Agenda Item Wording:
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Purchase of Three (3) Diesel-Powered Solid Waste Trucks - Authorize the purchase of three (3) diesel-powered commercial front-load solid waste trucks from Haaker Equipment Company of Tulare through the Sourcewell Cooperative contract in the amount of $1,416,410.
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Prepared by: Jason Serpa, Public Works Manager, jason.serpa@visalia.city, 713-4533 Nick Bartsch, Public Works Director, nick.bartsch@visalia.city, 713-4052
Department Recommendation: Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the purchase of three (3) Diesel-powered commercial front-load solid waste trucks from Haaker Equipment Company of Tulare, CA through the Sourcewell Cooperative contract (110223-MCN) in the amount of $1,416,410.
Summary:
In accordance with the replacement schedule set by the City’s capital improvement program, the Solid Waste Division within the Public Works Department is seeking the authorization to replace two (2) commercial front-load solid waste trucks that were included in the FY 25/26 Budget. An additional growth truck is also being sought for purchase. The type and quantity of trucks to be purchased are as follows:
(3) Commercial Front Loader (VH0309)
Background Discussion:
In the past, City staff has recommended a mix of diesel and CNG-powered solid waste trucks to diversify the fleet in case of CNG outage and to lower costs. The goal of fleet diversification was to bring the fleet to a diesel to CNG ratio of 25% diesel power and 75% CNG power. As of today, the solid waste fleet is comprised of 49 CNG-powered and 15 diesel-powered trucks, which nearly satisfies the diversification. For this purchase, staff has been presented with three diesel-powered solid waste trucks that are already near production end and would not have the standard lead time of 8-12 months to be built. Staff expects these three trucks to be delivered by calendar year-end.
Haaker Equipment Company is the McNeilus solid waste body dealer in the area and will coordinate with Peterbilt (The City’s uniform fleet chassis dealer) to install the truck bodies. The trucks recommended for purchase are already in production and are expected to be delivered with very little lead time. Solid waste is in need of front load backup capacity to have sufficient redundancy to operate while minimizing downtime and overtime. This purchase will assist in boosting the overall truck count to provide the backups needed for optimal efficiency.
Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing (Sourcewell) helps the City save time and money by purchasing from ready-to-use, competitively solicited contracts. Cooperative purchasing is “Procurement conducted by, or on behalf of, one or more public procurement units,” as defined by the American Bar Association Model Procurement Code for State and Local Governments. Sourcewell streamlines the purchasing process by developing requests for purchase for national competitive solicitations that meet or exceed local requirements. Because Haaker Equipment Company is the McNeilus dealer in Tulare County, and McNeilus Trucks are already competitively bid by Sourcewell, the City is able to utilize that contract to obtain the Sourcewell cooperative price. This helps the City obtain truck and body manufacturers available through a local dealer, thus keeping maintenance costs down for fleet maintenance and repair.
The Visalia Solid Waste Division operates a fleet of 64 trucks, including: (20) commercial front-load trucks, (6) roll-off trucks, and (38) residential side-load trucks. The current replacement program for a solid waste truck is 10 years. As mentioned previously, the two trucks being replaced and the growth truck are included in the FY 25/26 budget. The trucks being replaced will have been in operation for nearly 11 years.
Over the last six fiscal years, the Solid Waste Division has replaced (57) refuse trucks, thus improving the City’s fleet to more current standards and greater operational efficiency and effectiveness. The replacement schedule that pertains to this report and for the future is as follows:
FY 25/26: (3) trucks
After FY25/26, all non-backup Solid Waste trucks will be of model year 2020 or newer and have gone through a recent replacement cycle. The new replacement cycle is scheduled to begin in FY31/32.
Fiscal Impact: The City's capital improvement plan included $1,460,700 to purchase 3 replacement trucks for the fiscal year 25/26 (VH0309). Due to receiving a grant for a growth truck earlier than anticipated, it was used to replace one of the trucks on this replacement cycle. This purchase will fulfil the remaining two replacements and the growth truck, without additional appropriation needed.
This purchase will be (3) trucks and will be paid for by the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund (441). Any remaining funds, including proceeds from the sale of the old vehicles, will return to the Solid Waste Fund (441). 
Prior Council Action:
May 20, 2019 - Award Purchase of 4 CNG refuse trucks to E.M. Tharp.
January 6, 2020 - Award Purchase of 13 CNG refuse trucks to E.M. Tharp.
May 18, 2020 - Award Purchase of 13 CNG refuse trucks to E.M. Tharp.
June 7, 2021 - Award Purchase of 6 Diesel refuse trucks to E.M. Tharp.
May 16, 2022 - Award Purchase of 2 Diesel refuse trucks to E.M. Tharp.
March 3, 2023 - Award Purchase of 7 Diesel refuse trucks to E.M. Tharp.
February 20, 2024 - Award Purchase of 5 Diesel refuse trucks to E.M. Tharp.
March 17, 2025 - Award Purchase of 5 CNG refuse trucks to E.M. Tharp.
April 7, 2025 - Award Purchase of 2 CNG refuse trucks to E.M. Tharp.
Other: N/A
Alternatives: Choose not to authorize the use of Sourcewell’s national cooperative agreement with McNeilus dealer, Haaker Equipment Company. This is not recommended as there can be significant delays with the procurement of vehicles. This may result in higher maintenance costs, increased downtime, and additional overtime to keep older vehicles operating in the meantime.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to authorize the City Manager to purchase three (3) Diesel-powered commercial front-load solid waste trucks from Haaker Equipment Company of Tulare, CA through the Sourcewell Cooperative contract in the amount of $1,416,410.
Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Deadline for Action: 10/6/2025
Attachments: Sourcewell Pricing Quote - Front Load Truck (CNG) Vehicle Purchase Authorization Forms Sourcewell Contract