02-24-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Keis and Members of the City Council FROM: Heidi Heller, City Clerk DATE: February 24, 2021 RE: Purchase of 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander City Staff Vehicle ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: Approve the purchase of a 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander city staff vehicle and trailer hitch from White Bear Mitsubishi for $21,996.44. BACKGROUND: In 2020, staff planned to hire a Code Enforcement/Rental Housing Coordinator and purchase an administrative staff vehicle, but due to the pandemic, both of these plans were put on hold until 2021. The Code Enforcement/Rental Housing Coordinator position hiring process has now started with a targeted start date in April, and the $23,000 budgeted for the staff vehicle was carried over to the adopted 2021-2025 Capital Improvement Plan. The City has traditionally required administrative staff to use their private vehicles for city inspections and other business. The employees are reimbursed for mileage, but they are not identifiable as a city employee. This also creates additional safety and liability issues when conducting official city business in a personal vehicle. An administrative vehicle would primarily be used for rental licensing and code enforcement inspections, but also available for staff to use for meetings and staff would be able to haul larger items without needing a Public Works employee do it with their pickup truck. A trailer hitch will be purchased from the dealership and installed by Public Works staff so the SUV can also be used to haul the Parks & Rec supply/storage trailer that is planned for future purchase. City vehicles are traditionally purchased new through the state contract program. Staff preferred to purchase a hybrid SUV for lower fuel costs and to contribute to the City’s sustainability goals, but the amount budgeted was not enough for a new hybrid SUV. Since the annual miles will likely be low on this vehicle, staff also considered a used vehicle. A 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV all wheel drive SUV with 17,700 miles was found at White Bear Mitsubishi. This is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and has the option to run only on electricity and switch to gas when needed. It can run on electricity alone for up to 22 miles, depending on conditions, and regenerative braking can be used to take the energy generated during braking to charge the batteries. The vehicle comes with a portable charging cord that plugs into a standard outlet, so no special charging station is required. It can also be “fast charged” through an electric vehicle charging station. The vehicle will be parked often enough and overnight so battery charging can be kept up. Staff will also likely add an outlet pole in the parking lot at City Hall to make it convenient to plug in when not in use.