City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: OCTOBER 19, 2016
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution to Authorize the Transfer of a Surplus Skid Steer from Transportation & Environmental Services to the Alexandria Transit Company. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
ISSUE: Consideration of a resolution to authorize the transfer of a surplus 2001 John Deere 270 skid steer from the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services (T&ES) to the Alexandria Transit Company (ATC).
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that City Council authorize T&ES to transfer the surplus skid steer to ATC rather than dispose of it via GovDeals.
BACKGROUND: DASH staff informed the ATC Board in 2016 that it was in need of a skid steer (also known as a ‘Bobcat’) for use with its daily operations inside and around the DASH facility located at 3000 Business Center Drive. DASH staff initially proposed to use planned
FY 2016 fuel cost savings to purchase a new skid steer. However, DASH staff learned that T&ES this summer intended to retire a 2001 skid steer by disposing of it as a surplus vehicle through GovDeals, which is the City’s vendor service for selling surplus vehicles on the internet. Although the vehicle is at the end of its useful life for heavy-duty road and sewer maintenance, it may provide several years of limited/seasonal use for DASH. The equipment will be used by DASH maintenance staff to assist with snow removal on DASH facility grounds to ensure safe access and egress of buses, vehicles, and employees. The skid steer may also be used infrequently inside the facility to hoist repair parts or reposition pallets and other equipment.
Transferring the vehicle instead of disposing of it will allow DASH to defer requesting any new capital funds to purchase a similar vehicle for another 2-3 years. If DASH staff still requires such a vehicle at that time, the ATC Board would consider any staff request to formally add a skid steer to the DASH fleet prior to submitting the request to the City as part of the annual budget process.
FISCAL IMPACT: By transferring the vehicle to DASH rather than selling it on GovDeals, the City is foregoing approximately $5,000 which is the amount the City could potentially recoup for a vehicle of this age and condition. However, the transfer allows DASH to defer the need to purchase a new vehicle which could run approximately $50,000 and would also require ongoing vehicle depreciation and maintenance costs.
Once the 2001 skid steer reaches the end of its life, DASH will not replace it and it will be disposed of using standard ATC procedures. At that time, DASH staff may propose the purchase of such a vehicle through the ATC Board for future consideration by the City as part of the annual DASH subsidy.
ATTACHMENT: Proposed Resolution
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, Director, Transportation and Environmental Services
Jeremy McPike, Director, General Services
Sandy Modell, General Manager, Alexandria Transit Company/DASH