By Greg Hazley
The Naperville, Ill., city council has tabled the award of a six-figure PR contract with Chicago-based Jasculca-Turman Associates to educate the public about the installation of “Smart Grid” technology in the city.
J-TA beat out The Vandiver Group (St. Louis), Hill & Knowlton (Chicago) and Community Energy (Palantine, Ill.) for the $449,000-plus, three-year contract, knocking off H&K in the final round, according to documents provided by the city.
Although half of the contract is eligible to be reimbursed by the federal Dept. of Energy under the federal stimulus law, members of the city council said they wanted $314K whacked from the total cost.
Naperville received $11M from the DOE in a matching grant as one of 100 communities in the U.S. to install the digital technology, which controls energy distribution with an eye on conservation and greater efficiency.
The PR contract covers a communications plan, advocacy, assistance with internal and external inquiries about the technology, and development of a handbook for the public.
J-TA and H&K originally proposed campaigns of $1M-plus and $2.7M, respectively, before final offers of $449,725 and $450K.
Council members questioned the cost to taxpayers and asked the city manager why in-house PR staff can’t handle the assignment, according to the Daily Herald.
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