Public Works and Transportation Committee April 22, 2025 AGENDA REPORT TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM:Josh Rowan City Administrator Interim Director, OPW SUBJECT:Critical Sewer Division Flusher TrucksAcquisition DATE:April 14, 2025 City Administrator Approval Date: RECOMMENDATION Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Awarding A Contract To Owen Equipment Sales, A Vactor Manufacturing Local Authorized Dealer, In The Amount Not To Exceed One Million Five Hundred Thousand ($1,500,000) Dollars For The Purchase Of Two (2) Sewer Flusher Trucks, In Accordance With Oakland Municipal Code Section 2.04.080, Procurement Through The Use Of A Cooperative Purchasing Agreement (Sourcewell Contract No. 101221-VTR); And Adopting California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Exemption Findings EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Sewer Maintenance Division of Oakland Public Works (OPW) is responsible for performing preventive maintenance to over 932 miles of sewer mains, ranging from six inches to over 66 inches in diameter and responding to sewer emergencies. The City of Oakland (City) is currently operating under a Federal Consent Decree (Case Number C 09-00186-RS and C 09-05684-RS) (Consent Decree) requiring the City to clean 184 miles sanitary sewer mains per year and inspect (CCTV) 92 miles of sanitary sewer pipe each year. To comply with this mandated operation, Sewer Maintenance must have adequate quantities of fully functional equipment. Due to aging vehicles and equipment, the Sewer Maintenance Division is currently operating at only 50% of its capacity, and is in danger of failing to meet the Consent Decree minimum requirements. This proposed resolution would allow the City to purchase two sewer flusher vehicles to be used by OPW emergency first responders to service and clean the City’s 934 miles of sanitary sewer pipe and clean up after harmful Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO). The two new flusher units are equipped with the latest safety and technology features and will serve as force multipliers for the existing sewer staff. Therefore, timely acquisition of the division equipment is essential to ensure City is operating in compliance with the mandated Consent Decree operation Jestin Johnson (Apr 16, 2025 17:00 PDT)
Apr 16, 2025
Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Critical Sewer Division Flusher Truck Acquisitions Date: April 14, 2025 Page 2 Public Works and Transportation Committee April 22, 2025 and to ensure continuity and responsiveness of the City’s emergency services to the public related to sewer spill response and sanitary sewer issues. These goods and services commodities are commonly procured through cooperative agreements, as provided for under Oakland Municipal Code (OMC) 2.04.080, where advantageous for the City, the City Administrator may purchase supplies or services as defined in Section 2.04.010, through legal contracts of other governmental jurisdictions or public agencies that were awarded pursuant to an appropriate competitive process without further contracting, solicitation, or formal bidding. OMC 2.04.080 provides broad authority for the City Administrator to efficiently procure goods and services through cooperative agreements and sets no limit on the dollar threshold of cooperative agreements that may be entered into by the City Administrator, whereas as per OMC 2.04.030 the City Council may award any purchase orders or contracts in excess of City Administrator's Authority. REASON FOR URGENCY It is urgent for the City to secure vendor’s offered prices by issuing a Contract Purchase Agreement no later than May 15, 2025, prices beyond this date are mostly likely to increase significantly due to the new import tariffs. BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY Per 2014 Federal Consent Decree (Case Number C 09-00186-RS and C 09-05684-RS), City Sewer Maintenance Division must operate under the Sewer Consent Decree, and to comply with this mandated operation, Sewer Maintenance Division must have adequate quantities of fully functional vehicles and equipment. Oakland Municipal Code (OMC) 2.04.080 articulates that where advantageous for the City, the City Administrator may purchase supplies or services as defined in Section 2.04.010, through legal contracts of other governmental jurisdictions or public agencies that were awarded pursuant to an appropriate competitive process without further contracting, solicitation, or formal bidding. Sourcewell Contract is a government cooperative purchasing program which manages the solicitation requirements, bids, and awards contracts to the most qualified suppliers with lowest price, and through this cooperative agreement the City can access the lower pricing, typically the best available. Vactor Manufacturing is specialized in producing Sewer Cleaning Equipment’s was awarded a Cooperative Agreement Sourcewell Contract No. 101221-VTR for Sewer Vacuum, Hydro-Excavation, and Municipal Pumping Equipment. The contract term is from December 20, 2021 to November 29, 2026. As the manufacturer, Vac-Con Inc. does not perform direct sales. Thus, Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Critical Sewer Division Flusher Truck Acquisitions Date: April 14, 2025 Page 3 Public Works and Transportation Committee April 22, 2025 they will authorize a local dealer to perform the sale. Owen Equipment Sales receives authorization as the local dealer to sell the Vactor Equipment at the contract price, which has been bid out competitively. Procuring the sewer flusher trucks from Owen Equipment Sales ensures that the City is getting the best available price. ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVESThe OPW Sewer Division has eight (8) combination; hydro-flusher, jet vacuum, CCTV truck, and root cutter vehicles. Due to discontinued and otherwise difficult to obtain replacement parts, three of the eight units are currently inoperable, and one aged unit may become inoperable at any time. These critical emergency response vehicles are used to keep sewer main clear from debris and root. With three units currently out of service and one that may fail and become out of service at any time, the Sewer Maintenance Division frequently operates with only 50% capacity. Failure to purchase this sewer emergency response equipment immediately increases the risk of sewer main blockages, and the resulting Sanitary Sewer Overflows that release biological waste and cause sanitary issues throughout the City. This may result in the City not being in compliance with the Federal Consent Decree. The use of cooperative agreements allows the City to ensure services are uninterrupted and provides the City with access to commodities and services at the lowest prices. This results in significant cost savings for the City, and it will significantly shorten the contract process cycle because the competitive solicitation process has been completed by another governmental jurisdiction or public agency thereby saving staff time and resources. Due to the immediate need of these critical emergency response vehicles and time and cost savings City will benefit from adopting this resolution, in accordance with Oakland Municipal Code Section 2.04.080, staff recommends entering into a cooperative agreement contract with Owen Equipment Sales in an amount not to exceed $1,500,000. The use of these funds will help to advance the citywide priorities of vibrant, sustainable infrastructure and improving the quality of life. FISCAL IMPACT The acquisition of new sewer flusher truck will be funded from Fund 3100 (Sewer Maintenance Division), Infrastructure Maintenance Sewer System Org No. 30533, $600,000 from Admin Project No. 1000010, and $900,000 from EPA-SEWER CLEANING Project No. 1001676. PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST No outreach was deemed necessary for the proposed policy action beyond the standard City Council agenda noticing procedures.
Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Critical Sewer Division Flusher Truck Acquisitions Date: April 14, 2025 Page 4 Public Works and Transportation Committee April 22, 2025 COORDINATION The Oakland Public Works Department prepared the requested action. This report and resolution were reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney and Budget Bureau. SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES Economic: The proposed Resolution provides best value pricing to the City and introduces flusher vehicles into the fleet featuring the latest safety and technology advancements which will increase efficiency and productivity. Environmental: The proposed Resolution will ensure the Sewer Maintenance Division has adequate resources needed to minimize, respond, and cleanup after harmful Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO) into the environment. Race and Equity: The proposed Resolution will ensure Sewer Maintenance Division has enough equipment and capability to provide sanitary sewer cleaning and emergency response throughout the City, including vulnerable front-line communities. CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under the following CEQA Guideline Sections: Section 15060(c)(2) (no direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment); Section 15061(b)(3) (no significant effect on the environment); Section 15301 (existing facilities); Section 15307 (protection of natural resources); Section 15308 (protection of the environment); and Section 15309 (inspections), each of which provides a separate and independent basis for CEQA clearance and when viewed collectively provide an overall basis for CEQA clearance.
Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Critical Sewer Division Flusher Truck Acquisitions Date: April 14, 2025 Page 5 Public Works and Transportation Committee April 22, 2025 ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Awarding A Contract To Owen Equipment Sales, A Vactor Manufacturing Local Authorized Dealer, In The Amount Not To Exceed One Million Five Hundred Thousand ($1,500,000) Dollars For The Purchase Of Two (2) Sewer Flusher Trucks, In Accordance With Oakland Municipal Code Section 2.04.080, Procurement Through The Use Of A Cooperative Purchasing Agreement (Sourcewell Contract No. 101221-VTR); And Adopting California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Exemption Findings. For questions regarding this report, please contact Johnny Nicks, Public Works Operations Manager, at (510) 615-5567. Respectfully submitted, Josh Rowan Interim Director, OPW Reviewed by: Richard Battersby, Assistant Director Oakland Public Works Prepared By: Johnny Nicks, OPW Operations Manager Attachments (2) A. Sourcewell Contract No.101221-VAC B. Owen Equipment Sales, Local Authorized Dealer Letter