IID to purchase 100 new pickup trucks for $2.1 million
EL CENTRO — Imperial Irrigation District is purchasing 100 new 2019 Dodge halfton pickup trucks at a cost of $2,117,300 as part of a two-year vehicle solicitation pilot program to replace aging vehicles in the IID fleet.
The oldest model truck to be replaced in the fleet is a 2000 Chevrolet 1500, with the rest of the truck model years spanning through 2015, according to IID documents. The old trucks are slated for auction at an as of yet unspecified date.
The first shipment of 40 trucks is expected to be received in December, with a second shipment of 60 trucks scheduled to be received next July. “All of these vehicles will be 2019 model year vehicles,” Don Campbell, superintendent of IID General Fleet Services, said during the regular IID directors’ meeting on July 25.
During that meeting, the board of directors voted unanimously to approve the purchase of the Dodge half-ton pickup trucks from Rogers & Rogers Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, which solicited the lowest bid when a 5 percent preferential price advantage for local vendors is taken into account.
“Rogers and Rogers, located in Imperial, was the best bidder,” Campbell said.
IID submitted a primary request for proposal to determine the cost of purchasing 100 half-ton pickup trucks on June 12. Respondents included Warren-Anderson FordDba Fritts Ford of Riverside, which offered a price of $2,203,282.11 without extended warranty; Bill Alexander Ford of Yuma, which offered a price of $2,164,429.92 without extended warranty; Rogers & Rogers Auto Group of Imperial, which offered a price of $2,132,644.38 without extended warranty; and Theodore Robins Ford of Costa Mesa, which offered a price of $2,115,292.44 without extended warranty.
Although Theodore Robins Ford of Costa Mesa technically outbid Rogers and Rogers, according to IID Policy No. 3130 dated May 14, 2013, local vendors — that is, vendors located within the IID service area who have established electrical and/or water irrigation accounts with IID in their company name — are given a 5 percent preferential price advantage over non-local vendors. In this case, that 5 percent advantage equals $110,164.11 of the total purchase price, which theoretically drops the bid by Rogers and Rogers to $2,022,480.27, or $92,812.17 less than the bid by Theodore Robins Ford.
When optional extended warranties are added to the total cost, Bill Alexander actually offered the best deal at $2,268,124.92, Warren-Anderson FordDba Fritts Ford came in second at $2,340,457.11, and Rogers & Rogers came in third at $2,433,499.38. Theodore Robins Ford did not offer the optional extended warranty.
The final amount approved by the IID Board of Supervisors was $2,117,300, with $846,920 included in the 2018 fleet services replacement budget and $1,270,380 to be included in the 2019 replacement budget, according to the Board Agenda Memorandum from July 25.
Pilot program
The pilot program was designed to help streamline the maintenance of IID fleet vehicles, Campbell said, because having the same make and model year will allow IID to stockpile parts that can be used universally.
Currently, “we are trying to stock materials for Fords, Dodges [and] Chevys — it makes it really tough,” he said during the IID regular meeting on June 26. “Doing a multiyear solicitation on just the half-ton pickup class — what we are trying to do is standardize that to reduce the downtime and modification. Will save us a lot of time and money as far as stocking parts and materials in the store.”
And, having the trucks delivered over the span of about seven months will help the IID mechanic shop prepare for the switch, Campbell said.
If the pilot program is successful, IID may consider repeating it for other vehicle types in the fleet.