City waives bidding in struggle to find new vehicles
The city won’t solicit bids for vehicles it purchases through the end of next year, invoking an exemption in the state code that allows cities to waive competitive bidding in exceptional circumstances.
The enabling ordinance the Hot Springs Board of Directors adopted last week said “unprecedented challenges” brought on by supply chain disruptions have made procuring vehicles through the bidding process impractical.
The city typically purchases vehicles off the contract the state negotiates with auto dealers. According to the request for board action, supply chain issues and vehicle demand led to the cancellation of the contract.
The city told the board in March police units were the only vehicles available on the contract. The board approved the purchase of 15 police vehicles before the state closed the contract.
The city said it solicited bids for about 20 vehicles, but received no responses. Money appropriated for vehicles in the 2021 budget was reappropriated into the current year’s budget, part of more than $13 million in budgeted items that weren’t received by the end of last year.
“Due to the current supply chain issues, computer chip shortages and limited availability of vehicles from the manufacturers, any available vehicles on dealer lots typically sell within a few days,” the city said in its request for board action.
The ordinance authorized the city to spend up to budgeted amounts. The city said current prices exceed what was budgeted in some instances, requiring some departments to reduce the number of vehicles provided for in their budgets.
Generator
The board also waived competitive bidding for the emergency generator at the water treatment plant the city is building off Amity Road.
The ordinance the board adopted last week invoked the exemption for goods and services available only through a sole-source provider, one of more than 20 exemptions the Legislature added last year. The city uses Kohler generators at its water and wastewater plants. RP Power in North Little Rock is Kohler’s only authorized sales and service provider in the state.
“The staff feels comfortable with the service program we get from Kohler and RP Power,” Major Capital Projects Manager Todd Piller told the board.
RP Power ordered the 1,750 kW emergency generator in November and is willing to sell it at last year’s price of $598,400. The city would have paid the current price, $722,610, plus the contractor’s markup if the generator were part of the bid package for the new water plant. The generator was removed from the bid solicitation, but bids will still include the cost of installation.
Buying directly from RP Power saved the water bond budget more than $100,000 and ensured timelier delivery. A 47-week delivery was expected if the November purchase order had been canceled. Kohler will store the generator in its Wisconsin factory until the city is ready for delivery.
The city will open bids for the new 15 million-gallon a day treatment plant Tuesday. It’s part of the $106 million Lake Ouachita water supply project that will increase the city’s treatment capacity by two-thirds and almost double its raw water supply.