Gardner City commission recommends plotter purchase, consolidates RECs with KMEA and backs five‑year tree‑trimming contract

The Gardner City Commission on a series of unanimous procedural votes recommended three staff procurement and administrative actions and heard an array of project updates. The commission approved a recommendation to the city council to purchase an HP DesignJet XT 950 MFP for $7,037.87, authorized the city administrator to sign a consolidated KMEA REC management form that adds the city’s Marshall Wind renewable‑energy credits alongside previously authorized WAPA hydro RECs, and recommended awarding a five‑year electric line‑clearance (tree‑trimming) contract to Aspilid Tree Expert LLC not to exceed $65,000 per year for 2026–2030.

The plotter purchase was discussed as an equipment‑replacement and efficiency item. Staff told commissioners that used large‑format machines available on the market lacked full color/printing capability and that the quoted new unit from GFI Copier Solutions represented better value. Chair (S2) read the recommended purchase amount as “$7,037 and 87 pennies,” after which the commission moved, seconded and voted to forward the recommendation to council.

On renewable‑energy credits, staff described the KMEA request as administrative: Gardner already markets the WAPA hydro RECs and the Marshall Wind RECs through KMEA, and the agency asked that both REC sources be included on a single management form. “We own about 2 megawatts of wind turbine capacity,” staff (S4) told the commission, saying those RECs are currently sold through KMEA; commissioners treated the item as a formality and voted to recommend the consolidated signature authority to the city council.

For electric line clearance, staff explained the multi‑year tree‑trimming program covers vegetation management along overhead distribution lines, typically uses rotating service areas and can include work on private property when branches threaten power lines. The commission voted to recommend awarding the five‑year contract to Aspilid Tree Expert LLC with a not‑to‑exceed annual amount of $65,000; staff said the budgeted amounts cover the program through 2030 and that future increases would reflect cost‑of‑living adjustments in later budgets.

Staff also provided several project updates: a municipal building nearing completion, wastewater treatment plant phase 1 on schedule with phase 2 design work planned, transmission‑line cost estimates pending, and ongoing work to replace water lines and manage transformer deliveries (staff reported some transformer deliveries are delayed into late summer or 2027 but said the timing should not hold up other work). Staff added that a meeting with the Grand River Dam Authority about an additional 7 megawatts is planned and that Evergy customers on 167th Street had been notified and invited to the commission’s next meeting.

There were no members of the public present for comment. The commission adjourned after taking the procedural votes; the procurement and contract recommendations were forwarded to the city council or, where noted as staff authority, recorded as authorized by the commission for council consideration.