The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About04/17/1990, C-4 - A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING SPECIFICATIONS (NO. F90- 1) FOR A 1500 GPM, FOUR DOOR, CUSTOM CAB FOR "'�IIII�IIIIUIII city o f sa l LUIS OBISpo MEETING DATE: al April 17, 1010 Wmage COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEM NUMBE FROM: Michael P. Dolder, Fire Chief SUBJECT: A. Consideration of approving specifications (No. F90- 1) for a 1500 GPM, four door, custom cab forward, triple combination fire engine and authorize. soliciting of bids and contract award by the City Administrative Officer if final bid is less than $230,000. B. Consideration of establishing a purchase and replacement schedule for faire engines with a. projected operating life of 20 years. CAO RECOMMENDATION A. By motion, approve Specifications (No. F90-1) for a 1500 GPM triple combination fire engine and authorize soliciting of bids and contract award by the City Administrative Officer, if final bid is less than $230, 000. B. By motion, approve establishing a purchase and replacement schedule for fire engines with a projected operating life of 20 years. DISCUSSION During the 1987-89 budget hearings, City Council authorized the purchase of a replacement fire engine in 1990 using equipment replacement funds set aside for that purpose. At that time Council also directed staff to, if possible, consolidate the fire engine purchase with other cities to take advantage of group purchase savings. In developing fire engine specifications No. P90-1 Fire Department staff toured numerous northern California fire departments to research the types and quality of products produced by various fire apparatus manufacturers. Towns visited included Redwood City and the City of San Leandro. Both of these cities had purchased or were purchasing new fire engines from Pierce Manufacturing. Redwood City previously purchased a Pierce fire engine and recently placed an additional order based on San Leandro's specifications including additions and deletions.. San Leandro awarded a bid for three fire engines on Jan. 26, 1989. Although 15 months later Pierce Manufacturing would allow the City of San Luis Obispo to participate in the group purchase subject to a 3% price increase and $32,000 for additions and deletions. San Leandro's bid also included a trade-in for three fire engines. Based on the price increase, the trade-in deviation and the $32,000 additions and deletions cost, the cooperative purchase with San Leandro was not pursued further. The most recent bid awarded to Pierce Manufacturing was by the American \- River Fire Protection District in the Sacramento area. However, American River did not competitively bid the purchase of four engines. Staff is, therefore, not recommending to cooperatively purchase a fire _#. A��lli My of san tins OBISpo IIIIIINGe COUNCIL AGENDA REPOW engine with American River Fire Protection District as authorized by Municipal Code Section 3.24. 060 Part E. City Specifications F90-1 (available in the Council's reading file) include the requirements for a 1500 GPM triple combination fire engine that meet the operational needs as well as the geographic and topographical conditions which are unique to the City of San Luis Obispo. The engine built under these specifications will serve the City's�,.needs for the next 20 years (16 years first line and 4 years as a reserve, engine) . Staff has also attempted to shorten the wheel-base of the engine and improve the turning radius as compared to City engines previously purchased in 1979 and 1982. These chassis changes will meet the vehicle capacity requirements of the Fire Department while minimizing the impacts on turning radii and circulation requirements. Historically, the City has purchased replacement fire apparatus on a non-scheduled basis. Past replacement was based on a reaction to mechanical breakdowns after they occurred rather than on a projected life expectancy and planned replacement. As an example, in 1977 two fire engines were purchased at the same time because the existing engines were not capable of being used as first response units and a new fire station was opening. At that time no planned replacement program existed. Consequently, when the City purchased the newest fire engine in 1982, the surplused fire engine was a 22 years old vehicle. The proposed 1990 fire engine purchase will replace a 1964 engine which has been in service for over 26 years. Once the engine order is placed, the manufacturer requires one year to build the engine. Engine-5 will be 27 years old when it is actually taken out of service. Staff is proposing that a replacement schedule be approved as outlined