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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 3.E 09/12/2016Agenda Item #3.E DATE: September 12, 2016 &41— TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council through City Manager FROM: Leonard C. Thompson, Fire Chief SUBJECT: Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of Two Demonstration Emergency Type I Ambulances from Braun Northwest Inc., Chehalis, WA in the Amount of $360,810.24 RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council approve the attached Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of Two Demonstration Emergency Type I Ambulances from Braun Northwest Inc., Chehalis, WA in the Amount of $360,810.24. BACKGROUND Emergency medical service requests are on the rise in Petaluma and that equates to significant wear and tear on ambulances and other front -line vehicles. Historically, the Fire Department tried to maintain a six -year replacement schedule on its two front -line ambulance units. In order for the six -year replacement cycle to be met, an older unit is rotated into reserve status and one new ambulance would be purchased every three years. Due to economic conditions, the City has been unable to maintain that replacement cycle and is having to slowly bring the Fire Department's ambulance fleet into a more reliable state. The last two ambulances purchased were in 2012 and 2013. The purchase of two more Type I ambulances will create a reliable front- line and reserve status fleet, for the time being. In order to meet the immediate need for these two new front -line ambulances, and to work within the City's limited funding, the Fire Department recommends purchasing two base model demonstration (demo) units which are available immediately (for delivery in December) at a discount over the cost of purchasing two custom built ambulances. DISCUSSION The Fire Department currently has four ambulances: two in "front- line" status and two in "reserve" status. A reserve ambulance is a former front -line unit and can be placed in- service again as a front -line vehicle during planned events such as routine maintenance, during times of high demand, local 911 system overload, mutual aid support for community events, unplanned mechanical failure, etc. Reserve units are typically older models with higher mileage. In both 2012 and 2013, the City received a new Type I ambulance from Braun Northwest, Inc. to replace its aging front -line fleet. Already, the 2012 Braun (referred to as Medic 991 and housed at Station 1) has 106,500 miles on it and the 2013 Braun (referred to as Medic 993 and housed at Station 3) has 86,000 miles logged. Those two new units replaced a 2003 and 2006 model, respectively, which were then placed into reserve status. With this new purchase, the current front -line vehicles (aged 2012 and 2013) will move into reserve status to join the 2006 unit, and the oldest reserve medical unit (aged 2003 with 243,000 miles logged) most likely will be surplused. The result will leave the Fire Department with three reserve medical units available for use as may be required. It is anticipated that the newer of the reserves will be designated as the vehicle utilized for the new third ambulance program. That program will soon run with non - sworn, part -time Emergency Medical Technicians out of Station 2 three days a week, twelve hours a day. That unit will shadow the Advanced Life Support (ALS) units on all calls to offer assistance when a medical aid only needs Basic Life Support intervention. With the growing number of emergency medical service incidents each year (2013 =3626; 2014 =3826; 2015 =4169) and the rate of growth within Petaluma's Emergency Operating Area, adding an additional operating ambulance to Petaluma's 911 system is a smart, fiscal decision and will lessen the burden on the two regular ALS units. With regard to purchasing, two new units built to the Fire Department's custom specifications would normally be purchased through a formal, competitive bidding process, would require a fabrication -to- delivery time schedule of nearly a year and would increase the proposed cost by thousands of dollars over the demonstration ambulances. The opportunity to take possession of the vehicles through a demo purchase is essential to getting the units in the stations and on the streets in the shortest amount of time. In addition, because of the relatively few demo vehicles available, as well as the demand for them, demo ambulances come and go too quickly to be considered in a standard bid process. Purchase of the identified demo vehicles has been considered under Petaluma Municipal Code Section 4.04.050: "The procedures set forth in Sections 4.04.080 and 4.04.090 may be dispensed with only when an emergency requires that an order be placed with the nearest available source of supply, when the commodity can be obtained from only one vendor or when purchase is pursuant to Section 4.04.100. " This item meets the exceptions stated in the purchasing ordinance because of the factors stated below. There are currently two available demo units located near our area that are identical to the City's last two purchased ambulances and meet the Fire Department's requirements. Utilizing a vendor that can provide very similar products to what is already in use provides consistency to crew members who are not always assigned to the same rig. Similar platforms, with similar configuration and tool locations, create a second - nature comfort and the stress of moving between rigs is eliminated. The purchase is considered an emergency purchase because of the immediate need