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• POLICY H3 <br />12/10/03 <br />ITEM: Purchase of 10 SCBA Units for Fire Department <br />SUBMITTED BY: Heather Worthington, City Administrator <br />Clem Kurhajetz, Fire Chief <br />EXPLANATION: <br />Summary: In mid-2003, the city received a grant in the amount of $12,904.02 for the purchase <br />often (10) Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), with the requirement that the city <br />purchase at least $18,000 worth of equipment in order to receive the grant. The cost per SCBA <br />was estimated at $1,800 for the purpose of that grant, based on information Ramsey County <br />obtained. The Fire Department needs to replace 10 units at this time. When the city bid out the <br />SCBA's, however, the per-unit cost was almost twice that amount, $3,295.00. The city's <br />participation in the original grant would have been $6,000; the participation amount would now <br />be almost $20,045.98. If we do not apply to the County to use this grant by December 31, 2003, <br />we will lose the money. <br />Staff has been exploring all other options, including replacing our SCBA with ahigh-pressure <br />• system (we now have low-pressure SCBA), and obtaining other price quotes. The units we are <br />considering are the lowest price we can get, but these units are not part of Saint Paul's Joint <br />Purchasing Master Contract, unfortunately, as Saint Paul has converted to ahigh-pressure <br />system. If we were to purchase high-pressure units, we would need to convert our entire SCBA <br />group over to high-pressure for safety reasons, and replace our cascade system (which is used for <br />filling the tanks). We estimate that this would exceed the amount we would pay for the low- <br />pressure SCBA we are hoping to replace at this time (approximately $37,500 for the SCBA and <br />$5,000 for the cascade system, for a total of $42,500). <br />For this reason, staff is recommending that we purchase l Olow-pressure SCBA units at a cost of <br />$3,295.00, for a total of $32,950.00, minus the $12,904.02 grant, for a final total of $20,045.98. <br />Staff also considered purchasing fewer units; however, the rate of return on the city's <br />investments is at less than 2% at this time, and the price increase in SCBA units has been close to <br />5% per year in the last several years. For this reason, it makes sense to replace those ten units <br />now, rather than replace them at a rate of one or two per year for the next five years. <br />The purchase of these units will be funded out of the Public Safety Capital fund, and we will not <br />be replacing any more SCBAs unti12007. <br />ATTACHMENT: <br />• Quote from FES for 10 SCBA units <br />• <br />l~ <br />