REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
September 28, 2017
FROM: BRUCE A. RUDD, Interim Director/Assistant City Manager
Department of Transportation
BY: JIM SCHAAD, Assistant Director
Department of Transportation
DUANE MYERS, Fleet Manager
Department of Transportation, Fleet Management Division
CLIFF TRAUGH, Sr. Management Analyst
Department of Transportation, Fleet Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the award of a contract in the amount of $367,607.21 to Ruckstell Sales of Fresno, California, for the refurbishing of three side loading refuse truck bodies (Bid File 9395)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council approve the award of a contract to Ruckstell Sales of Fresno, California, for the refurbishing of three side-loading refuse truck bodies in the amount of $367,607.21.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Department of Public Utilities, Solid Waste Division operates a fleet of 90 side-loading refuse trucks. Several trucks have exceeded their eight-year lifecycle. The Solid Waste and Fleet Management Divisions wish to conduct a pilot program to reduce refuse truck replacement costs by having the existing truck bodies removed, refurbished, and placed onto a new truck chassis. This method represents a cost savings of $53,500 per truck. Competitive bids were solicited to refurbish the existing Heil truck bodies and the lowest apparent responsible bidder was determined to be Ruckstell Sales of Fresno, California.
BACKGROUND
The Department of Public Utilities, Solid Waste Division collects municipal solid waste, green waste, and recyclables from residential customers within the city. The current fleet of vehicles includes 90 residential side-loaders, 11 rear loaders, 2 roll-off trucks, and multiple pieces of support equipment. Solid Waste currently serves over 110,000 households every week. Over the past several years, the Solid Waste has been replacing a backlog of refuse trucks that have exceeded their useful life expectancy. Several side-loading refuse trucks have been in service 12 years, which is four years beyond their recommended eight-year lifecycle. Solid Waste currently purchases trucks that have Heil bodies and Peterbilt chassis. These trucks cost approximately $311,500, before taxes and upfit. The Fleet Management and Solid Waste Divisions have been exploring a truck body refurbishment concept to reduce purchase costs while simultaneously promoting recycling. This program would completely refurbish existing Heil truck bodies to as-new condition. The refurbished body would be placed on a separately purchased new Peterbilt chassis.
Competitive bids were solicited to refurbish three existing Heil truck bodies on July 18, 2017. A single bid was received from Ruckstell Sales of Fresno, California, who was determined to be the lowest responsive bidder with a bid price of $367,607.21. Based on the above bid, a total replacement cost of a truck using a rebuilt body is approximately $258,000 per truck. This represents a savings of $53,500 in comparison to a completely new truck. If this pilot is successful, future trucks may be replaced using a similar method.
The Purchasing Division has approved this contract and recommends Council approval.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378, the award of this contract does not qualify as a “project.”
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not applied because there was only a single bidder for this procurement. However, Ruckstell Sales is a local business.
FISCAL IMPACT
This effort will be funded by Solid Waste Division replacement funds. No General Funds will be used to purchase this item.
Attachments:
Bid Eval 9395
Bid Proposal 9395