City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: October 22, 2024
Agenda Item: 5.D
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Fleet Services Subject: Award Purchase Orders for Sweeper and Electric Rear Loader Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15302 (Replacement or Reconstruction) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines;
2. Authorize the Procurement Manager to issue a purchase order with Municipal Maintenance Equipment (“MME”), a California-based company, for the purchase of one Ravo Diesel R5-iSeries sweeper for the Public Works Department, Beach Maintenance Division. This recommended award is made as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Section 2.24.250 (c) and is for a total amount not to exceed $401,378;
3. Authorize the Procurement Manager to issue a purchase order with Los Angeles Truck Center, LLC, a California-based company (“Los Angeles Truck Center”), for the purchase of one battery electric (“BEV”) Rear Loader Truck for the Public Works Department, Resource Recovery and Recycling Division. This recommended award is made as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Section 2.24.250 (c) and is for a total amount not to exceed $771,767; and
4. Authorize budget amendment as outlined in the Financial Impacts & Budget Actions section of this report (requires 5 votes).
Summary
The City of Santa Monica’s Public Works Department provides essential services that maintain clean and safe neighborhoods and open spaces for Santa Monica’s residents, visitors, and City staff. These operations rely on vehicles and equipment managed and maintained by the City’s Fleet Management Division. Many of these vehicles are aging past their cost-effective useful lives. To ensure reliable operations, to provide 2 of 6
uninterrupted services to the community, to reduce downtime and maintenance costs, and to achieve compliance with California Air Resources Board (CARB) Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) regulations, staff recommends purchasing a battery electric rear loader and a diesel bike path sweeper based on competitive contract pricing available to governmental agencies.
Discussion
The Fleet Management Division is responsible for ensuring the City’s diverse fleet of over 800 vehicles are available, dependable, meet the highest environmental standards for a sustainable fleet, and are safe to operate from acquisition through disposal. The division routinely replaces vehicles that have reached the end of their cost-effective useful lives through the Vehicle Replacement Fund.
In response to the budgetary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributions to the Vehicle Replacement Fund were suspended for the Beach Fund, and vehicle replacements were temporarily suspended unless necessary for public safety or for the operation of essential City services. The Fleet Management Division has worked together with various City divisions to extend the useful lives of their vehicles as much as possible.
Beach Maintenance Bike Path Sweeper
The current sweeper was procured in 2015, was earmarked for replacement in 2021, and is now past its cost-effective useful life. This sweeper is no longer manufactured and is in dire need of replacement. For the budgetary reasons mentioned earlier, this sweeper has not been replaced and it has been out of commission since May, awaiting parts from the manufacturer.
Beach Maintenance would use the new sweeper on the Marvin Braude Bike path consisting of 3.5 miles of bike path that runs through Santa Monica State Beach. If the current sweeper is not replaced, Beach Maintenance would not be able to produce the quality of maintenance to which residents and visitors are accustomed. Also, Beach Maintenance would be forced to continue the costly practice of utilizing Santa Monica 3 of 6
Resource Recovery and Recycling’s Division’s rear-broom sweeper at the cost of $8,000 per month. This rear-broom sweeper does not effectively clear the bike path of sand since it merely pushes the sand and does not pick up the sand. Thus, this interim solution is neither financially sustainable nor satisfactory because it does not effectively clear the sand from the bike path.
In accordance with the City’s Sustainability Initiatives, Beach Maintenance and Fleet Management staff considered and tested an electric sweeper to determine if it would meet the needs of the operation and further the sustainability goals of the City.
Unfortunately, staff found that the electric vehicle (EV) market does not yet offer a proven alternative that can meet the demands of the operation including, but not limited to, effectively picking up sand off the bike path.
Rear Loader Truck
The current compressed natural gas (CNG) rear loader was procured in 2011, was earmarked for replacement in 2021, and is now past its cost-effective useful life. On April 25, 2023, City Council authorized the purchase of a like-for-like replacement vehicle (CNG fueled rear loader) for an amount not to exceed $429,710 (Attachment A).
Subsequently, staff discovered that a proven battery electric alternative would become available shortly thereafter, which would meet the new CARB Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) Regulation and would advance Santa Monica’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP). As a result, a purchase order was not issued at the time.
