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Resolution approving the purchase of two advanced life support ambulances; authorizing the City Manager to enter into a purchase agreement with Braun Northwest for the construction and purchase in the amount of $800,573.51; approving the purchase of tools and equipment in the amount of $110,000; and approving the use of $450,000 of encumbered funds from a cancelled 2021 ambulance contract along with $460,573.51 of Vehicle Replacement Funds, for a total amount of $910,573.51. (Richard Walls, EMS Chief)
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WHEREAS, in May of 2021 Council approved an ambulance purchase with tools and equipment amending the Vehicle Replacement Budget in the amount of $450,000; and
WHEREAS, the South San Francisco Fire Department (SSFFD) identified the three builders Braun, Braun Northwest and Demers, selected Braun, and Council approved a contract to build an ambulance with an anticipated arrival of mid-2023 early 2024; and
WHEREAS, considering the long delivery timelines and the age of our ambulance fleet, staff began to look for other vendor options for the purchase of the next scheduled ambulance replacement for Fiscal Year 2022-2023; and
WHEREAS, staff evaluates all aspects of the apparatus that we are selecting, SSFFD staff exclusively dual-role Paramedic Firefighters on our Advance Life Support (ALS) ambulances, finding appropriate storage capacity is a concern, and major historical considerations when reviewing ambulance chassis and manufacturer build are wheelbase, turning radius and clearance; and
WHEREAS, Braun Northwest explained that most manufacturers require a special “ambulance build” or customized transition kit be installed to qualify their chassis for ambulance use, but Ram, however, does not place this requirement on the use of their chassis, and over the past few years many agencies have been transitioning their fleet to the Ram product; and
WHEREAS, when comparing the Ram chassis to that of our current International chassis, the differences were minimal, with the most remarkable being fuel economy, to the benefit of the Ram, and the Ram chassis has a better turning radius and a slightly shorter wheelbase, making it easier to navigate our City’s specific needs; and
WHEREAS, the quoted Ram chassis ambulance price with all fees and taxes is slightly less than $400,287 including all the same specified features as previous builds, and providing a few enhancements; and
WHEREAS, with the support of the Corporation Yard Fleet Services, Fire staff has chosen to select the Ram chassis for our next ambulance; and
WHEREAS, SSFFD plans on purchasing this ambulance through the HGAC-Buy (HGAC), a Cooperative Purchasing Program which assists local governments in reducing costs through government-to-government procurement services and is available to local government entities and qualifying non-profit corporations; and
WHEREAS, as a unit of local government, HGAC assists other local governments with procurement processes by establishing competitively priced contracts for goods and services, and follows bid and purchasing guidelines that align with the City of South San Francisco Municipal Code §4.04.080, Open market procedures for purchases and sales exclusive of public projects, and all of its contracts have been awarded by public competitive procurement processes compliant with state statutes; and
WHEREAS, fire staff was informed by our previous vendor that the ambulance approved for purchase in May 2021 still had no chassis identified for the build and was a minimum of 400 days from production, and given that this was the fifth delay, and with no assurances that the delivery would not be further delayed, staff sought permission to cancel the previous order; and
WHEREAS, staff would like to use $450,000 in funds which were encumbered from the May 2021 cancelled ambulance purchase, and $460,573.51 of the $575,000 in funds set aside in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Vehicle Replacement Budget for a total of $910,573.21, of which $110,000 will be split between the ambulances for the purchase of tools, equipment and technology.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of South San Francisco does hereby take the following actions:
1. Approves the purchase of two advanced life support ambulances in the amount of $800,573.51 and related equipment in the amount of $110,000.
2. Authorizes the City Manager to enter into a purchase agreement with Braun Northwest for the construction and purchase of two advanced life support ambulances, attached hereto as Exhibit A.
3. Authorizes the City Manager to execute a purchase agreement for related equipment.
4. Authorizes the City Manager to take any other action consistent with carrying out the intent of this resolution.
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