SR 03-26-2019 3E
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: March 26, 2019
Agenda Item: 3.E
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Susan Cline, Director, Public Works, Street & Fleet Services
Subject: Award Bid to Frontier Ford for the Purchase of up to 70 Pickup Trucks
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award Bid #4366 to Frontier Ford, a California-based company, for the purchase
and delivery of 60 Ford F-250 pickup trucks for the Planning and Community
Development, Police, and Public Works departments;
2. Authorize the Procurement Manager to issue a purchase order with Frontier Ford
for the purchase and delivery of 60 Ford F-250 pickup trucks in the amount not to
exceed $3,638,781 for one year, with future year funding contingent on Council
budget approval; and
3. Authorize the Procurement Manager to issue any necessary change ord ers to
the purchase order in an amount not to exceed $891,378 for the purchase of up
to an additional 10 vehicles for an additional 12 months after receipt of the
purchase order, at the same price, terms and conditions. This would result in a
revised purchase order total amount not to exceed $4,530,159, with future year
funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
Staff within various City divisions use pickup trucks for maintenance, hauling, towing
equipment, and other daily operations. This purchase would replace 58 existing pickup
trucks that have reached the end of their cost-effective useful lives through the Vehicle
Replacement Program and would add two approved pickup trucks to the City’s vehicle
inventory to support a new field position and enhanced maintenance services along the
Colorado Esplanade, for a total of 60 vehicles. In addition, staff is requesting the
authority to purchase up to 10 additional trucks, if necessary, to replace units that may
be damaged beyond repair during City activities over the next 12 months. Staff
recommends Frontier Ford as the best and lowest bidder for the purchase and delivery
of up to 70 CNG Ford F-250 pickup trucks for a total amount not to exceed $4,530,159.
This purchase meets the City’s Reduced-Emissions Fuels Policy goals by using
vehicles powered by 100% renewable CNG fuel.
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Discussion
The City replaces vehicles that have reached the end of their cost -effective useful life
through the Vehicle Replacement Program. In December 2018, the City solicited bids
for the purchase and delivery of 62 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Ford F-250 pickup
trucks, or equal, with the option to purchase up to 10 additional vehicles at the same
price, terms and conditions within 12 months of the purchase order receipt. Although
staff bid for 62 vehicles, the City would only purchase 60 vehicles with the option to buy
an additional 10.
The City recently conducted a fleet utilization study to identify areas where the vehicle
inventory could be reduced. After the bidding process was completed, staff determined
that through a reallocation of vehicles, two of the 60 replacement vehicles could be
eliminated from the inventory without replacement, based on the study, which is why
only 58 vehicles are being replaced at this time (this is in addition to the two approved
pickup trucks that would support a new field position and enhanced maintenance
services along the Colorado Esplanade). Due to the reduction in replacement vehicles,
the requested expenditure amount of $3,638,781 is lower than the bid amount of
$3,787,825. The total funding request amount of $4,530,159 is to cover the additional
10 vehicles, if needed, and the cost of their configurations, which are unknown at this
time.
The existing vehicles due for replacement have a cost-effective useful life span of 10
years. The current vehicles were purchased between 1997 and 2012 and are between
seven and 21 years old. The one vehicle that is seven years old is used by Airport
Maintenance staff and is being replaced early due to a combination of factors that
include major mechanical issues. This vehicle does not meet the operational needs of
the department, and the company that performed the electrical conversion went out of
business, making it very difficult to get replacement parts.
To meet the City’s Sustainable Fleet requirement, staff purchases alternative fuel
vehicles that operate on fuels other than gasoline or diesel to reduce greenhouse gas
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emissions and pollution. The replacement vehicles would meet California’s emission
standards, which exceed the basic Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards
that new vehicles sold in all other states must meet. Not all dealerships in California
offer alternatively fueled vehicles. As a result, the trucks the City procures cannot be
purchased off the lot or from a regular dealer. If they were, an unleaded fuel vehicle
would need to have its engine and fuel components removed and replaced with a CNG
system, which can be expensive and is not always an effective option. The alternative is
to purchase vehicles with engines that are pre-built for CNG applications. The City has
made a commitment to procurement decisions that minimize negative environmental
impacts, resulting in a limited number of vendors being able to meet the City’s
specifications and environmentally preferable products.
This is the third bid issued by staff since 2016 for CNG-fueled pickup trucks. The timing
of the bids, coupled with the timing of the approved California Air Resources Board
(CARB) engine certification and the vehicle order cut-off dates, prevented the City from
utilizing the previous two bids. In the first bid, the CARB certification could not be
attained by the awarded sole bidder. In the second bid, the City required bidders to
include the CARB certification with their bid. At the time of bidding, the sole bidder did
not yet have their CARB certification, and the bid had to be rejected. In the current bid,
the vendor’s CNG system installer has attained the 2019 CARB certification for the Ford
F-250 truck.
