Optional Service)
paleBLUEdot proposes to provide energy benchmarking for all primary and significant City facility sites (up to 10
assumed). This benchmarking will be conducted using the US EPA ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM) tool
based on energy consumption data collected through the GHG Inventory Review effort. This effort will begin
with paleBLUEdot issuing a Facility Benchmarking Questionnaire to capture relevant information required for
each facility, in combination with paleBLUEdot’s review of energy consumption data during the GHG Inventory
Review process. Once established, these ESPM records will enable an energy benchmarking comparison of City
of Waukee facilities against a national database of similar facilities and support the identification of energy
efficiency potential and goal setting. At the completion of the project, these accounts will be turned over to the
City and will enable the City to maintain on-going energy efficiency benchmarking of all facilities, supporting an
increased ease of progress tracking through the implementation phase.
Deliverables
GHG Emissions Inventory Review Memo
Interdepartmental interviews
City Facility Renewable Energy Potentials Study
Electric Vehicle & Charging Station Feasibility Analysis
ENERGY STAR Benchmarking (optional service)
Methodology
Strategic Goal Recommendations and Goal Setting (Including RFP scope item A)
Informed by the findings of the Background Review of Existing Plans and Frameworks, Internal Department
Reviews, GHG Inventory, City Facility Renewable Energy Potentials Study, Electric Vehicle & Charging Station
Feasibility Analysis, and ENERGY STAR Benchmarking (optional service), paleBLUEdot will produce a Draft
Strategic Goal Recommendations Report. This document will provide a high level summary of the key findings
of the existing conditions and assessment, identify preliminary decarbonization pathways, recommend
preliminary measurable greenhouse gas emissions reduction and renewable energy targets for the City, and
suggest preliminary draft strategies to achieve preliminary targets.
To support this critical next step, we will provide a survey of sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions
reduction, and climate adaptation goals from communities and peer organizations throughout Iowa and the
Midwest. We will collect comparable data from our team’s recent and on-going 40+ regional community GHG
inventories, as well as comparable community data collected from the C40 Community Comparison Dashboard,
and the CDP Reporting Dataset. All of these efforts will allow us to assess and present a range of goals for
the City of Waukee to consider as a foundation for a collaborative consensus building on the goals appropriate
for the project.
The Draft Strategic Goal Recommendations Report will be organized by, and include all sectors anticipated to be
addressed by the sustainability plan. The purpose of the report will be to provide a basis to support the collaborative
goal setting process.
Collaborative Goalsetting
Based on the findings of the existing condition assessment efforts, the paleBLUEdot team will work
collaboratively with the City of Waukee to establish goals for the sustainability plan. The goal setting is
anticipated to result in an overarching vision statement as well as strategic goals for each of the sectors
all sectors anticipated to be addressed by the sustainability plan.
In preparation for the City Council Goal Setting workshop, paleBLUEdot will review the Draft Strategic Goal
Recommendations Report with key City of Waukee staff and work together to design the City Council Goal
Setting workshop process. paleBLUEdot will then facilitate a collaborative goal setting workshop with the
Waukee City Council to arrive at final draft goals which will guide the balance of the plan development effort.
The Strategic Goal Recommendations Report will be revised to reflect the final draft goals which are arrived
at in the workshop session.
Deliverables
Draft Strategic Goal Recommendations Report
Goal Setting Workshop Facilitation
Strategic Goal Recommendations Report
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Methodology
Sustainability Plan Development (Including RFP scope items C, F, H, I)
The Sustainability Plan will outline strategies and implementation actions to meet the goals established in the
goal setting process. The planning effort will include Regional and National Best Practice Review;
Sustainability Practices, and Policy Recommendations; Strategy and Action Quantification and Evaluation; and
Sustainability Plan Finalization.
Regional and National Best Practice Review
At paleBLUEdot, through our endeavors in sustainability and climate action planning for communities, we firmly
believe in the power of collaborative development. Crafting community-specific strategies with the diverse
voices of the sustainability subcommittee team has proven to be the most effective planning approach. Given
the vast array of considerations that sustainability and climate action present in our communities, navigating
possible solutions can often seem overwhelming. However, we've found that witnessing the achievements of
others and recognizing best practices can spark innovation within a community and provide a clear vision for
tailoring their solutions. This insight inspired us to develop the ACTIONFinder tool.
ACTIONFinder is a comprehensive database encompassing over 4,000 strategies and actions. It showcases a
variety of community organization, municipal climate mitigation, adaptation, economy, and sustainability
approaches from all corners of the United States. These strategies are sourced from public entities, spanning
diverse communities from nearly every region. Designed as a collaborative instrument, ACTIONFinder aids
sustainability and climate action initiatives, offering a spectrum of strategies, actions, and best practices at
both the national and regional levels.
