REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Reject Bid for Vehicle Exhaust Removal Systems at Three Fire Stations (F15-86)
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Council approval is requested to reject one bid received from Air Exchange, Inc. of Fairfield in the amount of $231,153 for vehicle exhaust removal systems at Fire Stations 1, 2 and 6. The bid is significantly higher than the available budget of $180,000, and much greater on a unit cost basis than that paid for nearly identical work completed last fiscal year by the same vendor.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
N/A.
EXISTING POLICY
Pursuant to Section 2.08.140(b) of the Municipal Code, Council approval is required to reject bids greater than $100,000.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Vehicle exhaust removal systems protect Public Safety personnel against exposure to particulates released into the air. These systems capture virtually 100% of exhaust through a pneumatic nozzle that is attached to the tailpipe when a vehicle enters the fire house. The captured exhaust is then discharged through flexible hose to a filtered container and then to the outdoors. By capturing exhaust particulate at the source, the systems actually reduce the investment in general ventilation equipment that would be required to rid the apparatus bay area of the vehicle exhaust contaminants. Two of the systems were replaced last year (Fire Stations 3 and 4), with three more fire stations planned for this year.
An Invitation for Bids (IFB) to replace the exhaust removal systems at Fire Stations 1, 2 and 6 was issued on June 17, 2015, with a due date of July 22. One bid was received from Air Exchange, Inc. in the amount of $231,153, nearly 30% higher than the available budget of $180,000 and an average of $77,000 per station. Additionally, the same vendor was awarded the contract for the previous two fire stations at an average cost of $36,000 per station.
Air Exchange indicated that the increase in pricing was mainly due to the building ...
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