DATE: 08/06/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Fire Department
2025-308
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
AUTHORIZATION OF ANNUAL PURCHASE ORDERS FOR L.N. CURTIS AND SONS IN THE AMOUNT OF $378,000 FOR PUBLIC SAFETY EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS
UTILIZING SOURCEWELL COOPERATIVE PURCHASING AGREEMENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks council to authorize the purchase of protective tools and equipment utilizing Sourcewell cooperative purchasing agreements. Each year, the Corona Fire and Police Departments purchase tools, protective equipment, and gear necessary to perform their respective public safety duties. The products offered by L.N. Curtis and Sons meet national, state, and local safety standards and provide safe protective clothing and equipment for firefighters and police officers engaging in their respective operations.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute annual purchase orders and any amendments with L.N. Curtis and Sons.:
b. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to issue a purchase order for Fiscal Year 2026 through Fiscal Year 2028 in the total amount of $378,000 per fiscal year for the Fire and Police Departments, via three fire-related Sourcewell (CO-OP) contracts and one law enforcement Sourcewell (CO-OP) contract. c. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute change orders, and amendments as needed, up to $37,800 per calendar year or 10% of the amended contract amount as authorized in Corona Municipal Code Section
3.08.140(C).
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Turnouts and PPE are necessary protective safety gear for firefighting personnel and are required to fully comply with updated CAL-OSHA and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1971, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting. Firefighting equipment is also needed for fire suppression and responding to emergency calls. Similarly, police protective gear and equipment are essential for the safety and effectiveness of law enforcement personnel. Globe turnout gear was the Fire Department’s standard firefighting equipment, for which L.N. Curtis and Sons has been a vendor to the City in the past.
ANALYSIS:
Staff is recommending that the City continue to use L.N. Curtis and Sons to purchase equipment, turnouts, and other PPE in the coming fiscal years. The vendor has several Sourcewell cooperative purchasing agreements. Sourcewell is authorized to establish competitively awarded cooperative purchasing contracts on behalf of itself and its participating agencies. Sourcewell follows the competitive contracting law process to solicit, evaluate, and award cooperative purchasing contracts for goods and services. The establishment of FY 2026 through FY 2028 purchase orders in the total amount of $378,000 per fiscal year for the Fire and Police Departments would be supported through cooperative purchasing benefits from four publicly solicited cooperative contracts awarded to L.N. Curtis & Sons for public safety tools and equipment. These contracts are:
Firefighter personal protective gear-equipment, Contract No. #010424-LNC, RFP Notice 11/09/2023, Awarded 04/22/2024, Maturity Date 03/27/2028 Firefighting equipment, rescue tools, and accessories, Contract No. #020124- LNC, RFP Notice 12/14/2023, Awarded 04/22/2024, Maturity Date 04/04/2028 SCBA, respiratory, air quality, Contract No. #011821-LNC, RFP Notice 11/30/23, Awarded 04/22/24, Maturity Date 03/29/2028
Police protective gear and equipment, Contract No. #030124-LNC, RFP Notice 01/15/2024, Awarded 05/01/2024, Maturity Date 04/30/2028 Although the purchase of equipment, turnouts, and PPE purchased each fiscal year depends on several factors including the number of recruits hired, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) replacement requirements, and normal wear and tear, the recommended annual amount for this purchase order is consistent with prior years expenditures.
An exception to competitive bidding is warranted for the authorization of annual purchase orders with L.N. Curtis and Sons pursuant to Corona Municipal Code (CMC) Section
3.08.140(C), which states as follows:
“Competitive bidding already completed. When the purchasing agent and the authorized contracting party, with the approval of the City Manager, determine that:
1) A competitive bid procedure has been conducted by another public agency including, but not limited to, another local agency, the state through the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS), the federal government through the General Services Administration (GSA), the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance, or the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA); and 2) The price to the City is equal to or better than the price to that public agency.” By leveraging cooperative purchasing agreements, it allows the City to streamline the procurement process, reducing administrative costs and delays, and maximizing the City's budget by securing collective competitive pricing.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for the recommended actions is available in the Fire and Police Departments operating budget within the general Fund 110 and the approval will result in the establishment of annual purchase orders for FY 2026 through FY 2028 in the total amount of $378,000 per fiscal year for the Fire and Police Departments. Public safety tools and equipment are replaced due to normal wear and tear during fire and police operations and funded through the individual departments’ operating budgets.
Year Total Amount 10% Contingency Total Not to
Exceed
FY 2026 $378,000 $37,800 $415,800
FY 2027 $378,000 $37,800 $415,800
FY 2028 $378,000 $37,800 $415,800
Total $1,247,400
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301 of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Action (CEQA), which states that “operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the CEQA determination” and is therefore exempt from CEQA. This action involves repairs/rehabilitation to existing infrastructure to maintain public health and safety and therefore is exempt from the requirements of CEQA. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: VIOLA VAN, MANAGEMENT ANALYST II
REVIEWED BY: BRIAN YOUNG, FIRE CHIEF
REVIEWED BY: ROBERT NEWMAN, POLICE CHIEF
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Sourcewell Contract 010424-LNC Firefighter Protective GearEquipment
2. Exhibit 2 – Sourcewell Contract 020124-LNC Firefighting Equipment, Rescue Tools, and Accessories
3. Exhibit 3 – Sourcewell Contract 011824-LNC SCBA, Respiratory, Air Quality
4. Exhibit 4 – Sourcewell Contract 090122-LNC Law Enforcement Equipment