R2009-159 ACCEPTING BID MIDWEST TRANSIT EQUIPMENT, INC.

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Mass Transit Memorandum No. 080509-2 August 5, 2009 TO: Honorable Mayor McElroy and City Council Members FROM: Ryan McCrady, City Manager � Paul McChancy, Mass Transit Administrato��.-Jt�� SUBJECT: Purchase Order for Two Wheelchair Lift Vans SUMMARY Staff recommends that Council adopt a Resolution awarding a RECOMMENDATION: purchase order for two wheelchair lift vans to the lowest bidder, Midwest Transit Equipment, Inc. BACKGROUND: The Transit System operates 6 wheelchair lift vans to provide door-to-door transportation for people with disabilities who are not able to use the bus system. Staff wishes to purchase two vans to replace two vans that were manufactured in 1999. The Illinois Deparhnent of Transportation(IDOT)has multi-year contracts with vendors for a range of wheelchair lift vehicles based on the competitive bidding process that it completed in 2007. All transportation agencies in Illinois are invited to purchase vehicles under these contracts. IDOT awarded the state-wide contract for "light duty paratransit vehicles", which the Transit System wishes to purchase, to Midwest Transit Equipment, Inc. Staff used the IDOT contract when it ordered two wheelchair lift vans in 2007. The new vans will be identical to those ordered in 2007,but will be built on the 2010 chassis. The attached sheet shows Midwest Transit Equipment's prices for the base van (as specified by IDOT) and for two additional wheelchair securement systems per van, as requested by staff. (The van will carry three wheelchairs, but the base price includes only one wheelchair securement system per van.) Adding $150 delivery charge per van, the total cost is $52,101 per van, and $104,202 for two vans. ' The City has been allocated $1,697,301 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) capital funds by FTA. Staff has filed a grant application with FTA for those funds, including$106,500 budgeted for the purchase of two vans. The FTA ARRA grant will cover 100% of the cost of the vans; no City funds will be needed. Decatur's grant application has been approved by the FTA's regional office in Chicago, and the grant is now ready for award and execution.