Sustainability Practices, and Policy Recommendations
The paleBLUEdot team will employ the ACTIONFinder tool to identify and formulate Draft Waukee Sustainability
Actions in alignment with the set objectives. These suggested measures will promote the City's goals for
reducing GHG emissions and achieving renewable energy targets. The proposed steps will highlight potential
new policies and practices for examination regarding their suitability for the City. Within this proposal, these
recommended actions will be categorized by strategy for each Sustainability Plan sector and incorporated into
the later-described Implementation Matrix.
paleBLUEdot ACTIONFinder
Tool Screenshots
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Methodology
Strategy and Action Quantification and Evaluation
For each recommended Waukee Sustainability Plan strategy, the paleBLUEdot team will conduct a range of
quantitative analyses to inform the finalization of measures to be included in the final plan. Specifically, review
will include:
Reduction Potential
Our team will analyze the recommended strategic goal for their GHG reduction potential, their contribution to
one or more GHG reduction targets, and impacts on energy use and vehicle miles traveled or other
sustainability metric. GHG reduction modeling will use paleBLUEdot’s Integrated Inventory Tool which has
been developed and refined through our past GHG modeling on dozens of inventories and climate action
plans. This tool enables our team to directly integrate all strategy GHG reduction potentials with City of
Waukee specific existing GHG data. Note, not all supporting actions are well suited to modeling reduction
potentials, consequently the reduction potential modeling will focus on the strategy level and will provide a
more comprehensive cummulative assessment of overall reduction opportunity.
Prioritization
Once we have the comprehensive list of draft actions supporting the strategic goals established, they will be
reviewed with the City through a collaborative workshop session for prioritization and refinement. Through this
workshop, city staff and the paleBLUEdot team will consider technical and financial feasibility of actions and
evaluate them against collaboratively established action screening criteria. These lists will form the basis of the
draft Sustainability Plan as well as review and input by City staff.
Strategy and Action Measurement and Metrics
Establishing appropriate metrics to measure and track progress against sector goals is key to supporting the
implementation of a Sustainability Plan. Indicators used in tracking progress need to be appropriate to the
goal, up-to-date, readily available, easily understood, and repeatable. As the Sustainability Plan strategies and
detailed actions are finalized, the paleBLUEdot team will establish recommended metrics for each of the
strategic goals against which progress can be measured throughout the plan implementation phase. As
indicated in the Existing Condition Research section of this proposal, paleBLUEdot will identify metrics,
indicators, and data sources which can be drawn from to establish the recommended metrics for progress
tracking. These metrics will be included in the Implementation Matrix described later in this proposal.
Draft Plan and Review
Following the action prioritization workshop with staff, paleBLUEdot will develop a full Draft Sustainability Plan.
The plan will be issued to city staff and leadership for a comprehensive consolidated review. To support the
consolidated review, paleBLUEdot will produce a shared PDF file for staff and leadership comment collection. At
the end of the review period, paleBLUEdot will seek to identify potentially conflicting review comments and
provide staff the opportunity to resolve and finalize revision intent. Once completed, this consolidated review
file will form the basis for the finalization of the Sustainability Plan.
Deliverables
Draft Sustainability Plan
Consolidated Review File
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Methodology
Sustainability Plan Finalization (Including RFP scope items D, E)
Following the consolidated review period, the paleBLUEdot team will revise the Draft Sustainability Plan goals,
strategies, and actions based on the input received, develop a full final Sustainability Plan document with full
plan narratives, graphics, charts, and figures.
Departmental Responsibility Review
With the finalization of the sustainability plan actions, paleBLUEdot will collaborate with city staff to identify a
city department lead for each action. This may be accomplished through a workshop session with key
departmental staff or with a meeting with the City’s project lead to identify preliminary responsibilities which
are then validated by departmental leads.
Preliminary Cost/Benefit Return on Investment Estimate
The paleBLUEdot Integrated GHG Inventory and Modeling Tool includes a cost benefit analysis module. The
module is linked to tool’s GHG reduction modeling modules which calculate estimated energy consumption and
emissions reductions of the Sustainability Plan at the strategy level. The tool can then be used for estimating
strategy level cost benefit calculations using the modeled raw energy consumption savings, and projected rule-
of-thumb investments in relevant technologies such as distributed renewable installations, EV infrastructure,
etc. The resulting calculations can then be broken down to present the projected cost benefit based on
Sustainability Plan sector for those which have measurable strategy level ROI (Transportation, Buildings,
Water, and Waste typically).
Additionally, the calculations include a localized social cost of carbon, enabling projections of avoided carbon
impacts from the Sustainability Plan's GHG reductions. This cost merges the City's current GHG emissions
with local climate change effects on sectors like energy and labor impacts. The outcome presents a localized
carbon impact cost per metric ton..
Note, not all supporting actions are well suited to modeling cost/benefit, consequently the ROI modeling
will focus on the strategy level and will provide a more comprehensive cummulative assessment of overall
ROI opportunity.
