R2008-134 ACCEPTING BID GILLIG, INC.

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f .. �� �t ' Mass Transit Memorandum I No. 082108-1 '�, August 21, 2008 I TO: Honorable Mayor Carrigan and City Council Members I FROM: John A. Sinith, Interim City Manager Paul McChancy, Mass Transit Admimstrator��N� SUBJECT: Purchase Order for Five 30' Heavy Duty, Low Floor Buses SUMMARY Staff recommends that Council adopt a Resolution awarding a RECOMMENDATION: purchase order for four 30' heavy duty, low floor buses, with an option for a fifth bus if Federal FY-08 funds become available, to Gillig, Inc. BACKGROUND: The Transit System has 12 1993 RTS buses and 13 2001 Gillig buses, and it wishes to replace the older buses that are at the end of their useful life. Staff has been very satisfied with the performance and durability of the Gillig buses and therefore wishes to purchase more Gillig buses. Staff found that SARTA, a transit system in ' Canton, Ohio,has an open multi-year order for 25 Gillig buses,but does not expect to purchase that many. SARTA has made the unused portion of its contract available to other transit systems under the Federal Transit Administrations (FTA's) "piggybacking" rules. Under the FTA's rules Decatur may purchase buses using another agency's Invitation for Bids and contract if the buses we wish to purchase are nearly identical to those in the original contract. This is the process staff used recently to purchase two wheelchair vans on the State's contract. The attached sheet shows that SARTA's 2006 price was $293,373 per bus plus delivery. As a multi-year order, the price of the buses increases over time based on the US Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index (PPI) for category 1413, "Trucks and Bus Bodies". The price also changes based on the options that have been selected, such as the Seon camera system. With the PPI price adjustment, options and delivery, Decatur's total price quoted by Gillig is $298,774 per bus. Staff wishes to round this figure up to a"not to exceed"price of$300,000 to allow for the 2008 engine price and any minor unforeseen price increases. The City has received four Federal grants totaling $1,185,875 and has been informed that a fifth grant for$305,000 is pending. Most of the Federal grant funds are matched by State of Illinois Toll Revenue Credits, instead of State or City dollars. At the price of $300,000 per bus, the City's share would total $23,917 for the five buses (an average of$4,783 per bus).