Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: PURCHASE OF BUDGETED VEHICLES
Date: December 12, 2023
Written by: Craig Scott, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council by Motion authorize the City Manager to approve the purchase of budgeted vehicles and to execute any necessary agreements to carry out the approved purchases, including upfitting, and electric vehicle infrastructure, not to exceed the authorized budget amount by fund.
Background
On May 23, 2023, the City Council adopted the Fiscal Year 2023/24 budget. Included in the budget is funding for programmed vehicle replacements. To meet the City Council’s climate change goals and objectives while simultaneously reducing operating costs, the City has prioritized the purchase of battery electric vehicles if available in any given vehicle category.
All electric vehicles charged at City facilities use 100% renewable Sonoma Clean Power, as all electricity purchased by the City is Evergreen.
Analysis/Discussion
To reduce maintenance costs, improve safety, and lower emissions, the City is continuing to cycle out older vehicles that are reaching the end of their service life. As the City purchases new vehicles, the vehicles and equipment at the end of their service lives are retired and sold per our fixed asset policy.
Vehicles are purchased under a pooled vehicle bid, which generally results in the best possible purchase price. Police vehicles and Public Works utility trucks arrive from the dealer without being “upfitted”. This primarily consists of adding light bars, radios, and other similar items specific to each agency, and therefore is not pre-installed. The upfit is part of the total cost of the car and is performed by a third-party installer. In general, third-party equipment has been very delayed due to general supply chain issues, often delaying the upfit of a car 4-6 months.
For Public Works, the 1998 Ford F800 Dump Truck is not allowed under California Air Resources Board Regulations to be operational as it was to be upgraded to a 2010 or more recent engine model year by January 1, 2020. The City sought to replace this vehicle in 2019, however, the order was never filled due to its eventual unavailability. Staff has cancelled that order and solicited quotes for a new model to be compliant with the air quality regulations. The City’s 2003 GMC C6500 flat-bed diesel truck is also non-operational due to the requirement of needing to be replaced by January 1, 2021. Both heavy trucks will be replaced with complaint internal combustion engine models, as there is are currently no viable battery electric alternatives.
The highest priority vehicles to convert to battery electric are police patrol vehicles, due to their high usage. The current internal combustion engine (ICE) patrol vehicles have an average fuel efficiency of 9 miles per gallon (mpg), are more expensive to operate and maintain than a battery electric vehicle (BEV) and have a lower resale value at end of life. BEV’s also do not emit any emissions and would be recharged on municipal electricity, which is 100% renewable Sonoma Clean Power Evergreen. Although the BEV is more expensive to purchase upfront, based on fuel savings alone, it is expected to be less expensive to operate over its service life. The City has made progress replacing its gas fleet with electric vehicles with currently 6 battery electric vehicles in operation (4 police patrol vehicles, 2 City Hall fleet cars). Two additional internal combustion engine police vehicles are proposed to be replaced with electric in the current fiscal year.
Financial Considerations
In the Fiscal Year 2023/24 budget, the following table indicates the vehicles planned for replacement and the initial amounts budgeted:
Description Water
Fund
Sewer
Fund
General
Fund
Total
CG183PW – Ford – F800 – Dump truck $50,000 $50,000 $25,000 $125,000 CG192PW – GMC – C6500 – Flat bed dump truck $24,500 $24,500 $49,000 $98,000 CA004PD - Ford - Police Interceptor Utility SUV $0 $0 $45,000 $45,000 CA005PD - Ford - Police Interceptor Utility SUV $0 $0 $56,000 $56,000 Total $74,500 $74,500 $175,000 $324,000
With supply chain shortages on some specialized components, general inflationary pressures, and the higher purchase price of vehicles in general, the purchase of some vehicles may need to be delayed to stay within the budget. If budget issues arise, staff will determine which vehicles need replacement this year, and which can be safely and economically postponed to a future year.
If authorized, vehicle purchases would stay within the indicated budgeted amounts in each fund, targeting the highest use and most polluting vehicles for battery electric vehicles.
Environmental Issues
The action of purchasing replacement vehicles does not constitute a project as defined by California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378; therefore, no further environmental review is required.