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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinances - ORD-06-1349 - 11/13/2006 - AUTHORIZE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT PURCHASE ELEORDINANCE NO. ORD-06-1349 An Ordinance Authorizing Execution of an Intergovernmental Agreement for the Purpose of Purchasing Electric Power for the Municipalities' Needs; Waiving the Bidding Requirements for the Purchase of Electric Power and Authorizing Purchase Agreements for the Purchase of Electricity WHEREAS, several municipalities, the Villages ofLake in the Hills, Huntley and Lakewood and the Cities of Genoa, McHenry and Woodstock, all Illinois municipal corporations, (collectively, "Municipalities") have made or are reasonably expected to make the following findings: A. On January 2, 2007, the State of Illinois is implementing a plan ("Plan") to deregulate Commonwealth Edison; and B. Under the Plan, Commonwealth Edison will no longer generate electricity for its customers, but will continue to provide electric power through its distribution system; and C. As a result of this deregulation, the purchase of electricity will be based on market and auction prices and Exelon, the parent company of Commonwealth Edison, will no longer be the sole supplier of electricity in northern Illinois, resulting in new electricity suppliers being able to compete against Exelon and competitive market forces dictating the price of electricity; and D. During fiscal year 2005-06, the City of McHenry spent $565,200 on electricity for such services including, but not 'Limited to, street lighting, potable water production and distribution and wastewater treatment; and E. Since Commonwealth Edison has had prices fixed for the last nine years by the Illinois Commerce Commission, which will end with deregulation through the Plan, the cost of electricity is expected to rise 20 to 60 percent, according to information received from Commonwealth Edison; and F. Units of government throughout the Commonwealth Edison service area are now looking at ways to enter the market to purchase electric power in order to mitigate some of the economic impact of these rising electricity rates; and G. The Municipalities have concluded that working through a cooperative group and by negotiating directly with electric generation suppliers, the Municipalities will be able to secure competitively priced power at a rate dramatically lower than the rate that will be provided by Commonwealth Edison; and H. Transaction costs of negotiating a power purchase arrangement with third party suppliers may be reduced considerably by acting cooperatively with other units of local government; and Electricity, Page 1 I. Because of the way the bidding process works, the Municipalities' Manager/Administrator/Mayor/President will need authority to approve and sign a contract with an electricity provider which is deemed most favorable for the Municipalities within hours of the bids being received and there will not be adequate time to return to the corporate authorities for formal approval; and WHEREAS, the specified Municipalities have negotiated an intergovernmental agreement establishing the Northern Illinois Governmental Energy Cooperative ("Cooperative") for the purpose of purchasing electric power for the Municipalities' needs at a lower cost than that available through the Municipalities' current provider, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A (the "Agreement"), and it is expected that additional local government bodies may also join this Agreement; and WHEREAS, municipalities may contract and associate among themselves pursuant to Article VII, Section 10 of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 and the Illinois Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, 5 ILCS 220/1 et seq.; and WHEREAS, the Municipalities agree that there may be economies of scale, both in administrative costs and in commodity prices by purchasing electricity together as a group, and that in order to obtain these economies of scale, they must operate together, which is one of the purposes of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act; and WHEREAS, Division 9, Purchasing and Public Contracts in Municipalities of Less than 500,000, of the Illinois Municipal Code, at 65 ILCS 5/8-9-1, requires that contracts forpublic works or improvements be let to the lowest responsible bidder after advertising for bids, in the manner prescribed by ordinance, except that any such contract may be entered into by the proper officers without advertising for bids if authorized by a vote of two-thirds of all the aldermen or trustees then holding office. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the CITY COUNCIL of the CITY OF McHENRY, McHenry County, Illinois, as follows: SECTION 1: That the Mayor be, and is hereby authorized and directed to execute, and the Clerk is authorized and directed to attest, duplicate original copies of the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Municipalities, a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit A. This approval includes explicit waiver of any conflict of interest for the law firm of ZTEo—w7ski, Rogers, Flood and McArdle to represent the Municipalities and the Cooperative in this matter. SECTION 2: The Administrator is directed to take all actions necessary, including executing a purchase contract on behalf of the City, to secure a supply of electricity for the City's municipal needs from either Commonwealth Edison or, if a meaningful lower priced option can be had through the Cooperative, then with the supplier identified by the Cooperative. Electricity, Page 2 SECTION 3: The requirements of 65 ILCS 5/8-9-1, to the extent they apply, are hereby waived regarding the purchase of electricity. SECTION 4: At the first available meeting of the corporate authorities after the execution of the Contract, the Administrator shall report to the corporate authorities the details of any purchase contract. SECTION 5: If any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, sentence or provision of this Ordinance shall be adjudged by any Court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, invalidate or nullify the remainder thereof, which remainder shall remain and continue in full force and effect. SECTION 6: All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. SECTION 7: This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon its passage, approval and publication