Title
Approval to Purchase Automated Bear Resistant Roll Carts from Rehrig Pacific Company in an Amount Not to Exceed $300,000
Recommended Motion
I move that Council approve the purchase of Automated Bear Resistant Roll Carts from Rehrig Pacific Company in an amount not to exceed $300,000.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council approve the motion as presented.
Body
During the Fiscal Year 2022 Los Alamos County budget cycle, County Council authorized a one-time transfer of $2.4M from General Fund to Environmental Services for the purpose of deploying bear resistant roll carts and dumpsters county-wide. The budget is comprised of $1.75M for automated bear resistant roll carts for all 7,250 residential households and $650K for 260 bear resistant dumpsters for businesses.
The following summarizes the purchase and deployment of bear resistant refuse collection containers to date:
- December 2021: The County Manager authorized the first purchase of 680 automated bear resistant roll carts from Rehrig Pacific Company in the amount of $162,188.80.
- February 1, 2022: Council approved the purchase of 260 bear resistant dumpsters from the State of Colorado Correctional Industries in the amount of $881,555.00.
- July-August 2022: Operation Save the Bears - With the arrival of both bear resistant roll carts and dumpsters, 480 bear resistant roll carts were exchanged in the North Community 3 (NC3) residential area while 260 bear resistant dumpsters were deployed to commercial customers.
- February 28, 2023: Results of a bear cart survey from the NC3 area was presented to Council to help understand the effectiveness of the new carts and overall customer satisfaction. Per the direction of County Council, bear resistant carts will be offered upon request of residential customers.
- April 4, 2023: Council authorized a second purchase of 360 bear resistant roll carts in an amount not to exceed $84,286.00. The order included 180, 95-gallon and 180, 65-gallon size roll carts-for those who generate less waste or require a smaller size container for ease of use. Council approval was required as the total of the first and second bear cart purchase exceeded the County Manager’s purchase authority threshold of $200,000.
- July 2023: With the arrival of the second roll cart order, deployment to requesting residents was initiated. The current inventory of 95-gallon size roll carts is near depletion with approximately 140, 65-gallon roll carts remaining in inventory. Approximately 220 residents remain on the current waiting list.
- See Attachment A, Budget Detail, for a current budget summary.
Staff proposes a third order consisting of 340, 95-gallon bear resistant roll carts in the amount of $83,341.00 to address the current waiting list while also maintaining carts in inventory for future bear cart requests or to replace any broken or damaged carts.
- See Attachment B. Staff is requesting purchase authority in the amount of $300,000 to accommodate additional future purchases (approximately 1,000 roll carts total) required based on community demand.
Fully automated bear resistant roll carts manufactured by Rehrig Pacific Company meet the WildSafe BC Certified Bear Resistant Certification. The procurement of these services complies with Section 31-3(b)(4) of the County Procurement Code as the vendor is a party to a Sourcewell Contract, a cooperative purchasing agency that competitively procured and awarded a contract to Rehrig Pacific Company.
The estimated time of arrival for the proposed bear resistant cart order is 11 weeks from the day of order.
Alternatives
Council could choose to not approve the purchase or request modifications such as amending the not to exceed amount.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Planned Item
Fiscal Year 2022 funds in the amount of $2.4M were budgeted for the purchase of bear resistant roll carts and dumpsters. See Attachment A, Budget Detail, for a current budget summary.
The dispersion of this program does impact staff time to field customer requests, schedule cart exchanges, and deploy the new bear carts to residences. These impacts will be absorbed by the current staff in the Environmental Services Division with deployment being accommodated as work schedules allow.
Attachments
A - Budget Detail
B - Rehrig Pacific Company Cost Proposal