Rochelle Approves Steel Pole Contract and Temporary Construction Easement

ROCHELLE — The City of Rochelle will be looking to approve a contract with Micheal’s Electric out of Crystal Lake at a future meeting for construction of the new poles and power lines for the Ritchie Road to Centerpoint Substation. At the Rochelle City Council meeting Monday night, Blake Toliver, Superintendent of the Rochelle Municipal Utilities, said they brought in a consultant, BHMG, who determined that the lowest bid received was from a company they felt would not be able to handle a project of that magnitude. Toliver also noted they would be going with TAPP, Inc for the purchase of the steel poles for $1.475 million, which was around $200,000 higher than the low bid. BHMG and Toliver expressed concerns that the company with the lowest bid would be sourcing the steel for the poles from China, and the city could be subject to additional tariff expense. TAPP, Inc. would be sourcing the materials from the USA, with an expected 65 week delivery time. The city also approved a temporary construction easement of 4.876 acres from Richard and Doris Kennay Trust for two years to support material storage and construction of the Centerpoint Substation. Both projects are funded through the city’s electric operations budget. Toliver said that the total build could be around $20 million due to elevated raw material prices.