in Attachment #1. This replacement schedule will correct the sporadic replacement of fire engines and will assure citizens that reliable fire engines are always available for their needs. Currently, the City has four first response fire engines and one reserve fire engine. Each of the City's first response fire engines, on average, responds to over 1,000 emergencies each year. In addition, these same fire engines are used during fire inspections and training exercises for a total of 1,500 emergency and non-emergency trips per engine per year. Each fire engine operates approximately 3, 000 hours per year. Based on today's equipment and usage, the projected life expectancy of a San Luis Obispo fire engine is 20 years or less; 16 years as a first response vehicle and 4 years as a reserve vehicle. By following the proposed replacement schedule, the City would purchase a new fire engine every four years. The result would allow the City to maintain a fire engine for no more than 20 years (16 years as a first line vehicle and 4 years as a reserve vehicle) . Engine-1 and Engine- 2, as listed in Attachment #1, are exceptions to the replacement schedule. Extending the operating lives of these two engines is necessary because no comprehensive replacement program existed in the past. i 111111111piIJJlJ city of san-Luis owpo ONGs COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT FISCAL IMPACT: The approved FY1989-91 budget (Pg. D-11, Objective #4) includes a major Fire Department objective to purchase a new fire engine. Funding for the new engine (estimated cost $230, 000) is included in the equipment replacement fund. Opportunities for cooperative purchasing have already been pursued without success. However, efforts in this area will continue throughout the bidding and contract negotiations process. The proposed equipment replacement schedule (Attachment #1) will not impact the equipment replacement fund. Yearly allocations to the current equipment replacement fund are already based on a fire engine operating for 20 years. The proposed replacement schedule formalizes the life expectancy of a fire engine and includes specific dates for placing an engine in reserve status and specific dates for purchasing new engines. The proposed schedule avoids purchasing multiple engines in a single year. CONCURRENCES: The Finance Director concurs that equipment replacement funds ($230, 000) are budgeted for the purchase of a new fire engine. The Finance Director also supports the proposed fire engine replacement schedule which will aid in .forecasting the funding needs of the equipment replacement fund. ALTERNATIVES: 1. Delay purchasing a new fire engine. PRO/CON OF ALTERNATIVES Delaying the purchase of a new fire engine will also postpone the payment by the same time period. However, purchasing delays cannot be longer than a year or two since the current reserve engine is already 26 years old and one year is .required to actually build a new engine. The current reserve engine, Engine-5, has already undergone numerous major mechanical repairs during 1989 and 1990. These repairs occurred during the same time period when Engine-4 and Engine-2 were undergoing major overhauls and preventative maintenance. Delaying the purchase of a new fire engine will severely impact the City's ability to keep four engines operating and available for day-to-day emergency response needs. ALthough a purchase delay is an alternative, it will have significant operational impacts. I -4-3 111111111Mfl city of San tins OBISPO COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT ATTACHMENTS Attachment #1 Fire Engine Purchase and Replacement Schedule Copies of Fire Engine Specifications (F90-1) are available in the Council's reading file. I i Attachment FIRE EH6IHE PURCHASE REPLACMEHT SCHEDULE VEHICLE YEAR BUDGET FIRST LINE YEAR YEARS YEAR TOTAL REPLACED PURCHASED YR. APROU. SERUICE RESERVED RESERVE REPLACE YEARS WITH E-5 1964 18 1982 8 1490 26 E-6 E-4 1977 13 1990 4 1994 17 E-7 E-2 1977 17 1944 4 1998 21 E-8 E-1 1974 14 1448 4 2002 23 E-9 E-3 1982 20 2682 4 2006 24 E-16 E-6 1490 88/89 16 2006 3 2809 19 E-11 E-7 1994 42/93 15 2009 4 2813 19 E-12 E-8 1998 96/97 15 2813 S 2018 20 E-13 E-9 2002 2000/01 16 2018 4 2022 20 E-14 E-10 2006 2004/05 16 2022 4 2026 20 E-15 E-11 2009 2007/08 17 2026 4 2630 21 E-16 E-12 2013 2011/12 17 2030 4 2034 21 E-17 E-13 2018 2016/17 16 2034 4 2838 20 E-18 E-14 2022 2020/21 16 2838 4 2042 20 E-19 E-15 2026 2024/25 16 2842 4 2046 20 E-20 E-16 .2036 2028/29 16 2046 4 2050 20 E-21 E-17 2834 2832/33 16 2058 4 2654 20 E-22 E-18 2038 2036/37 16 2054 4 2058 20 E-23 E-19 2842 2040/41 16 2858 4 2062 20 E-24 E-20 2046 2044/45 18 --2064_- 2 2866 20 E-25