Explanation
BACKGROUND: This legislation is for the option to establish three (3) Universal Term Contracts (UTC's) for Miscellaneous Industrial Hardware for various City agencies. These contracts will provide for the purchase of miscellaneous items needed to maintain the operations within City departments, currently not on any City contracts. The Purchasing Office has accepted three (3) proposals from companies that provide a wide range of miscellaneous hardware that City agencies currently purchase from the State of Ohio Co-Operative contracts or informal bids. These three (3) proposals are from Fastenal, SID Tool Inc. dba MSC Industrial Supply Co.; and W.W. Grainger. All three have offered a discount percentage off all items in their catalogs. Starting in January 2014, the City of Columbus has embarked on a implementing a new e- catalog, as approved by Ordinance 1078-2013. This catalog system, purchased from Vinimaya, Inc., will allow City agencies to shop City contracts. The requesting agency will log into the e-catalog, search for the item needed and the e-catalog will search all City contracts, including these three (3) suppliers, bringing back the results that meet the searched term and providing the user with the contracted price. End users will be able to select the item that best fits the operational need at the best price.
The City will upload into the e-catalog most catalog-type and price list type UTC contracts. Currently, the City has no general Maintenance, Repair, and Operations UTC's. It is difficult to award an MRO UTC through a solicitation as the product line is varied and the City is unable to predict with much accuracy what and how much will be purchased. By uploading these three catalogs to the e-catalog, the agencies will be able to search, review and order the needed items at discounted prices. Therefore, the selected suppliers will be in a sense bidding within the e-catalog system each time a city user searches and compares items. This change will enable the City agencies to more efficiently purchase MRO items with cost savings.
The three MRO vendors authorized through this ordinance will not be competing with those businesses that have won City UTC's through bids. All items these MRO companies offer will be available in the e-catalog, except items the City already has a competitively bid contract for. It is the intention of this bid waiver request to fill in the gaps, not to drive spend away from vendors who have won competitive bids. In cases where an item is available under a bid contract, the e-catalog will direct and authorize City users to purchase from the bid winning contracted vendors.
The Purchasing Office is recommending a contract to the following vendors:
Fastenal, Inc., CC# 41-0948415 expires 2/18/2016, All Items: $1.00
SID Tool Inc. dba MSC Industrial Supply Co., CC# 13-5526506 expires 6/20/2015, All Items: $1.00
W.W. Grainger, Inc., CC#36-1150280 expires 12/10/2014, All Items: $1.00
Total Estimated Annual Expenditure: $250,000.00
The companies are not debarred according to the Excluded Party Listing System of the Federal Government or prohibited from being awarded a contract according to the Auditor of State Unresolved Findings for Recovery Certified Search. This ordinance is being submitted as an emergency because, without emergency action, no less that 37 days will be added to this procurement cycle and the efficient delivery of valuable public services will be slowed.
FISCAL IMPACT: Funding to establish these option contracts is from the General Fund. City Agencies will be required to obtain approval to expend from their own appropriations for their estimated annual expenditures.
Title
To authorize the Finance Management Director to enter into three (3) contracts for the option to purchase Miscellaneous Industrial Hardware with Fastenal, SID Tool Inc. dba MSC Industrial Supply Co.; and W.W. Grainger, to waive provisions of Columbus City Code, 1959, relating to award of contracts through the request for proposal process; and to authorize the expenditure of three (3) dollars to establish the contracts from the General Fund, and to declare an emergency, ($3.00).
Body
WHEREAS, Miscellaneous Industrial Hardware are used to maintain City's facilities and daily operation, and various other projects within City agencies; and
WHEREAS, the Purchasing Office solicited proposals on January 31, 2014 and selected the lowest responsive, responsible and best bidders; and
WHEREAS, this ordinance addresses Purchasing objectives of: 1) maximizing the use of City resources by obtaining optimal products at discounted prices, and 2) encouraging economic development by improving access to City bid opportunities, and 3) providing effective option contracts for City agencies to effectively maintain their supply chain and service to the public; and
WHEREAS, because there is a need to maintain a supply of miscellaneous industrial hardware, this is being submitted for consideration as an emergency measure;and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to waive provisions of Columbus City Code relating to selection using the request for proposal; process to allow negotiation with multiple suppliers providing a wide range of miscellaneous industrial hardware; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Purchasing Office in that it is immediately necessary to enter into contracts for the option to contract for Miscellaneous Industrial Hardware, thereby preserving the public health, peace, property, safety, and welfare; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1: That this Council finds the best interest of the City is served by waiving, and does hereby waive Section 329.06 of the Columbus City Codes, 1959, concerning awarding contracts through the request for proposal process.
SECTION 2: That the Finance and Management Director be and is hereby authorized to enter into the following contracts for the option to purchase miscellaneous industrial hardware for the term ending September 30, 2015, with the option to extend for one (1) additional year subject to the mutual agreement in accordance with Proposal Nos. FL005726, FL005773, and FL005775 as follows:
Fastenal: All items: $1.00
SID Tool Inc. dba MSC Industrial Supply Co.: All items: $1.00
W.W. Grainger, Inc.: All items: $1.00
SECTION 3: That the expenditure of $3.00 is hereby authorized from the General Fund, Organization Level 1: 45-01, Fund 10, OCA: 450047, Object Level 3: 2270 to pay the cost thereof.
SECTION 4: That for the reason stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.