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 Quinn Company of Fresno, California, for the purchase of one Caterpillar backhoe in the amount of $181,751 for the Department of Public Utilities, Water Operations Division
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council approve the award of a cooperative purchase agreement to Quinn Company of Fresno, California, for the purchase of one Caterpillar backhoe in the amount of $181,751 for the Department of Public Utilities, Water Operations Division.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Department of Public Utilities (DPU), Water Operations Division is requesting approval to purchase one Caterpillar backhoe in the amount of $181,751. This new equipment will be used for construction projects and maintenance throughout the city’s freshwater system. The backhoe will be purchased as a replacement through a competitively solicited cooperative procurement process administered by Sourcewell.
BACKGROUND
The DPU, Water Operations Division is responsible for delivering safe drinking water to approximately 500,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers over a 114 square mile area. This mission is accomplished through continuous maintenance of the freshwater system, which requires soil excavation. This work is performed with medium-sized backhoes, operated at the Surface Water Recharge Facility, and all over the City of Fresno during large repairs to under-ground utilities.
Currently, the Water Operations Division utilizes a fleet of ten backhoes and three excavators throughout their maintenance teams. Of these units, one excavator has been identified to be replaced as it has served beyond its useful life. The Water Division has chosen to replace this unit with a Caterpillar 420 backhoe. The backhoe will give the Water Division maintenance teams greater versatility and will be more useful performing large soil excavations and repairs.
The new Caterpillar 420 backhoe will be built to a specification similar to existing units, updated with the latest technology to increase fuel efficiency, and continue to meet the Tier 4 final emissions standard. The backhoe will feature a newly developed hydraulic system that allows full operation at a lower RPM, increasing fuel efficiency across all aspects of operation. The City of Fresno has been using Caterpillar 400 series backhoes for more than 20 years and has found them to be reliable and effective.
The backhoe class of equipment is on a ten year or 5,000-hour replacement schedule which has been established by the Fleet Management Division as the optimum replacement time. The unit identified for replacement is over this limit in both age and hours. The General Services Department, Fleet Management Division recommends this purchase based on the needs of the division and condition of the unit identified for replacement.
The equipment will be purchased utilizing a competitively solicited cooperative procurement process administered by Sourcewell. The total purchase price is $181,751, and 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 as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
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, Quinn Company is in the City of Fresno.
FISCAL IMPACT
The source of funding for this project is the General Services Department, Fleet Management Division Replacement Fund and the Water Operating Fund generated primarily by the collection of customer user fees.
Due to global supply chain constraints, the construction equipment industry has faced shortages of raw materials which has created massive under production in many equipment types. This resulted in a lack of availability, causing projects to not get completed within the typical 12-month period. Therefore, the funding for this backhoe was not spent in FY2023 and if approved, the FY2023 funds will be re-appropriated to FY2024 to complete the acquisition.
Attachments:
Cooperative Purchase Agreement
Caterpillar Contract#032119-CAT
Original RFP
Proof of Publication
Proposal Evaluation
Comment and Review