By KWGS News
Tulsa, OK –
Mayor Dewey Bartlett has announced the contractor selected for the development of the City of Tulsa's Sustainability Plan. The selected company, URS, submitted a proposal for a cost of $276,990.00 and with a timeline of four months. Work on the plan, which will address ways to save energy and make systems throughout the city more efficient, will begin in January 2011 and expect to conclude in summer 2011.
"I am very pleased to make this announcement," said Mayor Dewey Bartlett. "Renewable energy, and the use of more efficient systems that save money, is the way we have to go. This plan will give us a road map for our energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives for the next five to ten years. Energy conservation is fundamental in securing our future and I'm confident that this road map will complement the recently approved PLANiTULSA comprehensive plan."
"Also, the plan will provide us with a list of recommended actions that will significantly reduce the City's energy costs and consumption, help improve our air quality and also position Tulsa as a regional leader in sustainable government."
Brett Fidler, Director of the Office of Sustainability, will be charged with carrying out the plan once URS presents the plan next year. "URS has a lot of experience developing similar plans and I'm confident they will help the City of Tulsa meet its sustainability goals," Fidler said.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) to create the City of Tulsa Sustainability Plan was posted in late October. Twelve companies presented proposals by the deadline date, Nov. 17. A team reviewed the proposals and scored them according to announced selection criteria. The bids ranged in cost from $221,000 dollars to $320,000, and the time frame required varied from 18 months to 4 months.
URS offices in Tulsa and is a publicly owned company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Additional members of the URS team include: Hara Software, Inc, an industry leader in the field of environmental and energy management software; Rex Public Relations of Tulsa, the Public Relations company that assisted with the development of the PLANiTULSA Comprehensive Plan that was approved earlier this year; and the Tejas Verde Group, a company with expertise in developing sustainability plans for large municipalities with particular focus on how to initiate and maintain sustainable development.
The team members have worked on similar projects for such groups as CPS Energy, the Tennessee Valley Authority, The University of California, San Diego, Bowling Green University, Kent State University and cities such as Philadelphia; Toledo, OH; San Antonio and Palo Alto, CA.
Bartlett announced the creation of the Sustainability Department and the appointment of Brett Fidler as Director of that Department in March 2010. At that time, he also announced Tulsa received a $3.8 million multi-faceted grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. Included in the grant was slightly more than $300,000 for the development of a Citywide Long Term Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Plan.