REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Award of Contract for a Self-propelled Mower (F15-30)
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Approval is requested to award a contract to Turf Star of Hayward in the amount of $96,033 excluding sales tax, for one self-propelled mower for use by the Department of Public Works.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
N/A
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The City has 2 industrial riding mowers which are used on a daily basis to maintain City parks and golf courses; one is a Jacobsen and the other is a Toro. Jacobsen and Toro are the only two known manufacturers of this type of riding mower. The Toro mower currently in use is seven years old with over 3,000 hours of operation and at the end of its useful life. Replacement at this time is recommended, with budgeted funds set aside for this purpose during FY 2014/2015. The proposed replacement mower is a Toro model 5910.
Though the Jacobsen riding mowers tend to be less expensive than the Toro models, the latter has proven to be the most cost effective for the City, especially in terms of fuel economy, and lower downtime records and maintenance costs. In fact, since the City purchased a Jacobsen model in late 2012, the unit has required service twenty times vs. ten repairs for the Toro (which is several years older). Additionally, staff has found that the Toro representatives are very responsive to the City's service requests. Finally, Parks and Fleet staff have significant experience operating and maintaining the Toro mowers.
Staff therefore recommends awarding a contract to Turf Star, which is Toro's sole regional distributor. Turf Star has offered pricing for this mower through the National Intergovernmental Purchasing Alliance (IPA), a multi-state purchasing cooperative awarded a master contract by Tucson, Arizona. National cooperatives such as these can typically leverage volume pricing, and in this case a 22% discount from the list price was obtained. Use of another entity's contract for this t...
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