For City Council Meeting [January 12, 2021]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Sean Grayson, Acting City Manager
FROM: Mark P. Kling, Chief of Police
Title
Request City Council to Approve the Purchase of Two (2) “Zero” Electric Motorcycles from Mountain Motorsports in the Amount of $37,728.28.
Body
BACKGROUND
The Rialto Police Department (RPD) received funding in the amount of $24,962.00 from the FY 2018 Homeland Security Grant Program to purchase Specialized Emergency Management Vehicles for responses in areas not conducive to standard police vehicles.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The city’s topography is varying, ranging from common cityscape features to long stretches of unpaved surfaces with overgrown brush, hilly and rocky areas, and numerous wash areas. The introduction of specialized emergency management vehicles, specifically two (2) “Zero” electric motorcycles, will prove to be an excellent tool for accessing these varying areas of topography and will aid in emergency management operations or disaster response in order to transport equipment and personnel to incident sites in the City of Rialto with limited or restricted accessibility.
The non-cityscape areas in the City of Rialto have required police responses for a varying number of issues such as homeless encampments, wildfire threats, and criminal activity. Because of the topography, the customary police vehicle is limited in its accessibility capabilities and currently, the Rialto Police Department is not equipped with vehicles that will allow for access in these areas. Past responses in these areas would require police officers to exit their police vehicle and walk or run to an area that required eliminating a criminal threat or making notifications of an impending disaster, limiting their expediency.
A number of responses by police personnel would have benefited from the use of specialized emergency management vehicles. Wildfires that burned a significant portion of the north end of our city required both fire and police response. The introduction of a “Zero” electric motorcycle would have aided in our responses in order to provide evacuation warnings to our citizens which include homeless encampments. It would also have allowed for critical transportation of equipment and/or the ability to monitor emergency responses. Additionally, past heavy rains have caused flooding in wash areas in the City that have required both fire and police responses. A “Zero” electric motorcycle would have proved beneficial in warning persons that frequent the wash area, such as our homeless population, of the mounting danger of these heavy rains. Both responses to these natural disasters by way of a “Zero” electric motorcycle would greatly mitigate the potential for officer injuries as it would not be necessary to respond in a common fashion, on foot or attempting an ingress/egress by way of a customary police vehicle.
The two (2) “Zero” electric motorcycles are stealthy, clean and efficient. With no gears, clutch or noise, they provide a new tactical advantage for law enforcement and the ability to patrol on parks, trails, running paths, and other varying topography. The “Zero” electric motorcycles are able to access both indoor and outdoor venues to allow for patrolling at concerts, parades, and sporting events. The “Zero” electric motorcycles allow for traffic enforcement in dense urban areas, pedestrian areas and surface streets and also allow for enforcement where silence is an advantage. Lastly, the “Zero” electric motorcycles allow for emergency response scenarios where maneuverability and agility are key.
On November 18, 2020, the bid process was opened under RFB 21-014. The bid process closed on November 30, 2020, and no bids were received. After doing our due diligence, Staff worked with Zero Motorcycles, the manufacturer of the electric motorcycles. Zero Motorcycles assigned the purchase the two (2) “Zero” electric motorcycles to Mountain Motorsports in Ontario, California.
Pursuant to Section 2.48.110, subsections B, C, D and E of the Rialto Municipal Code, Staff recommends approval of the quote from Mountain Motorsports. Mountain Motorsports is able to provide the two (2) “Zero” electric motorcycles that meet our required specifications, and the City will not take delivery of any equipment prior to final inspection and acceptance.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action does not meet the definition of a project as defined by Section 15378 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and excludes the following:
1) Continuing administrative or maintenance activities, such as purchases for supplies, personnel-related actions, general policy and procedure making.
2) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
The City of Rialto has outlined key goals and objects relating to public safety. The approval of this agreement is consistent with meeting these objectives.
Goal 5-8: Provide effective and comprehensive policing services that meet the safety needs of Rialto.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed and supports this staff report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Operating Budget Impact
This purchase does not impact the city’s operating budget.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
Funding in the amount of $12,766.28 is available in Rolling Stock Account No. 300-500-6150-3050 and Staff will process a budget adjustment in the amount of $24,962.00 from the FY18 Homeland Security Grant Account No. 247-500-6983-2021 to grant Rolling Stock Account No. 247-500-6983-3050, for the total funding needed in the amount of $37,728.28 for the purchase of two (2) “Zero” Electric Motorcycles from Mountain Motorsports.
Per Rialto Municipal Code Section: 2.48.145, a vendor disclosure form is attached.
Licensing
This action does not trigger a requirement for a business license.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the purchase of two (2) “Zero” Electric Motorcycles from Mountain Motorsports in the Amount of $37,728.28