Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, August 03, 2021
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A PURCHASE ORDER FOR THE PURCHASE OF ONE VEHICLE FOR THE IN-HOUSE ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL SERVICES USE AT AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $34,000.00 (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
On June 4, 2019, City Council approved the Animal Control field services to be provided in-house. A budget of $128,000 was appropriated to hire an Animal Control Officer and to purchase a vehicle. After a delay due to the COVID pandemic, on January 2021, an Animal Control Officer was hired. The Animal Control Officer was assigned an existing City-owned vehicle to provide in-house animal care and control services to the residents until it recently caught on fire due to a mechanical issue in the engine area of the vehicle on May 10, 2021. Staff is requesting City Council authorization to purchase one vehicle for the animal control use at an amount not to exceed $34,000.00. Once the vehicle is procured staff will coordinate to have the appropriate animal bed apparatus installed onto the truck from a separate vendor. All funds will be drawn from the City’s existing Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. AUTHORIZE the purchase of one vehicle from Fairway Ford, in an amount not to exceed $34,000.00.
2. AUTHORIZE the City Manager to waive the use of a separate written contract approved by the City Attorney and to use the car dealership’s standard purchase agreement.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE any other action the City Council deems appropriate that is consistent with the requirements of the law.
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IV. BACKGROUND
On June 4, 2019, Council approved the appropriation of $128,600 for the City to to provide in-house Animal Control Services. Of this total, $30,000 was allocated for an animal control vehicle. In addition to the cost of the vehicle, staff needed to procure an animal bed to install in the back of the truck. To stay within the budget, staff contacted several vendors to see if they could build an animal bed that would fit in a vehicle we had in our City inventory (a Ford F150 truck). Staff had obtained a preliminary estimate for this apparatus of approximately $17,000 however this was for the F150 that was lost as a result of the fire incident. Prior to the fire incident, Risk Management had recommended the replacement of the existing F150 with the industry “Standard” F250. Currently, staff estimates the cost of the apparatus to be approximately $20,000 for the F250 vehicle and this will be funded through the existing City Council-approved Fiscal Year 2022 Animal Control budget. The total cost of the vehicle including the apparatus is anticipated to be $54,000.
In April of 2021, prior to the fire incident, the City issued an Invitation for Bids (IFB) for F250s to add to the City’s aging fleet of vehicles and Purchasing received the following 2 bids for a 2022 F250 truck:
1. Fairway Ford (San Bernardino, CA) - $33,399.68
2. Watsonville Fleet Group (Watsonville, CA) - $37,671.95
The responses to the IFB were evaluated by staff and the bids received were lower than the quotes received outside of the IFB. Staff will typically seek to procure vehicles from dealerships in the City of Carson; however, there is not currently a Ford dealership in the City of Carson so staff did not pursue this option. It should be noted that car dealer promotions change month to month and the price may fluctuate up or down depending on when the City Council authorizes staff to procure the vehicle.
Per section 2605 (b)(1)(ii) of the Carson Municipal Code, if the estimated value of an individual purchase is $25,000 or greater over a fiscal year, then a separate written contract, in a form approved by the City Attorney, shall be required in addition to the purchase order requirement under subsection (a) of this Section. However, the Purchasing Manager has the sole discretion to waive this requirement. Since car dealership contracts are standard, the Purchasing Manager will waive the requirement for a written contract for the purchase of the animal control vehicle.
At this time staff is requesting City Council authorization to purchase one vehicle for animal control use from Fairway Ford at an amount not to exceed $34,000.00.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for the purchase of the F250 at $34,000 and the animal control apparatus that will be installed on the vehicle at an estimated cost of $20,000 will be drawn from the existing Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Quote from Fairway Ford
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Prepared by: Ken McKay - Public Safety Manager, David C. Roberts, Jr., Assistant City Manager