SR 01-10-2017 3D
Ci ty Council
Report
City Council Meeting : January 10, 2017
Agenda Item: 3.D
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Bill Walker, Fire Chief , Fire Department
Subject: Award Bid for Purchase of Up to Five Fire Engines and Two Ladder Trucks
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to award Bid No. 4237 to Kovatch Mobile
Equipment (KME) Corporation, a Pennsylvania -based company, for the
purchase of one Type 1 Aerial Ladder Truck and four Type 1 Fire Engines
with options to purchase one additional Type 1 Aerial Ladder Truck and one
Type 1 Fire En gine over a five -year option period; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contract with KME, in
the amount not to exceed $6,366,513 (which includes a 10% contingency)
over a five -year period, with future year funding contingent on Co uncil budget
approval.
Executive Summary
In 2015, the Fire Department responded to over fifteen thousand calls for service.
This purchase would replace up to two Type 1 A erial L adder T rucks and up to five
Type 1 F ire Engines that have reached the end of t heir cost -effective useful life
according to the Fire Apparatus Replacement Plan . In September 2016, the City
solicited bids for the purchase and delivery of up to two aerial ladder trucks and up
to five fire engines. After reviewing the bids received, sta ff recommends KME as the
best bidder for the purchase and delivery of up to two aerial ladder trucks and up to
five fire engines in the amount not to exceed $6,366,513.
Staff recommends entering into a contract with KME to guarantee the pricing as
propose d, with the understanding that a modification would be obtained separately
through the term of the contract to authorize the purchase of additional quantities
and configurations to be specified, in conformance with the contract documents. A
maximum of two Type 1 Aerial Ladder Trucks and five Type 1 Fire Engines would
be purchased under this contract contingent on funding availability.
Background
The Santa Monica Fire Department is charged with providing fire suppression,
rescue and emergency medical servic es to its residents and visitors 24 hours a
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day / 365 days a year. This is currently achieved from four strategically located fire
stations staffing six Type 1 Fire Engines, one Type 1 Ladder Truck, one Type 1
Hazardous Materials (Haz -Mat) apparatus, one T ype 1 Urban Search and Rescue
(USAR) apparatus, two quick response vehicles and a Command Suburban.
Additional apparatus that complete the fleet include two Aircraft Rescue and Fire
Fighting (ARFF) vehicles, four Rescue Ambulances and five utility vehicles and
sedans. Additionally, the front -line engine fleet is supplemented with four 1994
reserve engines and one 1998 reserve ladder truck. The reserve engines have
exceeded their useful life of twenty years and at time of replacement will exceed 23
years of service; the truck will be at the end of its 20 years of service life when the
new truck is delivered. It is imperative to have suitable front line apparatus to
perform day -to -day response but just as important is a reserve fleet of apparatus to
replace front -line apparatus in the event of scheduled preventative maintenance,
equipment failure, or strike -team deployment. Based on the Fire Department’s
apparatus replacement analysis, experience and national standards, every effort is
made to acquire and mai ntain the most reliable, functional and efficient apparatus
that meets both the current and predicted needs of the Fire Department. Reliability of
the front line and reserve fire apparatus is mission critical. Two -thirds of the Fire
Department’s current fl eet has exceeded its useful life.
Discussion
The Fire Department currently has six front -line fire engines ranging in age from six to
ten years of service and one ten -year old front -line aerial ladder truck used to respond
to and mitigate emergency respon se incidents. A Type 1 Engine has a pump with a
500 -gallon water and 50 -gallon foam tank. The engines carry hoses, ground ladders,
wildland fi refighting equipment, rope and technical rescue gear, lighting equipment,
power tools, medical emergency equipment, and various hand tools. A Type 1 aerial
ladder truck is a specialized fire apparatus equipped with an aerial ladder to provide an
elevated stream capability and/or a working platform from which rescue or other
firefighting related tasks can be performed. T he truck also carries an additional
compliment of ground ladders, the “Jaws of Life” tools (Hurst cutter and spreader),
lifting airbags, and other technical and extrication equipment.
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The City replaces heavy Fire apparatus vehicles that have reached the e nd of their
useful life through the Fire Vehicle Replacement Plan within the Capital Improvement
Program. The cost effective useful life of an a pparatus varies based on geography,
utilization, local environment, traffic, starting and stopping periods, work load and
maintenance intervals. Apparatus lifespan and replacement intervals are based on
several factors including age, mileage, and maintenance costs. The Fire Vehicle
Replacement Plan assesses the maintenance to acquisition costs and uses a
maintenance to acquisition ratio of 60% for moving a front -line apparatus to reserve
status and when apparatus is at 100% is should move from reserve status to
retirement. Typical lifespan for a truck and engine is ten years in front -line service and
ten years in rese rve service. However, the Department is experiencing a need to
replace engines at seven to ten years based on a number of lifespan factors. The
engines designated for replacement are four 1994 engines and one 2006 engine that
are currently used by the Fi re Department to respond to all emergency responses. The
new engines will be placed into front -line service resulting in the oldest four engines
being placed into reserve status. The current reserve engines will be retired. The
aerial ladder truck designat ed for replacement was purchased in 1998. The new aerial
ladder truck will be placed into front -line service and the 2006 truck will be moved into
reserve status.
