Purchase Order for 17 Gasoline-Powered Vehicles Comes Back to Council on Monday’s Consent Calendar

The Pasadena City Council on Monday is expected to vote on a purchase order with 72 Hour LLC for 17 vehicles (eight sports utility vehicles and nine trucks) as part of the consent calendar portion of the council’s meeting agenda.

The 17 vehicles have been debated at least twice due to calls for the city to switch to electric vehicles. Currently, there are no electric vehicles that contain the necessary equipment the city needs. The SUVs will be used for public safety.

In July, the council voted to send the item to a committee after advocates raised the same issue. The Municipal Services Committee heard the issue last week and approved the purchase order which is now back before the City Council for consideration.

The call for climate-friendly vehicles comes as temperatures continue to soar and wildfires rage out of control in parts of the country.

“As part of the approved FY 2022 Operating Budget, a three-year fleet replacement plan is being implemented to comprehensively address the city’s aging fleet,” according to a city staff report. “This three-year plan prioritizes the city’s vehicle replacement needs in support of each department’s operations, ensuring safe modes of transportation and vehicle equipment for staff to perform their duties and services, decreasing fleet maintenance and repair costs, and simultaneously allowing a consolidated effort to group similar vehicle types for economies of scale and efficient purchasing process.”

Monday’s consent calendar also includes:

A $127,174 purchase order with Thermal Air for the purchase of packing units and adaptable curbs to replace the existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system at the Senior Center. According to a staff report in Monday’s council agenda, the current HVAC systems at the Senior Center are over 20 years old and have reached the end of their lifecycle. This project has been identified in the FY 2022 annual work plan as a building maintenance FY 2021-2025 project in the city’s Capital Improvement Program budget.
A $679,470 contract with Motorola Solutions, Inc. for the monitoring and maintenance of the city’s radio communications system. More than 1,500 city-owned handheld, vehicle-mounted, or desktop radios operate off of the radio system that this contract will support. The monitoring and maintenance agreement with Motorola provides the city with around the clock radio system monitoring by Motorola’s Network Monitoring Operations Center. The maintenance contract provides factory-level maintenance and support for all radio infrastructure items located at the city’s three radio sites, as well as 12 radio dispatch consoles at the Police Department 911 Dispatch Center and the city’s radio shop. When problems are detected with the radio system, service cases are opened, Motorola technicians are dispatched to the affected site and staff are notified.
An application for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3 funding for eligible programs and activities that serve people experiencing homelessness. The city has been awarded two rounds of Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant funding that has been made available by the state Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. The city was awarded $638,478 in the first funding round in FY 2020 and $302,105 in the second round in FY 2021. The state’s budget for 2021-2022 enacts unprecedented investments for homelessness programs, including approximately $12 billion in new funding over the next two years. Of this new funding, $1 billion will be appropriated annually in FYs 21-22 and 22-23 for rounds three and four of the HHAP program. These funds will support local communities through a broad range of flexible uses, including street outreach, interim housing, rapid rehousing, hotel and motel conversions, and permanent supportive housing. These discretionary homelessness funds will have a clear focus on accountability and outcomes whereby each grantee must establish quantifiable performance goals and will receive bonus funds if they meet their goals. HHAP will include a required minimum of 10% set aside for youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
A $280,670 contract with the city of Los Angeles to provide Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)-funded rental assistance. The HOPWA Program was established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 1991 by the AIDS Housing Opportunities Act to provide support for housing assistance and services to low-income persons with HIV/AIDS and their families. The city’s Housing Department has administered the HOPWA tenant-based rental assistance program since 1995. Renewal of this contract will provide tenant-based rental assistance funding for approximately 19 new and ongoing very low-income households living with HIV/AIDS.
A $167,731 purchase order with Quinn Company (Quinn) for the purchase of one Caterpillar CAT 440 Backhoe Loader. This equipment is currently utilized daily for fulfillment of departmental obligations such as landscaping and irrigation activities; trenching, loading and spreading mulch; trail and road maintenance and repair; and other diverse fieldwork.
A $174,358 purchase order with Altec for the purchase of one Altec AT235 Articulating Telescopic Aerial Bucket Truck. An aerial bucket truck currently assigned to the Public Works Department has been identified for replacement. The proposed purchase will provide the department with reliable equipment and reduce maintenance costs associated with the older high mileage vehicle. This equipment is currently utilized daily for fulfillment of departmental obligations for street light and traffic signal maintenance and repair. Research for zero emission alternatives to replace this articulating telescopic aerial bucket truck has been conducted, and at this time there are no available or feasible alternatives, including electric or hybrid models, currently on the market that will meet department needs and specific vehicle duties there-in associated.