Title
Firefighting Foam Contract
Action
Action:
A. Approve the purchase of firefighting foam, as authorized by sole source exemption of G.S. 143-129 (e)(6),
B. Approve a unit price contract with Municipal Emergency Services for the purchase of Foam Concentrate for the term of one year, and
C. Authorize the City Manager to renew the contract for up to four, one-year terms with possible price adjustments and to amend the contract consistent with the purpose for which the contract was approved.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Reginald Johnson, Fire
Rich Granger, Fire
Kevin Gordon, Fire
Sole Source Exemption
* G.S. 143-129 (e)(6) provides that formal bidding requirements do not apply when:
? Performance or price competition is not available;
? A needed product is available from only one source or supply; and
? Standardization or compatibility is the overriding consideration.
* Sole sourcing is necessary for this contract to ensure compatibility with the foam that is currently in use.
* The City Council must approve purchases made under the sole source exemption.
Explanation
* Municipal Emergency Services is the manufacturer of three percent MS AFFF Military Grade Foam Concentrate and does not sell the product through distributors.
* This is the only foam manufactured that can be used with firefighting foam currently in use.
* Compatibility is vital for both storage and use of the foam during emergencies.
* Purchase of non-compatible foam would not mix appropriately with the current foam in use, creating an inability to pump and/or spray, making it unusable during emergencies.
* In a typical year, Fire purchases approximately six, 265-gallon totes of foam.
* This foam is used to fight fires at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. It is also utilized by 55 companies and is hauled on a special apparatus in or around the Paw Creek area to combat potential petroleum based fires associated with the mixing of ethanol gas.
* Fire estimates annual expenditures t...
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