The cost of a battery electric rear loader is $342,057 more than the total not to exceed amount of $429,710 originally authorized by Council for the CNG version. Also, the increased cost was not collected from the Resource Recovery and Recycling Fund and transferred to the Vehicle Replacement Fund as a part of the regular depreciation transfer because an electric alternative was not available until recently. In comparison to vehicles such as the diesel beach path sweeper, which cannot yet be practicably replaced with a proven EV alternative, the additional expense for an electric version of 4 of 6
the rear loader is justified and will help achieve ACF and CAAP compliance since both the regulation and the plan require that half of the City’s fleet must be zero emission.
This is the only vehicle that satisfies the City’s requirements for a three-axle rear loader that is maneuverable in the City’s tight alleys to pick up bulky items and that meets the auditor’s recommendation that the City create a standardized Fleet. Also, this vehicle qualifies for the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) grant for which LA Truck Centers shall apply and, if successful, will reduce the cost by up to $120,000.
ACF compliance is mandatory and CARB has indicated that it will enforce this regulation. Since other critical fleet vehicles for police and fire must be procured as internal combustion vehicles, staff recommends EV whenever possible to meet ACF requirements. Therefore, staff recommends that the City procure a battery electric alternative.
RECOMMEND AS AN EXCEPTION TO COMPETITIVE BIDDING
Exception to Competitive Bidding
Staff recommends Municipal Maintenance Equipment (“MME”), a distributor of Ravo equipment, to furnish and deliver one Ravo Diesel R5-iSeries sweeper as an exception to competitive bidding per Muni Code 2.24.250 (c). MME shall offer the sweeper based on competitive contract pricing available to governmental agencies according to Sourcewell RFP #093021 Contract pricing with Ravo Holding, which manufactures the sweeper.
Staff recommends Los Angeles Truck Centers, LLC, a distributor of Battle Motors Equipment, to furnish and deliver one battery electric rear loader as an exception to competitive bidding per Muni Code 2.24.250 (c). LA Truck Centers shall offer the loader based on competitive contract pricing available to governmental agencies according to Sourcewell RFP #060920-CRN Contract pricing with Battle Motors, Inc., which manufactures the loader.
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Environmental Review
The purchase orders for replacement vehicles are categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15302 (Class 2 - Replacement or Reconstruction) of the CEQA Guidelines. Section 15302 exempts Class 2 projects which “consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced”. The replacement vehicles would replace existing City fleet vehicles, with essentially the same purpose and capacity.
Therefore, this purchase order qualifies for a Class 2 exemption.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
April 25, 2023 (Attachment A) Staff report in which Council already approved a CNG Rear Loader
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to appropriate additional funds from the Resource Recovery and Recycling Fund to the Vehicle Management Fund to pay for the increased cost of the purchase of an electric rear loader.
Approval of the recommended action requires the following budget amendment.
FY 2024-25 CIP Budget Amendment
Establish Revenue Budget Appropriate Funds
Account Number Amount Account Number Amount
70500001.410540 $342,057 I5400010.689000 $342,057
C7000010.689000.90535 $342,057
70500001.410470 $56,303 I5400010.689000 $56,303
C7000010.689000 $56,303
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Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the Vehicle Replacement Fund to award a purchase order with Municipal Maintenance Equipment for the purchase and delivery of one diesel sweeper for Beach Maintenance and a purchase order with Los Angeles Truck Center for the purchase and delivery of one electric rear loader for Resource Recovery and Recycling.
Purchase Order Request
Vendors
FY 2024-25
Request
Amount
CIP Account #
Purchase
Order
Amount
Municipal Maintenance
Equipment $401,378 Beach Maintenance C7000010.689000 $401,378 Los Angeles Truck
Center $771,767 Resource Recovery and Recycling C7000010.689000.90535 $771,767 Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Ernest Kwong, Senior Administrative Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Staff Report April 25, 2023
B. Levine Act - LA Truck Centers
C. Oaks Form - LA Truck Centers
D. Sourcewell 093021
E. Sourcewell 060920 - Battle Motors
F. Levine Act - Municipal Maintenance Equipment - MME
G. Oaks Form - Municipal Maintenance Equipment - MME