REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
August 20, 2015
FROM: Kerri Donis, Fire Chief
Fire Department
SUBJECT
Title
Authorize the Fire Chief or designee to execute a contract with Mercury Associates, Inc. for fleet management consulting services for Fire Department shop facility needs assessment and fleet operations review
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council authorize the Fire Chief or designee to execute a contract with Mercury Associates, Inc., in the amount of $89,200 for fleet management consulting services for Fresno Fire Department’s (FFD) shop facility needs assessment and fleet operations review.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking qualified consultants to conduct a shop facility needs assessment and fleet operations review for FFD was issued on the City’s website on June 2, 2015, and advertised in the Fresno Business Journal on June 3, 2015. The RFP sought a comprehensive review of the FFD fleet Shop and fleet operations, including an analysis of FFD’s current shop management and operations, with recommendations for the best structure to provide FFD’s fleet services in the future. On July 7, 2015, FFD received proposals from three fleet management consulting firms. After a comprehensive review of the proposals and interview of the two firms considered best qualified for this project, staff recommends that Council award this project to Mercury Associates, Inc., due to its extensive credentials and considerable experience assessing fire department shop facility needs and reviewing fleet operations.
BACKGROUND
FFD’s Fleet Shop is over 100 years old. The Fleet Shop is responsible for managing and maintaining a large, diverse fleet of fire and ancillary equipment, including FFD’s front line and reserve equipment, as well as multitudes of supplemental equipment maintained by the Fleet Shop. The Fleet Shop also maintains the varied equipment carried on the fire apparatus engines and ladder trucks. The front-line equipment which serves FFD’s twenty-six companies on a daily basis consists of 20 engines, 6 ladder trucks, 4 water tenders, 2 brush-type apparatus, 2 type-1 Hazmat apparatus, 2 patrol-type apparatus, 1 rescue truck, 2 personal water crafts, and 2 aircraft rescue apparatus.
To best serve FFD and its extensive fleet, FFD issued an RFP seeking proposals to complete a comprehensive review of its shop and fleet operations, with an emphasis on the need for a modern shop. It also sought proposals that would result in achievable recommendations to provide “best in class” fleet service for FFD.
The RFP Scope of Work specified the following items should be reviewed and addressed:
• Needs assessment for upgrading/replacing the FFD fleet shop
• Fleet organization and operational structure
• Vehicle utilization, preventive maintenance and life cycle management
• Parts operations and inventories
• Use of technology to effectively manage fleet operations
• Fleet funding
Upon reviewing the above, the consultant will identify recommendations for FFD to most effectively provide future fleet services, including an assessment of current shop management and operations compared to other organizational or operational possibilities to determine the most appropriate structure moving forward. Given that the current FFD shop is antiquated, the need for a modern facility is clear. This study is the first step in developing operational and capital recommendations related to fire fleet services, up to and including, the requirements for a new shop facility.
On July 7, 2015, FFD received proposals from three fleet management consulting firms:
• Chatham Consulting, Inc., Chatham, NJ - $58,200
• Mercury Associates, Inc., Rockville, MD - $89,200
• Maintenance Design Group, LLC, Denver, CO - $158,360 (later revised to $129,880)
After a comprehensive review of the three proposals, staff determined that two of the firms offered sufficient experience with fire fleet operations and met the expectations for the FFD Fleet shop project. An FFD selection committee interviewed Maintenance Design Group, LLC, and Mercury Associates, Inc., by teleconference. Subsequent to the interviews Maintenance Design Group, LLC, revised its proposal and lowered its cost because it had included a site review which was not required. Its revised cost was $129,880.
The selection committee determined that Mercury Associates, Inc. should be selected at its proposed fee of $89,200, because it offers the broadest background and experience with fire department shop facility needs assessments and fleet operations reviews. Mercury has worked with more than 600 fleet organizations across the world with particular emphasis working with municipal fleets, specifically with fire departments. Some examples of fire departments with whom Mercury has recently worked are Kent, WA Regional Fire Authority; Orange County, FL Fire Department; San Antonio Fire Department; Montgomery County, MD Fire Department; Vancouver, BC Fire Department; and District of Columbia Fire Department. Mercury claims that no other consulting firm in North America has conducted as many fleet studies for local government organizations as it has. Mercury has worked with 33 of the 50 largest cities in the United States, including all of the 10 largest.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a “project” for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines § 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference not applied because no local business submitted a bid for this project.
FISCAL IMPACT
General Fund appropriations for this project are included in FFD’s approved FY 2016 budget.
Attachments:
Request for Proposals
List of Proposers
Proposal from Mercury Associates, Inc.