HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 05-18-2004-5hORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: May 18, 2004
Action Age ~da
Item No.
SUBJECT: Contract Award -Piggy Back of Bid for Four Ambulances
DEPARTMENT: Purchasing/Emergency PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
Management
ATTACHMENT(S):
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pam Jones, 245-2652
Kent McKenzie, 968-2050
TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
Hillsborough 732-8181
Chapel Hill 968-4501
Durham 688-7331
Mebane 336-227-2031
PURPOSE: To consider awarding a contract for the purchase of four Ambulances from
Wheeled Coach Industries, Inc, of Falkland, North Carolina,
BACKGROUND: Orange County's most recent purchase of new ambulances occurred in1994.
The current year capital projects budget approved at the December 1, 2003 County
Commissioners meeting included the replacement of four (4) ambulances. After a thorough
examination of available units and service records of existing units, staff has decided to
increase the size of the cab and chassis from a Ford F350 to a Ford F450, The larger chassis
will be more durable and capable of withstanding the strain inherent in carrying the heavy
ambulance body and related equipment.
Under certain circumstances, North Carolina General Statute 143-129 allows local governments
to make purchases without a separate bidding procedure, This type of acquisition can be made
from any contractor that has, within the past 12 months, contracted to furnish the item to: (1) the
federal government or any federal agency; (2) the State of North Carolina or any agency or
political subdivision of the state; or (3) any other state or agency or political subdivision of that
state, if the contractor is willing to extend the same or mare favorable price and other terms to
the local government, This process is called "piggy backing" a bid,
Staff proposes to "piggy back" on the Florida Sheriffs Association bid that was awarded to
Wheeled Coach Industries, Inc, of Falkland, North Carolina on October 1, 2003 for Type I
ambulances mounted on Ford F450 cab & chassis at a cost of $94,575 each. These will be
diesel vehicles, which staff expect will be able to operate on the biodiesel fuel mix that all
Gounty ambulances now successfully use part of the time (when fueling at the Town of Chapel
Hill facility),
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Medications and equipment that are stored on the ambulances must be kept at a constant
temperature, The proposed units listed above contain a supplemental dual-power climate
control system that can be powered by AC current from a "shoreline" cable or from the truck
chassis itself, This system will eliminate the need to house the ambulances in climate-
controlled bay space, thereby allowing units to be based at County owned facilities and thereby
not requiring the additional cast of leasing conditioned bay space. The cast of this dual-power
climate control system is $5,415 (included in the $ 94,575 figure) and has a payback period of
less than one year.
Orange County EMS has requested two additional ambulances in the 2005 Capital Investment
Plan (CIP). If approved, EMS is requesting authorization to purchase the two additional
ambulances through this contract award,
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Total cost of this action, if approved by the Board, would be $378,300,
Staff plan to obtain financing for the equipment through an existing financing agreement
previously approved by the BOGC with Central Carolina Bank at a very favorable interest rate of
3.95%. The annual payments for the 59-month term will be $85,086. Five-year debt financing
of this equipment will spread the cost impact over its useful life and will preserve additional
short-term cash resources in the CIP.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board award the contract to
Wheeled Coach Industries, Inc, of Falkland, North Carolina in the amount of $378,300 and
authorize the Purchasing Director and Finance Director to execute the appropriate paperwork.