As CNG tanks with a 15-year life span began to expire and had to be removed from
service, the City bid for rental car services and awarded a purchase order to Enterprise
Rent-A-Car to bridge the gap until a successful truck bid could be established. If this
purchase is not approved, the City will need to pay the current monthly rental rate for a
pickup truck from Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which is $959 per month. Rental costs are
significantly more expensive than the average cost of $138 per month to main tain the
vehicle in-house and the average cost of $506 in monthly depreciation. In addition,
rental vehicles use unleaded gas and not alternative fuel.
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The 58 pickup trucks that would be replaced by this purchase are used by the divisions
listed below:
Airport Maintenance (2 Vehicles): maintaining the Santa Monica Airport, including
brush clearance, towing and placing lighted warning crosses during runway
closures, trash collection along the runway adjacent areas, and maintenance
projects within the airport
Beach Maintenance (2 Vehicles): maintaining the Santa Monica Beach area
Engineering (2 Vehicles): providing various services related to the enhancement
of public infrastructure and management of the public right -of-way throughout the
City
Facilities Maintenance (15 Vehicles): maintaining City buildings and properties,
including the carpentry, electrical, paint and plumbing, construction/remodeling
projects and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC)
Fleet Management (3 Vehicles): ensuring City vehicles and other automotive-
related equipment are available, dependable, and safe to operate
Park Maintenance (13 Vehicles): maintaining and improving the City’s parks and
landscapes, including tennis and basketball courts, athletic fields, and park
amenities
Pier Maintenance (2 Vehicles): maintaining the pier facility
Police Department – Animal Control Unit (1 Vehicle): enforcing local and regional
laws concerning the care and treatment of animals
Promenade Maintenance (2 Vehicles): maintaining and cleaning the downtown
district
Resource Recovery and Recycling (4 Vehicles): residential and commercial
refuse collection, street sweeping, and recycling
Street Maintenance (3 Vehicles): maintaining all streets, alleys, sidewalks, curbs,
gutters, City-owned parking lots, and state highways located within the City. One
of the four vehicles would be an addition to the City’s fleet and be used by a new
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street maintenance crew leader position that was created but was never
assigned a vehicle
Street Signs and Markings (1 Vehicle): installing and maintaining the City’s
network of street signage and street markings, including crosswalks, bike lanes,
and curb markings
Traffic Signals (1 Vehicle): installing, maintaining, and operating all City-owned
traffic signals and associated equipment within the City, including traffic signals,
pedestrian push buttons, pedestrian walk/don't walk audible and visual indicators,
vehicle indications, emergency preemption devices, vehicle and bicycle detection
devices, lighted crosswalks, flashing beacons, vehicle speed feedback signs, and
fiber optic networks.
Urban Forest (1 Vehicle): maintaining over 33,000 trees in Santa Monica’s urban
forest
Wastewater (1 Vehicle): maintaining the City’s sewage system
Water Resources (5 Vehicles): maintaining the City’s water production and
distribution system
The two pickup trucks that would be added to the inventory by this purchase would be
used by the following divisions:
Code Enforcement (1 Vehicle): enforcing City ordinances and state laws regulating
construction activity and the maintenance of buildings and property. This vehicle would
add be an addition to the City’s fleet used to conduct code enforcement duties along the
beach including hauling abandoned vendor supplies off the beach.
Promenade Maintenance (1 vehicle): maintaining and cleaning the downtown district.
Vendor Selection
Bid Data
Bid Posting Date Bid Posted
On
Bid Advertised In
(City Charter &
Municipal Code)
# of
Vendors
Downloaded
# of
Submittals
Received
Date Publicly
Opened
12/13/2018 City's Santa 18 3 01/11/2019
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to award a purchase order with Frontier Ford for the purchase and
delivery of up to 70 Ford F-250 pickup trucks.
Purchase Order Request
Request Amount FY 2018-19 Budget
CIP Account #
Total Purchase Order
Amount
$4,530,159 C7000010.689000 $4,530,159
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Online
Bidding
Site
Monica
Daily Press
Submittals Received Selection Criteria
Frontier
Ford $3,787,825 Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.072
Wondries
Fleet
Group
$3,939,462
Evaluation Criteria
Price, previous experience, ability
to deliver, quality of product, and
compliance with City specifications.
Reynolds
Buick,
Inc,
$4,279,932
Best and Lowest
Bidder
Frontier Ford
Best Bidder Justification
Frontier Ford is the best and lowest bidder, offering up to 70 Ford F-250 CNG pickup trucks
in the current model year that substantially meet the bid specifications, including a Ford
gaseous-fuel prepped engine (CNG compatible), at the lowest price. The vendor has
supplied other vehicles to the City through various bids, with satisfactory results. They were
able to deliver the items bid in a timely manner. These vehicles use CNG fuel, which is
consistent with the City’s Sustainable Fleet Policy.
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Prepared By: Ryan Kraemer, Senior Administrative Analyst
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Frontier Ford Oaks Form