The Common Council met 04/20/2022. Outside of the fact that it was the first regular Common Council meeting of the new Council year, the meeting was uneventful.
The action item that resulted in the most discussion was the request to purchase a fire truck via sole source.
Alderperson Chris Croatt (District 14) asked for this item to be separated out, explaining that, because there were some new members on the Council, sole sourcing a purchase was a unique thing that the city only did occasionally, and this was a large purchase—although it did have some nice savings attached to it—he thought it would be good to give Fire Chief Jeremy Hansen the opportunity to talk about sole sourcing from Pierce Manufacturing and review the savings that the city was going to see with this purchase.
Chief Hansen said sole sourcing was odd for a purchase of this size, but the city had decided to do sole sourcing because of the efficiencies that were built in. If they were to put out a fire truck for bids, it would have very generic specifications, such as they want cabinets to be a specific size, and they would end up going with the lowest bid. However, for fire trucks, it’s very advantageous to get similar fire trucks. They already have two trucks that are exactly the same as the fire truck they want to purchase. Because they have the same parts and pieces and the mechanics are familiar with it, the vehicle is a lot easier to use. Beyond that, all of their equipment will be stored in the same places across the trucks which increases the efficiency of fire department members when at an emergency scene.
The final reason for sole sourcing is the relationship the Fire Department has with Pierce. He said that Pierce produces an amazing product. “They are some of the best fire trucks that I’ve ever had the privilege of using.” Beyond that, Pierce is located nearby which makes it easy to get parts and service. There have been instances where AFD needed a specialized part and Pierce took it right off their assembly line and gave it to the fire department so they could get their vehicle up and running again. That level of service was not available from another vendor.
Regarding the cost savings of making this purchase now instead of waiting, Chief Hansen explained that this fire truck was originally due to be replaced in January of 2023, less than a year from now. Pierce notified the City of Appleton that there was going to be a 7% increase in the cost of that model of fire truck as of May 1st. There had also already been a 7% increase in cost in February of this year. There has also been a reduction in how long their quotes are good for. They had been for 90 days, but now they are down to 30 days because Pierce is anticipating one or maybe even two more price increased by the end of the year.
By buying the truck before May 1st, the city will save $55,000. Prepaying, which the city has historically done, would result in an additional discount of $35,000, making the total savings $90,000.
Chief Hansen noted that that was only the known savings. The city would know the true savings in January of 2023 when they would have purchased it by seeing how much higher the price will have gone by that time.
Mayor Woodford added that the lead time had also gotten significantly longer for these trucks.
Chief Hansen agreed and said that the last two trucks they purchased had a 10-to-12-month lead time. That increased to 17 months at the end of 2021, and now it is up to 22-24 months due to supply chain issues.
Alderperson Vered Meltzer (District 2) wanted to point out that this item had also appeared in front of the Finance Committee and both the Finance Committee and the Safety and Licensing Committee recommended approval of this item.
Alderperson Kristine Alfheim (District 11) said she liked the concept presented in the book Good to Great by Jim Collins of the Southwest model of utilizing the same equipment to minimize training and inefficiencies. The savings in doing that method really do last for years, and it was saving Appleton money by having a systematic method of utilizing and maintaining equipment. It was a good strategy across the board.
There was no further discussion.
The Council approved the sole source purchasing of a fire truck from Pierce Manufacturing 14-0.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=937639&GUID=3EADCB31-F8DF-46CB-8073-07E75B05E9C7
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