To approve the purchase of five (5) Braun Chief XL F-550 Ambulances for Fleet Services to be used by Fire-Rescue in the amount of $2,258,330 from Siddons-Martin Emergency Group, LLC through an existing contract; and authorizing the City Manager to execute all necessary documents. (BuyBoard Contract No. 650-21) Approved

It is the recommendation of Fleet Services to purchase five (5) Braun Chief XL F-550 Ambulances in the amount of $2,258,330 from Siddons-Martin Emergency Group, LLC through BuyBoard Contract No. 650-21.  Fire-Rescue determined that the Braun Chief XL F-550 Ambulances best meet the department’s needs. Fleet Services and Purchasing have reviewed multiple Cooperative Contract quotes and found this to be the best value for the City.

Two of these units will replace existing units.  The other three units are fleet additions that have been approved in Capital Outlay FY2022-23 in Fire-Rescue.  Two of the three additional units will be staffed med units that are necessary to improve med unit response times, reduce the number of med unit overloads (incidents where no medic units are available for response), and increase Fire-Rescue’s full-time med units per station to reduce population per med unit ratios.  The remaining added unit will be placed in service during repair and maintenance periods for other ambulance units. The two ambulances replacing existing units are pre-orders for the scheduled replacements from Capital Outlay FY2023-24. Because the current estimated build time for these units is thirty-two months, it is necessary to order the replacement units at this time to ensure their timely delivery.

The purchase of these units is necessary for the following reasons: 

1. Two of the three added units will provide Fire-Rescue extra capacity that will decrease med unit response times and med unit overloads and increase full-time med units per station to reduce population per med unit ratios. If the fleet addition units are not purchased, med unit response times and med unit overloads will continue to increase.
2. The third added unit will allow maintenance and repair of other ambulance units to occur without reducing the number of units in service. 
3. The two replacement units are essential to Fire-Rescue’s daily operations and are required to maintain current service levels. If these units are not replaced, the City will incur additional maintenance costs and the salvage values will be greatly depreciated.  In addition, the older, aging units will limit the users’ ability to perform their duties because of increased breakdowns and additional downtime for repairs.

The City is authorized to purchase from a cooperative purchasing program with another local government or a local cooperative organization pursuant to Chapter 271 Subchapter F of the Texas Local Government Code and by doing so satisfies any State Law requiring local governments to seek competitive bids for items. (BuyBoard Contract No. 650-21 / City of Plano Internal Contract No. 2023-0179-O).

Funds are available in the FY 2022-23 General Fund and Fire Equipment Replacement Fund budgets to purchase three (3) Braun Chief XL F-550 Ambulances in the amount of $1,433,518 from Siddons-Martin Emergency Group, LLC. These units are approved new fleet additions in FY 2022-23 in Fire-Rescue. The total budgeted amount is $1,233,000, and the remaining balance of $200,518 will be paid through the Fire Equipment Replacement Budget.

Funds are also available in the FY 2022-23 Equipment Replacement Fund to pre-order two (2) additional Braun Chief XL F-550 Ambulances, in the amount of $824,812, from Siddons-Martin Emergency Group, LLC for scheduled replacements in FY 2023-24. Due to the current estimated build time, it is necessary to order these units as soon as possible to ensure their timely delivery.

Approval of this item relates to the City's Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor of Excellent, Innovative, and Accountable City Government.