for replacement given the service challenges caused by the age, condition and prior usage of the existing reserve vehicles. On February 11, 2016, the City, unfortunately, had a situation where, for three hours, Medic 991 was the only ambulance in service in the City. Medic 993 experienced a blown turbo which necessitated a warranty repair so Medic 992 was called into service where it was soon discovered that the Code 3 lights were nonfunctioning and it too had to go out of service for repair. Medic 994 was brought in and due to transmission issues it had to be limped to the Petaluma City Schools Bus Yard for repair. Two personnel assigned to Medic 993 drove to Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue in Sonoma after midnight on February 12th to borrow one of their reserve ambulances until repairs were made to Petaluma's broken fleet. The increased maintenance and rates of breakdown make existing reserve vehicles less dependable for response to a variety of emergency incidents and, if not remedied, could place firefighters, EMT's, paramedics, patients and patient family members at an increased risk. The nearest identified vendor for immediate availability of two suitably equipped demo ambulances is Braun Northwest, Inc. Their demo ambulances meet the dual Firefighter /Paramedic specifications. The City has also been informed that the vehicles are offered on a first come, first served basis and the units are also being offered to other agencies. Braun Northwest has agreed to hold these units for Petaluma only until mid - September at which time they will require a signed proposal of acceptance in order to hold the two for Petaluma until the completion of their demonstration periods. This proposal meets City Council's "Financial Stability - Improve and Enhance Fiscal Stability and Sustainability" goal, by utilizing demonstration (slightly used) vehicles. FINANCIAL IMPACTS The total cost for the two Braun Northwest ambulances is $360,810.24, and includes the base ambulance cost, tax and essential equipment (emergency medical equipment, radios, etc.). 90% of the cost ($324,729.21) is due upon delivery with the remaining 10% ($36,081.03) due and owing 30 days after delivery. Funding for this acquisition will come from a City Council- approved loan from the Wastewater Utility Fund (Resolution 2016 -073 N.C.S. dated May 16, 2016 and Resolution 2016 -106 N.C.S. dated July 11, 2016). A principal loan amount not to exceed $3,025,000 was approved to augment the Vehicle and Equipment Replacement Fund for the purchase of critical public safety vehicles and equipment. Two ambulances, along with twenty other public safety vehicles, were included on a short list of prioritized, essential vehicles needing replacement within the next five years. Without the use of this loan source, the Fire Department would have no other budgetary means to fund this purchase. ATTACHMENT(S) 1. Resolution. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF TWO DEMONSTRATION EMERGENCY TYPE I AMBULANCES FROM BRAUN NORTHWEST INC., CHEHALIS, WA IN THE AMOUNT OF $360,810.24 WHEREAS, as part of the 2016 -2017 Vehicle and Equipment Replacement Program, the Fire Department identified an immediate need for two emergency Type I ambulances; and WHEREAS, the funding for the desired demonstration emergency Type I ambulances is available from the Vehicle and Equipment Replacement Fund which is being funded by a loan from the Wastewater Utility Fund via Resolution 2016 -073 N.C.S. and Resolution 2016- 106 N.C.S.; and WHEREAS, due to economic conditions, the City's fleet replacement fund has been unable to consistently meet the optimum fleet replacement cycle for ambulances; and WHEREAS, two demonstration ambulances have been located at Braun Northwest Inc., Chehalis, WA, the closest available supplier of vehicles which meet all of the Petaluma Fire Department specifications for dual role Firefighter /Paramedic emergency response and which can be delivered by December, 2016; and WHEREAS, demonstration ambulances are one -of -a -kind vehicles, already fabricated for show and demonstration purposes; and WHEREAS, Petaluma Municipal Code Section 4.04.050 provides that "The procedures set forth in Sections 4.04.080 and 4.04.090 may be dispensed with only when an emergency requires that an order be placed with the nearest available source of supply, when the commodity can be obtained from only one vendor or when purchase is pursuant to Section 4.04.100' ; and WHEREAS, there is an immediate and urgent need for additional front -line ambulances, and the nearest vendor for suitably, and similarly, equipped ambulances to meet the City's specifications are the demonstration ambulances available from Braun Northwest, Inc., Chehalis, WA; and WHEREAS, there have been increased maintenance needs and service issues with the City's older reserve emergency vehicles resulting in inadequate access to equipment, and newer, dependable reserve vehicles are needed to continue responding to a variety of emergency incidents; and WHEREAS, the current 2012 and 2013 front -line ambulances would be welcomed additions to the reserve fleet and would therefore create an immediate need for two new front -line ambulances and the nearest vendor for two suitably- equipped ambulances to meet the Department's Firefighter /Paramedic specifications are the demonstration ambulances available from Braun Northwest, Inc., Chehalis, WA. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council authorizes the purchase of two demonstration emergency Type I ambulances from Braun Northwest, Inc., Chehalis, WA in the amount of $360,810.24.