REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: BRIAN BARR, Director
General Services Department
BY: MIGUEL RAMIREZ, Senior Management Analyst
General Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the award of a Cooperative Purchase Agreement to Ruckstell Sales Co., Inc. of Fresno, California for the purchase of 15 Peterbilt model 520 refuse trucks in the amount of $7,879,800 for the Department of Public Utilities Solid Waste Management Division
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council approve the award of a Cooperative Purchase Agreement to Ruckstell Sales Co., Inc. of Fresno, California for the purchase of 15 Peterbilt model 520 refuse trucks in the amount of $7,879,800.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Department of Public Utilities, Solid Waste Management Division, is requesting approval to purchase 15 Peterbilt 520 refuse trucks. All 15 units will replace aging vehicles currently in the fleet. Of the 15 units requested, 13 will be side loading refuse trucks equipped with 30-yard Heil Python bodies and two will be rear loading refuse trucks with 27-yard Heil bodies. The units will be purchased through a competitively solicited cooperative procurement process administered by Sourcewell (a State of Minnesota local government agency).
BACKGROUND
The Department of Public Utilities, Solid Waste Management Division, is responsible for providing sanitation services to over 111,000 residential customers across a 112 square-mile service area. These services include the collection of municipal solid waste, recyclables, green waste, and bulk item removal through programs such as Operation Clean-up, litter control, and FresGO. In total, 80 sanitation operators travel nearly 1.1 million miles each year, making over 17 million stops and collecting more than 239,000 tons of material annually from residential collection services. In 2024 alone, Operation Clean-up removed over 20,900 tons of discarded lumber, appliances, and other bulky refuse items that would otherwise have ended up in landfills.
To accomplish this mission, the Solid Waste Management Division operates 105 refuse collection trucks throughout the city. The Fleet Management Division has identified the Heil bodied Peterbilt 520 refuse truck as the preferred unit to perform these varied activities. The City of Fresno has been using Heil bodies in the fleet for over 20 years and has experienced success in the functionality and durability of this product. The new Peterbilt 520 refuse trucks will be powered by Liquid Natural Gas, which has proven to be both economical and environmentally conscious. The equipped L9N “Near Zero” engines produce only one tenth of the allowable NOX greenhouse gas emissions and meet the latest EPA standards set in 2017 for this type of equipment.
This purchase complies with the City’s plan for the transition of the municipal fleet to zero-emission as required by the California Air Resource Board’s Advanced Clean Fleets regulation. Municipal fleet vehicles assigned to the Department of Public Utilities shall transition to zero emission technologies utilizing the Milestone compliance pathway. Under the Milestone compliance pathway, internal combustion vehicles may still be purchased under the condition the department still meets its prescribed zero emission transition percentage which is based upon its total fleet size. For 2025, the zero emission transition percentage has been met with other vehicle purchases within the department. By 2030 the Department of Public Utilities is required to have converted 10% of equipment specifically within this vehicle class to zero emission. Electric refuse trucks are available, however internal testing has shown they cannot reliably complete the daily service needs for vehicle mileage and bin pickups.
The equipment will be purchased through a competitively solicited cooperative procurement process administered by Sourcewell. The purchase price per unit for the side loading refuse truck is $537,270 and $447,652 for the rear loading refuse truck. This price includes the Sourcewell discount applied to city purchases as well as delivery and sales tax at 8.35%. The Purchasing Division has approved this contract and recommends Council to approve.
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, the award of this contract does not qualify as a “project” as defined by CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable because this is a cooperative purchase. However, Ruckstell Sales Co., Inc. is a local business as defined by the FMC.
FISCAL IMPACT
No general funds will be used to purchase these units.
The 15 Peterbilt 520 refuse trucks will be financed through the Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement (MELPA) with the first payment estimated to be $888,745 expected in FY2027. The lease payment schedule will be included in the annual budget request for appropriations under the operations of the Department of Public Utilities, Solid Waste Management Division. The source of funding for this project is the Community Sanitation Fund, generated by the collection of customer user fees.
Attachments:
Cooperative Purchase Agreement
Heil Contract #110223-THC
Original RFP
Proof of Publication
Proposal Evaluation
Comment and Review
Quote