City Council Memorandum City Council Memorandum
City Council Memorandum
City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JANUARY 6, 2026 FROM: GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: AWARD BID NO. 8197 TO FRITTS FORD, INC. OF RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA FOR THE PURCHASE OF SIX 2025 MODEL YEAR FORD EXPEDITION SUVS FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $396,564.90 ISSUES:
Award Bid No. 8197 to Fritts Ford, Inc. of Riverside, California for the purchase of six 2025 model year Ford Expedition SUVs for the Fire Department in the amount of $396,564.90.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
That the City Council award Bid No. 8197 to Fritts Ford of Riverside, California for the purchase of six 2025 Ford Expedition SUVs for the Riverside Fire Department for a total amount of $396,564.90; and Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute any purchase orders, agreements, and other documents, including making any minor and non-substantive changes.
BACKGROUND:
The Measure Z Five-Year Spending Plan adopted by the City Council on May 16, 2017, included approximately $14.5 million in Fire Department vehicle replacement costs over the first five years, including a one-time investment in 16 vehicles that were financed over 10 years. These included eight fire engines, two tiller trucks, one straight truck, two water tenders, one brush truck, and two squads.
Additional funding for Fire apparatus replacement has been added through subsequent Council-approved budget adoptions, including $8.9 million for FY 2024/2025 through FY 2028/2029, bringing the City’s total investment to $30.4 million. With this funding, the General Services Department, Fleet Services Division, is seeking approval to purchase six additional Ford Expedition SUVs for the Riverside Fire Department. Fleet Services manages and maintains the various equipment and vehicles used by the Fire Department.
Following the Hawarden Fire, it was determined that the Fire Department’s current command vehicles were inadequate to support effective command and control during large-scale incidents. As a result, the Fire Department was directed to upgrade and replace current command vehicles with an integrated command component. This upgrade will meet departmental requirements and ensure command is equipped to handle large-scale emergencies. Current command vehicles will be reassigned and kept in service.
DISCUSSION:
On August 6, 2025, the Finance Department’s Purchasing Division posted Request for Bid (RFB) No. 8197 on the City’s online bidding system, PlanetBids, for the purchase of six 2025 Ford Expedition SUVs for the Fire Department. All six vehicles were requested to have a standard equipment package.
The solicitation notification is summarized in the table below:
Action
Number of Vendors
External Vendors Notified
481
City of Riverside Vendors Notified
120
Vendors who downloaded the RFP
17 Proposals received
4 All responses were found to be responsive and responsible. The bid response from Fritts Ford was deemed the most responsible bidder, with a total price of $396,564.90, as they are a local vendor and their price is within 5% of the lowest responsive bidder.
Bidder
City
Qty
Total Price
Envision Ford of Duarte
Duarte, CA
6 $391,029.10
*Fritts Ford
Riverside, CA
6 $396,564.90
Unified Fleet Services, LLC
South Salt Lake City, UT
6 $399,426.18
Legacy Brothers Inc
Douglas, GA
6 $496,731.18
*Vendor qualifies for local preference by Resolution 24101 Section 604.
Purchasing Resolution 24101, Section 508 (b) states, “A Contract for Goods may be awarded to a local Responsive Bidder who is not the Lowest Responsive Bidder pursuant to Section 604, ‘Preference Policy’ if the Bid difference amount between the local Responsive Bidder and the Lowest Responsive Bidder does not exceed five percent (5%) of the lowest Responsive Bid.” The Purchasing Manager concurs that the recommendation is in accordance with Purchasing Resolution No. 24101.
The Fire Chief concurs with this report.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of this action for the purchase of the vehicles is $396,564.90. Funding in the amount of $370,166.32 is budgeted and available in the Measure Z Fund, Vehicle Replacement account 8001401-450058. The additional cost to cover the remainder of the balance for the purchase is anticipated from a carryover request to Council from unused FY 2024/25 funding. In the event that the carryover is not approved, the department will use current year budget to cover the shortfall.
Prepared by: Frederick Tobar, Administrative Analyst
Approved by: Lee Withers, General Services Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Edward Enriquez, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer Approved as to form: Rebecca McKee-Reimbold, Interim City Attorney Attachment: Bid Award Recommendation
RFP No. 2174 - Universal Protection Services L.P. AgreementPage 2 Bid No. 8197 – Six Ford Expedition SUVs Page 2