City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: June 9, 2026
Agenda Item: 4.N
1 of 4
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Darrick Jacob, Police Chief, Police Department
Subject: Award Bid and enter into Agreements With Airwave Communications Enterprises, Inc. for Emergency Vehicle Upfitting for Police and Fire Departments
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality ACT (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Award Bid #4500 to Airwave Communications Ent., Inc. to provide labor and parts required to upfit, repair and maintain specialty equipment for the City’s fleet of emergency vehicles for the Police and Fire departments;
3. Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Airwave Communications Ent., Inc. for the Police Department in an amount not to exceed $7,041,250 for five years, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval; and
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Airwave Communications Ent., Inc. for the Fire Department in an amount not to exceed $719,125 for five years, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
Upfitting new emergency vehicles with specialized equipment such as sirens, radios, and strobe lighting is vital to public safety as it enables Police and Fire vehicles to safely navigate throughout the City during emergencies and reduces response times. The Santa Monica Fire Department currently has 50 light and medium duty emergency vehicles, and the Santa Monica Police Department currently has 232 emergency vehicles, all of which require installation, maintenance, and parts associated with making them emergency-response compliant. The City’s Police and Fire Departments 2 of 4
issued Request for Bids (“RFB”) #4500, reviewed and evaluated all of the bids submitted in response, and determined that Airwave Communications Enterprises, Inc. (“Airwave”) is the best bidder to provide the City with public safety vehicle installation, repair and maintenance services, and vehicle parts. The cost to implement and maintain public safety vehicles for five years for the Police Department is $7,041,250, and $719,125 for the Fire Department, resulting in a total amount of $7,760,375. Staff has worked with Finance to ensure funds are available within the Vehicle Management Fund and the respective Police and Fire department budgets to support this request.
Discussion
Fleet Management consulted with the Police and Fire departments to develop 322 upfitting line items to include in RFB #4500 that represent a subset of vehicle parts required when upfitting the diverse public safety fleet. Each vehicle will be upfitted with emergency lighting and warning systems, and a highly specialized communications system to ensure safe and efficient emergency response. Equipping emergency vehicles is a complex process, as there is significant equipment that must be installed to the manufacturer specifications for the equipment to operate properly in a rigorous environment. Computer and camera equipment must be mounted to ensure it is secured and positioned to have an unobstructed view. The life cycles for emergency vehicles are between four to ten years according to the City’s Vehicle Replacement Program and contracting with an upfitting vendor enables the City to replace its obsolete fleet of emergency vehicles in an expeditious manner. This is especially important when a vehicle is damaged beyond repair and must be replaced in a relatively short period of time. The recommended agreements would allow police officers and firefighters to continue to safely and effectively provide emergency response services to Santa Monica residents. To help further reduce the costs of upfitting, equipment from existing vehicles would be transferred to new vehicles whenever possible.
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Bidder Airwave Communications Enterprises
Evaluation Criteria
(include all that
apply)
Cost
Experience
Compliance with minimum qualifications
3 of 4
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.180
Submittals Received
Airwave Communications
Enterprises $191,702.90 Dana Safety Supply, Inc $2,872,586.01 Commline, Inc. $374,297.08
Bid Data
Date
Posted Posted On
Advertise In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
12/04/2025 City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica Daily
Press
31 01/14/2026
Best Bidder Justification
Based on the relevant criteria in SMMC 2.24.180, the evaluation committee recommends Airwave Communication Enterprise, Inc. as the best bidder. Bids were evaluated based on cost, vendor experience, and compliance with minimum qualifications. The project requires specialized equipment compatibility, appropriate equipment and parts warranty, and technical expertise through similar projects within southern California professional Fire, Police, or Sheriff’s Departments. Based on these factors, Airwave Communication Enterprise, Inc. is evaluated to be the best bidder.
Environmental Review
The proposed agreement is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061 (b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” The agreement would provide uplifting improvements for new vehicles and would not result in any adverse physical environmental effects. Therefore, the agreement is exempt from CEQA and no further environmental under CEQA is required.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Vehicle Management Fund and General Fund to award an agreement with Airwave Communications Enterprises, Inc. (Airwave)for public safety vehicle upfitting. Funds have been included in the FY 2026-27 4 of 4
Budget Plan which was approved by Council in the FY 2025-27 Adopted Biennial Budget.
Agreement Request
Department Funding
Source(s)
FY 2026-27
Request
Amount
Future
Years
Amount
Department Account #
Total
Contract
Amount
Police
Vehicle
Management
Fund
$1,388,250 $5,553,000 70800005.532550 $6,941,250
General Fund $20,000 $80,000 01180005.525260 $100,000
Fire
Vehicle
Management
Fund
$138,825 $555,300 70800005.532550 $694,125
General Fund $5,000 $20,000 01190001.529240 $25,000
Total $7,760,375
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Kiajett Charles, Administrative Analyst
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. OAKS INITIATIVE FORM - Airwave
B. Levine Act Disclosure Form - Airwave