Final Sustainability Plan
The final Sustainability Plan will include an implementation and monitoring strategy developed to assist the City
of Waukee in moving forward with the identified plan measures. The plan will identify implementation time
frames for each measure, departments or divisions responsible for implementation, and performance indicators
to monitor progress at the strategy level as well as a preliminary return on investment estimate also at the
strategy level.
Deliverables:
Sustainability Plan narrative report with Goals, Strategies, and Actions
Methodology
Implementation Support Tools (Including RFP scope items J, L)
The paleBLUEdot team will provide a number of tools to support the City of Waukee in launching the
implementation phase of the Sustainability Plan, including:
Implementation Matrix
paleBLUEdot will provide an excel based implementation matrix tool for use by Waukee staff in tracking and
monitoring the implementation progress of all Sustainability Plan strategies and actions. The Implementation
Matrix will include information on implementation responsibilities, timelines, and support on-going progress
tracking for all actions with additional resources provided indicated where available.
The Matrix will include space for annual dashboard/scorecard staff reporting on action status and performance
data reporting and provide a transparent process to monitor and update progress of the Sustainability Plan
actions in-line with appropriate reporting systems. The Matrix will be a highly searchable database enabling
searches by Sustainability Plan sector, strategy grouping, department/staff responsible for implementation,
and by key word/phrase. The intent of the tool is to provide city staff with a “living document” to support
collaborative implementation of plan actions and the development of annual departmental action lists.
Potential Funding
paleBLUEdot shall conduct research into recent trends and examples of local government funding approaches
which may include Public Capital, Government Fee Structures, Taxes, Utility Rates, Private Capital, and other
funding sources. Based on the team’s research findings, paleBLUEdot will identify potential funding approaches
/ sources to achieve the City’s sustainability goals. Our team will then prepare a Funding Sustainability
Initiatives Memo providing a summary review of research findings. The intent of the memo will be to provide a
starting point for the City in exploring and finding funding solutions for its sustainability actions appropriate to
the City of Waukee. The memo will be included in the final Sustainability Plan.
Preliminary Year 1 Departmental Implementation Action List
Ryan Peterson, senior project manager for Bolton & Menk, will advise paleBLUEdot and the City on their
departmental sustainability action list. Mr. Peterson has a successfully gone through this exercise with his
experience as public works director at the City of Burnsville. Ryan Davis will help prepare for the discussion with
the city.
In Mr. Peterson’s past role as public works director for the City of Burnsville, he oversaw that city’s 2020
sustainability plan update, including tasks for departments to help the city meet its sustainability goals. Ryan will
use sustainability action feasibility, department buy-in, and low-cost/high-benefit concepts to help make the
department list as successful and effective as possible for the different departments.
Sustainability Plan Rollout Public Engagement and Survey (Including RFP scope item M)
Based on scope discussions on November 3rd, 2023 with the City of Waukee, the paleBLUEdot team understands
that all original public engagement services outlined in the City’s RFP and included in the paleBLUEdot original
proposal shall be executed by City staff and are not included in this proposal.
Public Survey support services are included in this proposal. The public survey shall be developed and managed
by City staff. paleBLUEdot shall be available to participate a survey design discussion and/or provide a review of
the draft survey and provide suggestions for recommended refinements, if any, based on paleBLUEdot’s
experience in conducting community-wide sustainability related public surveys.
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ATTACHMENT 2
PROJECT SCHEDULE
The time of completion of the scope of services under this Agreement shall be as follows:
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ATTACHMENT 3
SCHEDULE OF FEES
CONSULTANT’S FEE STRUCTURE
THE CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA
RESOLUTION 2023-
APPROVING AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES WITH
PALEBLUEDOT LLC [SUSTAINABILITY PLAN]
IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA
WHEREAS, the City of Waukee, Dallas County, State of Iowa, is a duly organized Municipal
Organization; AND,
WHEREAS, the City Council identified developing a sustainability plan as one of its highest
Strategic Planning Priorities; AND,
WHEREAS, the City issued an RFP seeking a sustainability plan consultant for city operations
and received four proposals; AND,
WHEREAS, paleBLUEdot received the highest rating from the scoring panel; AND,
WHEREAS, paleBLUEdot has successfully completed similar services for the City of West Des
Moines, Polk County, and the City of Dubuque;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Waukee
formally approves the attached professional services agreement with paleBLUEdot for
sustainability plan consultant services.
Passed by the City Council of the City of Waukee, Iowa, and approved the 20th day of
November, 2023.
____________________________
Courtney Clarke, Mayor
Attest:
___________________________________
Rebecca D. Schuett, City Clerk
RESULTS OF VOTE: AYE NAY ABSENT ABSTAIN
Anna Bergman Pierce
R. Charles Bottenberg
Chris Crone
Larry R. Lyon
Ben Sinclair