REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Award of Purchase Order to L.N. Curtis for Personal Protective Equipment for Emergency Response Personnel
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Deliver and Enhance High Quality Efficient Services and Infrastructure
BACKGROUND
The Fire Department purchases and maintains Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for emergency response personnel. PPE includes "turnouts" (heat-resistant protective clothing for firefighting) which have a recommended life span of ten years, pursuant to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) section 1851. Currently, the Fire Department needs to purchase a total of 91 sets of turnouts, 77 of which are to replace end-of-life turnouts and 14 are for new personnel attending an academy class in September 2022. A turnout set consists of a jacket and pants.
DISCUSSION
This recommendation is pursuant to City Code Section 2.105.290(b)(3) which states that without observing formal bidding requirements, the City may contract with vendors directly on terms obtained pursuant to formal bidding processes that name the City either specifically or categorically as a third-party beneficiary of the bidding process (commonly referred to as "piggybacking"). Staff is recommending the purchase of turnouts using the Sourcewell cooperative purchase agreement with L.N. Curtis.
In January 2020, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was conducted by Sourcewell for firefighting personal protective equipment, apparel, and accessories. Sourcewell is a service cooperative created by the Minnesota legislature as a local unit of government and is governed by local elected municipal officials and school board members. Through this RFP process, L.N. Curtis was awarded a contract.
Under the Sourcewell contract, pricing offered by L.N. Curtis is a 40% discount off list prices for the turnout jacket and pants. The list price for a turnout jacket is $3,133 and the Sourcewell price is $1,879; a $114,114 savings on the jackets alone. The total savings fo...
Click here for full text