REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GREGORY A. BARFIELD, M.A., Director
Department of Transportation
BY: FRANK PETER, Fleet Manager
Department of Transportation/FAX Maintenance
BRYANT KENNEDY, Fleet Operations Specialist
Department of Transportation/FAX Maintenance
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the award of a cooperative purchase agreement to Northwest Bus Sales, Inc. for the purchase of nine (9) medium-accessible paratransit cutaway unleaded vehicles in the amount of $1,178,430.00 plus any applicable sales tax.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve the award of a cooperative purchase agreement to Northwest Bus Sales, Inc. for the purchase of nine (9) medium-accessible paratransit cutaway unleaded vehicles in the amount of $1,178,430.00 plus any applicable sales tax.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
[The Department of Transportation/FAX seeks to purchase nine (9) 22’ Endera 8-passenger/four wheelchair E-450 paratransit buses to be used to provide Handy Ride service. The new vehicles will replace existing vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, which will help to improve the quality and reliability of the paratransit service. The Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (WA DES) Cooperative Purchase Agreement with Northwest Bus Sales, Inc. is available to the City of Fresno to purchase the necessary paratransit buses. FAX staff have conducted an evaluation of this cooperative purchase agreement and has determined that it meets both City and Federal purchasing requirements at a competitive cost for the City.
BACKGROUND
The FAX Handy Ride paratransit service provides over 160,000 annual trips to disabled residents in the Fresno area. Handy Ride currently operates fifty-five (50) vehicles to provide service. Funding for paratransit bus procurement becomes available periodically from various sources including federal allocations from the 5310 and 5339 programs, and California State Proposition 1B grants. FAX has budgeted to replace a total of nine (9) paratransit buses in FY25, all of which are past their useful lives (FTA guidelines are ten years or 250,000 miles) and are very costly to maintain. The vehicles to be replaced range from nine to ten years old with over 250,000 miles each. The replacement of buses as they reach the end of their useful life is critical to sustaining high performance, safety, reliability, cost effectiveness, and positive image of the FAX Handy Ride paratransit service. In previous years, funding constraints have required FAX to retain Handy Ride vehicles for longer than the ten-year life cycle target. FAX has worked to keep the existing buses running but has suffered increased maintenance costs.
To address the aging Fleet issue FAX developed a replacement plan to forecast the purchase of vehicles. 24 percent of the vehicles are above the FTA’s ten-year useful life guideline and more than 250,000 miles have been acquired on them. Almost 20 percent of vehicles are around 215,000 miles mark and will soon be reaching the FTA’s guidelines of replacing vehicles at 250,000 miles completed. The approval of this purchase agreement will reduce the average age and mileage of the Handy Ride vehicle fleet.
Washington State Transit Bus Cooperative is a “Government-to-Government” procurement service for States, State Agencies, Local Governments, Districts, Authorities and qualifying Not-for-Profit Corporations. Washington State Transit Bus Cooperative acts on behalf of members and solicits competitive offerings for the furnishing of products/and or services. Agencies using the program can issue purchase orders directly to contractors. The Washington State Transit Bus Cooperative, managed by the Department of Enterprise Services (DES), facilitates the procurement of various transit vehicles through a competitively awarded contract. The contract, initiated in January 2021 and valid through March 2023 with the option for three one-year extensions, includes a broad selection of buses, including heavy-duty, light-duty, and specialty vehicles, with various propulsion options like diesel, natural gas, hybrid, and electric.
FAX obtained a copy of the contract and the vendor’s proposal and conducted an evaluation to determine if the contents of the cooperative purchase meet both City and Federal requirements. The cooperative purchase was competitively bid as described above. As a member, the City of Fresno is permitted to exercise options from the cooperative purchase. The cooperative purchase contains all the necessary federal conditions and certifications which were executed at the time of the original bid. A price analysis was carried out, and the cost was determined to be fair and reasonable. The cooperative purchase agreement conforms to the requirements of FTA C 4220.1F, Chapter IV, 2(14)(i), that dictates that rolling stock agreements must not exceed the five-year term limit.
It is the recommendation of staff that City Council approve the award of a cooperative purchase agreement to Northwest Bus Sales, Inc. via piggybacking from WA DES’ agreement (06719) to procure nine (9) 2024 22’ foot, Endera 8-passenger/four wheelchair E-450 paratransit buses.
The Purchasing Division has approved the use of the cooperative purchase agreement and recommends Council to approve.
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This purchase agreement approval is not a “project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guidelines § 15378
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not implemented because this is a cooperative purchase agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
This project was included in the FAX FY25 budget. The vehicle purchase will be funded with federal grant dollars, through a combination of programs 5310 (Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities) and 5339 (Bus and Bus Facilities). The local match for the federal funding will be drawn from FAX Enterprise funds. This purchase will not impact the General Fund.
Attachments:
Washington DES Cooperative Purchase Agreement No. 06719
CPA Amendment 5
Northwest Bus Sales Quote
Original Solicitation
Proof of Publication
Formal Cooperative Purchase Agreement