in pamphlet form (which publication is hereby authorized) as provided by law. Voting Aye: SANTI, GLAB, SCHAEFER, MURGATROYD, WIMMER, PETERSON, CONDON I'7. TT ,.. NONE �.ting J.aj. Absent: NONE Abstain: NONE (SEAL) ATTEST: t Cr,— C /City erk Janice nes Passed: NO"BER� 3, 2006 Approved: NOVEMBER 13, 2006 pjh. McHenry. Ord (Electricity. ord Mayor Susan E. Low Electricity, Page 3 + INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR THE PURCHASE OF ELECTRICITY This Intergovernmental Agreement ("Agreement') is entered into between signatory parties below, including the Villages of Lake in the Hills, Huntley and Lakewood and the Cities of Genoa, McHenry and the Woodstock, all Illinois municipal corporations, (collectively, "Municipalities"). It is explicitly contemplated that additional local governmental entities may join this Agreement at a later date with the permission of the Administrator, as defined below, and without additional approval from the original contracting parties, and that this Agreement shall be binding on any signatories provided that at least three of the municipalities listed above approve this Agreement. WHEREAS, the Municipalities agree that there may be economies of scale, both in administrative costs and in commodity prices, by purchasing electricity together as a group; and WHEREAS, the Municipalities agree that in order to obtain these economies of scale, they must operate together which is one of the purposes of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement Act ("Act") (5 ILCS 220/1 et seq.); and WHEREAS, this Agreement satisfies the requirements of that Act and the Illinois State Constitution (Article 7, Section 10) Now, therefore, the Municipalities agree as follows: 1. To form together as the Northern Illinois Governmental Energy Cooperative ("Cooperative") in order to negotiate an economical power purchase agreement ("Power Agreement') and agree to be bound by such agreement under the following circumstances: (a) This Agreement is for the purpose of purchasing power generation supplies for delivery to the Municipalities starting as soon as economically and practically possible in January 2007, but dependent upon the administrative requirements imposed on Commonwealth Edison and other power retailers operating in the State of Illinois. (b) Each member of this Agreement shall be given one vote for purposes of determining whether to enter into a specific Power Agreement; (c) The Cooperative membership shall be governed by one representative of each member (the "Governing Board"). This Governing Board shall be responsible for researching and identifying market power purchase opportunities, issuing RFPs for potential suppliers and considering the purchase options for the Cooperative all no later than December 31, 2006; (d) The Governing Board shall vote to select the best Power Agreement. A majority vote of the Governing Board shall be required to authorize entry into a Power Agreement. This vote may be taken by telephone or e-mail. (e) The members agree to be bound by this vote for purposes of entry into the Power Agreement for a 17-month period or the balance of the first 17- month Commonwealth Edison auction period if the 17-month period has already begun. This period is expected to terminate on or about June 1, 2008. The Power Agreement recommended by the Governing Board may be for a lesser period than 17 months if advantages are identified. (f) The Cooperative membership agrees to provide the necessary information required to develop bid specifications within one business week of the request being made by the Administrator (as defined below). Failure to provide this information may result in exclusion from the Cooperative at the discretion of the Administrator. (g) With an affirmative vote as described herein, the Administrator may verbally commit the Cooperative membership to accept a Power Agreement and each Cooperative member agrees to execute such Power Agreement binding their respective unit of government within the first business day after the affirmative vote is obtained. (h) All original parties agree to have secured authority from their respective corporate authorities to enter into this Agreement and to execute Power Agreements under (g) above by November 15, 2006. (i) The Cooperative membership agrees to share all costs associated with this transaction, which costs shall be divided between them equally based upon their expected percentage share of the total megawatt contract ultimately agreed upon with the power vendor. (j) The Cooperative membership agrees to obtain waivers of any conflict of interests from their respective boards by November 15, 2006, permitting the law firm of Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle ("ZRFM") to represent them and this Cooperative. (k) ZRFM will represent the Cooperative at the rate of $195.00 per attorney hour, which is a discount of ZRFM's non -municipal rate, and a rate of $100 per hour for legal assistant time. All parties acknowledge this rate will include time and expenses already incurred for researching and creating this Cooperative. (1) The Cooperative membership agrees to place administrative responsibility for this transaction including approval of any new members with the City of Woodstock Finance Director (the "Administrator"), who will report to the Governing Board on administrative matters. The Governing Board may elect a new Administrator or Assistant Administrator at any time. (m) The bidding shall exclude street lights and any franchise accounts. (n) The Parties agree that no single member shall be bound by this Agreement until at least three governmental members have approved its execution by November 15, 2006. (o) This Agreement shall apply only to the first seventeen (17) month bidding cycle. A new Agreement must be approved on any power purchase agreement to be made for the period commencing June 1, 2008. VILLAGE OF LAKE IN THE HILLS: ATTEST: President Edwin Plaza Village Clerk Denise L. Wasserman Date: VILLAGE OF LAKEWOOD: President Julie C. Richardson Date: CITY OF GENOA: Mayor Todd A. Walker Date: CITY OF MCHENRY: 4. Mayor Susan E. Low Date:�'r��r�h� CITY OF WOODSTOCK: Mayor Brian Sager, PhD Date: VILLAGE OF HUNTLEY: Village President Date: U:UschlossbergElectric Utility BiddingUntergoven Agreement doc ATTEST: Village Clerk Janice S. Hansen ATTEST: City Clerk Wendy Shaneen ATTEST: City Clerk Janice C. Pones ATTEST: City Clerk Maureen Larson ATTEST: Village Clerk