City Council Meeting Date: March 21, 2017
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Police Chief Monte Nelson
Title
Authorize the Purchase of Four Squads and the Sale/Trade of Four Squad Cars for the Northfield Police Department
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council hereby authorizes:
A. The purchase of four squad cars (two marked squads and two unmarked squads) as follows:
- Three, 2016 Ford Interceptor Utility SUV’s, from Dokmo Ford,
Purchase Price: $28,629.00 each Total = $85,887
- One, Dodge Caravan, from Dokmo Ford-Chrysler,
Purchase Price: $24,289
B. The sale at auction, or trade of four used, squad cars as follows:
- Two, 2013, Ford Interceptor Sedan, Marked Squads
- One, 2008, Ford Expedition, Unmarked Squad
- One, 2010, Dodge Caravan, Unmarked Squad
Summary Report:
The City Council is asked to approve the purchase of four squads as detailed in the previously approved 2017 Capital Equipment Plan, and the disposal of four used squad cars. The Patrol Division will utilize two new utility vehicles as Marked Squad cars for normal patrol functions. The other two vehicles will be used as Unmarked Squads for Investigations and support purposes such as use by Reserve Officers, Undercover patrols, Evidence Technician and hauling items to the range. The vehicle prices are all quoted per State of Minnesota bid pricing.
Nelson Ford of Fergus Falls provided a quote for the three Ford Interceptor SUV’s for slightly less at $84,630 than the Dokmo quote of $85,887. The Nelson Ford quote is $419 less per vehicle, $1257 total for all three vehicles. Staff recommends the purchase of the three Interceptor SUV squads locally from Dokmo Ford. See the attached price quotes for details.
For the Dodge Caravan, Dokmo Ford-Chrysler provided the best price. Dokmo quoted the Dodge Caravan price at $24,289 and Dodge of Burnsville quoted the state bid price at $24,512. See attached quotes/documents for details.
These purchases follow the previously approved 2017 Capital Equipment Plan (CEP) for the City. The 2017 CEP projected a purchase price of $28,000 per SUV, with an additional $11,000 in new equipment per vehicle for the two SUV Marked Squads. The department hopes to get at least $5,000 each, for the two used Interceptor Sedans sold, leaving the per vehicle cost at $34,000 for each of the Marked Squads.
One of the Ford SUV’s and the Caravan will only receive about $1500 in equipment/installation. With equipment costs and trade-in and/or sale of the used Expedition and the used Caravan, the estimated costs are about $25,500 for the Unmarked SUV and about $21,300 for the Unmarked Caravan.
The CEP plan allows the department to track and plan for regular replacement of not just the squads, but also the equipment placed in the squads such as radar units, computers, lights, controllers, and squad video systems. Some of this equipment has not been on a tracked replacement schedule and has required repair or unexpected/unfunded replacement.
Department staff recommend the approval of the purchases of all four vehicles (locally) from Dokmo Ford-Chrysler.
Alternative Options:
Delay of these purchases will result in significant repair costs and loss of equity. The Police Department has already incurred significant maintenance expenses related to some of these vehicles. In addition, the value of the existing squad cars will continue to depreciate.
Financial Impacts:
The total amount for the purchase of the vehicles after equipment costs and trade-in/sale credits will be about $114,800. The 2017 Capital Equipment Plan for Police Squads was approved at $126,000. Any additional costs will be paid through the Police Department’s regular budget.
Tentative Timelines:
Order Vehicles: March 2017
Squad Delivery (Approximate): June/July 2017