It is to the City’s advantage to purchase all of these units in one combined order to
avoid annual price increases; ensure standardization of fire trucks; save time in
preparing a new solicitation; and maximize the opportunity to coordinate pre -
construction travel in order to realize savings. Lead -time for building these units is
approximately 36 5 days.
The Fire Department’s apparatus is highly specialized and has equipment
requirements based on response capability to respond to multiple call types. The aerial
ladder truck responds to all incidents involving complex technical rescues; it is
avail able for emergency responses resulting from earthquakes and other natural or
man -made disasters. In addition, this vehicle will respond to all emergency incidents
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involving the Expo line train. Unlike other jurisdictions Santa Monica Fire has one aerial
la dder truck which requires a tremendous amount of equipment to be able to respond
to everything from elevator rescues to incidents involving vehicle entrapments. This
response capability requires all equipment to be stored and transported on one truck
due t o the fact an additional resource is not available within the City. The truck needs
to be prepared for all emergency responses and is required to have a large amount of
emergency response equipment onboard. The truck’s storage compartments are
essential fo r easy access to the emergency response equipment.
All engines respond to calls for service at the Advanced Life Support level. Engine
companies respond to emergencies ranging from patients in full cardiac arrests to
traffic accidents with multiple victim s. This also requires full functionality of the storage
compartments to meet the operational needs of any type of emergency response. Any
reductions in size or configuration of equipment compartments would jeopardize the
firefighter’s ability to carry all of the required equipment to respond to any type of
emergency situation.
The four fire stations have space limitations based on the height, width, and length of
apparatus. The size of the stations limits the dimensions of the replacement
apparatus. The s ize dimensions are also important for the maneuverability of the
apparatus based on the city’s compact urban environment. The apparatus must be
able meet the size specifications identified in the bid requirements.
Vendor Selection
In September 2016, the C ity published a Notice Inviting Bids for the purchase and
delivery of up to two Type 1 A erial L adder T rucks and up to five Type 1 F ire E ngine
vehicles required by the Fire Department in accordance with City specifications. The bid
was posted on the City’s on -line bidding site, and notices were advertised in the Santa
Monica Daily Press in accordance with City Charter and Municipal Code provisions. A
total of twenty -one vendors were notified, of which twenty -one prospective vendors
downloaded the bid. Two bi ds were received and publicly opened on October 13, 2016 .
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One no bid was also submitted stating their materials and methodology could not meet
the bid specifications.
Bids were evaluated based on the criteria in SMMC 2.24.072, including price, previous
ex perience, ability to deliver, quality of product, and compliance with City
specifications. These apparatuses are very technical and complex apparatus and
must meet the specifications as identified by the Santa Monica Fire Department. There
are only a few c ompanies nationally that can construct such apparatus to meet
stringent national , state, and local standards. The Fire Department worked actively
with both vendors to identify any bid exceptions and identify any additional costs not
included in the origina l submitted bids.
KME was the only vendor able to meet 100% of the specifications on the apparatus
size, compartment size, and provide an I -QAN stabilization unit on the aerial ladder
truck a required safety mechanism. The size of the engines and truck is paramount
due to the width and height constraints of the apparatus bays where the vehicles are
kept and KME was the only vendor able to meet these specifications. KME was the
only vendor to meet the service center requirements including the required part s
inventory and paint and body department. Based on these criteria, KME is
recommended as the best bidder.
The interoperability consistency of the fleet is also a consideration when awarding the
bid. The Big Blue Bus provides ongoing maintenance of the he avy apparatus fleet.
The Fire Department has two dedicated mechanics who are trained to service the
current fleet. Additional types of apparatus would require additional training and parts
at an additional expense.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The contract to be awarded to KME is for an amount not to exceed $6,366,513. Funds
of $4,523,744 are available in the FY 2016 -17 Capital Improvement Program budget
in account C010170.589000. Future year funding for the additional Type 1 Aerial
Ladder Truck an d one Type 1 Fire Engine is contingent upon Council budget approval .
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Prepared By: Terese Toomey, Principal Administrative Analyst
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Oaks Form
Reference:
Contract No. 10409
(CCS)