BACKGROUND

The approved FY15 Capital Budget includes $500,000 for the purchase of two new ambulances.  Staff is proposing to utilize the Joint Purchase Contract provided by the Northwest Municipal Conference (NWMC) Suburban Purchase Cooperative Ambulance Bid. 

The NWMC Suburban Purchasing Cooperative (SPC), a cooperative of 135 municipalities in Northern Illinois, offers Joint bidding to its members.  By bidding out common vehicles and services, the SPC is able to offer lower prices through greater economies of scale.  In January of 2013, SPC publicly bid a contract for “Type 1 Additional Duty Ambulances” and awarded the contract to Foster Coach Sales Inc./ Horton Emergency Vehicles.  In November 2013, the contract received approval by the SPC Governing Board for a one-year (out of possible three-year) extension for the base price of $239,348. 

In FY14, the Fire Department ordered two ambulances from Foster Coach and have been happy with their services. In addition to the Joint Purchasing Price, Foster Coach offers a pre-payment savings of $3,516 per ambulance.  The vendor has also offered a trade-in allowance of $13,000 for the two used ambulances.  The total cost of the ambulances minus the pre-payment discount and surplus offering is $458,664 which is $41,336 under budget. 

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the Village Board approve a purchase to Horton Emergency Vehicles of Grove City, Ohio and its dealer, Foster Coach Sales of Sterling, Illinois for the purchase of two Horton Type 1 Ambulances for the total not-to-exceed amount of $478,696. It is further recommended that the Village Board authorize the pre-payment option and accept the trade-in of the two 2003 Medtec Ambulances for a net deduction of $20,032 and total expenditure of $458,664.  The vendor has been determined to be responsible and the bid meets specifications.