Explanation
1. BACKGROUND
The Division of Planning and Operations is responsible for sweeping along the City's roadway system. To accomplish this mission the Division requires eight 4-Wheel Sweepers. These sweepers will replace older units which are beyond their useful service life and will provide for a more reliable fleet to carry out services provided by the Division.
In order to effectively sweep older neighborhoods, the City's downtown and areas that are on the outer reaches of the city, the Division requires a sweeper that is highly versatile. The Challenger sweeper is unique for its combination of four attributes: 1) it has a very tight turning radius, 2) the ability to travel at high speeds, 3) it is capable of dumping directly into a dump truck bed, and 4) it has a dual engine configuration. This last item is most important in that sweepers are high maintenance pieces of equipment.
The sole sweeper on the market capable of meeting all four attributes is the 4-wheel Challenger. McLean Company is the only authorized dealer in central Ohio who can meet the contract requirement that the warranty work be performed in Franklin County or a contiguous county. Therefore, the Purchasing Office recommended that negotiations with McLean Company be used to procure the sweepers, rather than a bid process where only one company would be eligible to bid. During the negotiations, the City was able to procure additional warranty years. The City negotiated the price based on the price paid by other entities in the last year. The negotiated price for a single unit is $166,900.00.
Therefore, the Division of Planning and Operations respectfully requests that City Council waives the competitive bidding provisions of the Columbus City Codes for the reasons stated above.
Searches in the Excluded Party List System (Federal) and the Findings for Recovery list (State) produced no findings against The McLean Company.
2. CONTRACT COMPLIANCE INFORMATION
The McL...
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