Agenda Packets - 1983/01/24 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMO TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Clerk -Administrator', f DATE: January 20, 1983 SUBJECT: POLICE SQUAD BIDS On Tuesday, January 18th, the City opened bids for the purchase of a Police squad car. At the time bids were opened we had received bids from three different car dealerships for four vehicles. The bids received are as follows: Coon Rapids Chrysler -Plymouth 1983 Grand Fury - $9,547.88 Minar Ford Crown Victoria "S" - $9,680.00 Iten Chevrolet 1983 Impala - $10,689.00 1983 Malibu - $10,621.00 A full evaluation of the bids with respect to the City's specifications ro�and our previous experience with Police squad cars was performed by _.City Mechanic Dick Schmidlin and Police Chief Ernie Grabowski, with the following determinations being made. In the case of the bid from Coon Rapids Chrysler -Plymouth, the bid was not in compliance with the City's specifications, in that, the engine bid is larger than that specified and the vehicle proposed has a unibody frame rather than a full frame as specified. The City's experience with unibody frames is that the stretching and bending of these frames experienced during heavy Police usage makes it impossible to hold the front end alignment, thus, causing operational difficulties, as well as heavier wear on the front tires of the vehicle. Also, a unibody frame does not provide what would be considered adequate frame strength in order to protect our Police Officers in impact situations. City Mechanic Schmidlin has advised that the City's past experience with respect to Chrysler vehicles reveals that they are approximately two cents per mile more expensive to operate than either Chevrolet or Ford vehicles. The Minar Ford Crown Victoria "S" bid did not include the pricing for the specified gauge package and 100 amp alternator, which would add an additional $186.25 to the bid for a net bid of $9,866.25. The City has had very good operating experience with Ford vehicles and finds no reason to recommend rejection of this bid as it relates to the specifi- cations, however, the staff is presently evaluating the suitability of this vehicle for conversion to propane Fueling and is,at the la me this memo is being written, attempting to obtain the information necessary ..to make such a determination. For that reason staff will have additional fomments during the January 24th meeting reqarding the suitability of this vehicle for propane conversion and a recommendation with respect to its purchase.