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AGENDA BILL Agenda Item No. 5(C) Date: October 15, 2013 To: El Cerrito City Council From: Lance Maples, Fire Chief Subject: Regional Federal Emergency Management Grant for the Purchase of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus from Allstar Fire Equipment, Inc. ACTION REQUESTED Staff requests that the City Council adopt a resolution taking the following actions: 1) Authorize the participation of the Fire Department in a County-wide Regional Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant with Contra Costa County Fire Protection District for the purchase of 36 Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) devices; 2) Approve the use of $46,685 in matching funds, of which $15,561 will be received from a contribution from the Kensington Fire Protection District (KFPD) and the remaining $31,124 in matching funds from the Vehicle/Equipment Replacement Fund; and 3) Authorize payment of $46,685 to for the required match to purchase 36 SCBAs from Allstar Fire Equipment, Inc. BACKGROUND In 2000, the El Cerrito Fire Department upgraded their SCBAs, also referred to as air packs, from low pressure to high pressure which also included converting the air bottles to light weight carbon steel resulting in the reduction of the weight of the packs. The new air packs incorporated many new safety features that had been included in the new National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. The majority of the SCBAs and air bottles are approaching the 15 year age mark which requires the bottles to be replaced. In addition, the regulators and monitoring systems built into the air packs are starting to fail from extreme use faced in a fire environment. Over the last decade the safety standards set by NFPA for new SCBAs has required a number of new features to be included in all new designs. These include the ability to “buddy breath” where one firefighter can share his air with another, “Heads Up” displays in the mask to track air usage, high capacity air bottles for greater air reserve as well as GPS trackers to assist in finding down ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(C) firefighters. All of these new features are designed to provide the Department's personnel with the highest level of safety possible. ANALYSIS In October of 2012, El Cerrito participated in a County-Wide Regional Grant Request with for the purchase of 36 new SCBAs and spare air bottles that meet the new NFP A standards. as the lead agency applied to FEMA through their regional grant program to purchase 381 air packs and bottles for six different agencies within the County. Earlier this year received notification from FEMA that grant number EMW-2012-FR-00093 had been approved for $1.8 million dollars. Based on the fact that the majority of the County has been standardized on one brand of the SCBA for more than 40 years and to provide for interoperability between agencies, received approval to sole source the air packs from Allstar Fire Equipment, Inc. Due in part to the number of air packs being group purchased, the City is able to realize almost $1,100 in savings per SCBA. With this acquisition, the Fire Department will be able to replace all of its SCBAs to NFP A compliant SCBAs and provide numerous safety features not currently available on the existing obsolete units. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS The total purchase price for the 36 SCBAs, spare bottles, masks and voice amplifiers is $233,422. A 20% match of local agency funds is required for the City to participate in the purchase. Matching funds totaling $46,685 will be paid by a contribution of $15,561 from the KFPD and the remaining $31,124 through an allocation from the City's Vehicle/Equipment Replacement Fund approved in the adopted FY 2013-14 budget. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS Approval of this action results in an inter-governmental purchase between two exempt agencies, thus an open bid process is not required. Furthermore, as previously discussed, the air packs are being sole sourced with Federal approval due to the County-wide standardization and to maintain interoperability. Attachments: 1. Proposed Resolution 2. Local Agency Share Invoice from 3. Allstar Fire Equipment Invoice Page 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(C) Attachment 1 RESOLUTION 2013–XX RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL CERRITO AUTHORIZING THE PARTICIPATION IN A COUNTY-WIDE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) GRANT WITH CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT AND APPROVING THE USE OF $46,685 IN MATCHING FUNDS AND AUTHORIZING THE PAYMENT OF $46,685 TO FOR THE 20% MATCH FOR THE $233,422 PURCHASE OF SELF CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS (SCBA) DEVICES FROM ALLSTAR FIRE EQUIPMENT, INC. WHEREAS, the Fire Department is using 14-year old SCBAs that are no longer compliant with National Fire Protection Association standards; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of El Cerrito recognizes the need to replace these SCBA units with new compliant air packs and bottles to meet standards required to enter atmospheres that are Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH); and WHEREAS, the Fire Department participated with in securing a Regional FEMA Grant totaling $1.8 million; and WHEREAS, the cost for the air packs and bottles totals $233,422 of which the City is required to contribute 20% in matching funds; and WHEREAS, $15, 561 of the required $46,685 matching funds will be paid by the Kensington Fire Protection District (KFPD); and WHEREAS, the remaining matching funds of $31,124 were approved in the FY 2013-14 adopted budget from an allocation in the Vehicle/Equipment Fund. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of El Cerrito authorizes the City’s participation in a County-wide FEMA grant with and approves the use of $46,685 in matching funds of which, $15,561 will be received from KFPD and the remaining $31,124 from the Vehicle/Equipment Replacement Fund and authorizes the payment of $46,685 to for the purchase of 36 SCBA devices from Allstar Fire Equipment, Inc. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Fire Department is authorized to proceed with the purchase of this equipment due to its unique nature as allowed under the City’s purchasing guidelines. I CERTIFY that at the regular meeting on October 15, 2013, the El Cerrito City Council passed this resolution by the following vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(C) Attachment 1 IN WITNESS of this action, I sign this document and affix the corporate seal of the City of El Cerrito on October XX, 2013. Cheryl Morse, City Clerk APPROVED: Gregory B. Lyman, Mayor ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(C) Attachment 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(C) Attachment 3