R2026-192 Resolution Authorizing the City of Decatur to Engage Deutsche Bahn Engineering, Consulting, and Operations North America, Inc. (DB E.C.O. North America, Inc.) For Technical Services for Environmental Analysis and Mitigation Related to the

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1. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The City of Decatur, Illinois seeks to retain a multidisciplinary consulting team to develop the technical record necessary to support the City's formal filings in the Surface Transportation Board's review of the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger(STB Docket No. FD 36873) and to document the factual basis for Decatur-specific mitigation requests. The STB accepted the revised merger application on May 28, 2026. UP and NS were required to file supplemental information by July 27, 2026, after which the STB will issue a merits comment schedule. The City of Decatur filed Notices of Participation. A separate discovery order(Decision No. 24,June 18, 2026) is now in effect; discovery-related tasks will be coordinated through the City's separately retained STB legal counsel. The merger poses documented, quantifiable impacts on Decatur.The NS merger plan projects a reduction of approximately 161 cars per day through the Decatur flat yard.The NS locomotive shop — a significant source of railroad employment in the community —faces potential relocation or consolidation. Major industrial shippers including ADM and Caterpillar face reduced rail competition and captive shipper exposure. At-grade crossings throughout the city create emergency response, safety, and mobility risks that may be exacerbated by changes in train operations. The scope of this RFP is deliberately focused: the City seeks only the analysis necessary to support an effective STB merits comment filing and a mitigation request commensurate with documented impacts. Work products that serve primarily public communication, long-range planning, or grant development purposes are outside this scope.Those needs will be addressed separately. The City is seeking one prime firm to manage and integrate all workstreams.The prime firm serves as single point of contact, manages all subconsultants, and delivers one integrated work product. The City will not manage multiple separate consultant relationships for this engagement. The City will conduct this procurement as a Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) process: proposals will be ranked on qualifications alone, with cost proposals opened and negotiated only after ranking, consistent with the federal Brooks Act(40 U.S.C. §§1101-1104). Act exempts home rule units.The City is adopting this approach as a matter of policy to preserve maximum flexibility should federal funding become available for this or related work in the future. 9