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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Waiving City's Purchasing Policies regarding Formal Bidding Procedures and Accept Quotes Rather than Formal Bids RESOLUTION NO. 21-148 RESOLUTION WAIVING CITY'S PURCHASING POLICIES REGARDING FORMAL BIDDING PROCEDURES AND ACCEPT QUOTES RATHER THAN FORMAL BIDS FOR THE CITY OF AMES,IOWA WHEREAS, the primary purpose of the Power Plant cooling tower is to remove the heat absorbed in the circulating cooling water; and, WHEREAS,the circulating cooling water must leave the cooling tower and enter the turbine condenser below a certain temperature to allow the condenser to properly function; and, WHEREAS,if the water is too warm,the conditions will force the entire unit to either lower electric output or shut down altogether; and, WHEREAS,depending on the weather conditions outside,the Operator will regularly change the speeds of the cooling tower fans to create the desired water temperature, and if the weather is warm, the assistance of the fans at high speeds becomes very crucial, using air movement to encourage evaporation, causing the water to cool; and, WHEREAS, if the weather is below freezing temperatures, the fans must be cycled in reverse, which causes the fans to push air down into the tower,picking up heat from the hot water dropping from the top and then melting any ice on the outside louvers as the air exits; and, WHEREAS,the Plant Operator must be able to manipulate the cooling tower fan speeds to effectively operate the generation unit; and, WHEREAS,the current power feeding equipment on both Unit 7 and Unit 8 cooling tower fan motors are very old and outdated, and Plant staff have struggled with the reliability of the equipment; and, WHEREAS, there is a current Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)project set for FY 2024/25 to replace all of the power feeding equipment with Variable Frequency Drives(VFDs)and the VFDs provide control over the range of speeds, improving reliability and efficiency; and, WHEREAS, this past winter,the starter assembly feeding one of the cooling tower fans on Unit 7 failed, the mechanical switch that allows the fan to go into high speed broke, limiting the cooling capacity on one fan while the other is de-icing(reversing); and, WHEREAS,Plant staff were unable to find replacement parts and the safety and equipment risk of fabricating a new part was too high; and, WHEREAS,later in the winter,the power cubicle feeding the second cooling tower fan failed preventing the fan from going in reverse and staff had to reduce the load on the unit and perform manual de-icing until outside conditions improved; and, WHEREAS, due to the issues described, the project to replace the drives needs to be performed on Unit 7 as soon as possible to avoid operational issues during the 2021 summer weather; and, WHEREAS, state purchasing rules allow for equipment purchases based on quotes rather than a formal bid process if the total amount of the project is under $138,000; and, WHEREAS, the City's policy is go out for bid if the amount of the project is greater than $50,000, and staff would like to install the drivers before the chance of warmer weather, and is requesting a waiver from the Council of the purchasing policy and use quotes rather than formal bids; and, WHEREAS, funding for these repairs is available from the approved FY 2020/21 operating budget under the Unit 7 Steam Turbine and Generator Maintenance account, and this account currently contains $85,000 for replacing piping and equipment associated with the cooling tower circulating water. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that the waiver of the City's Purchasing Policies regarding formal bidding procedures and accepting quotes rather than formal bids is hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 23rd day of March, 2021. Diane R. Voss, City Clerk John A. Haila, Mayor Introduced by: Martin Seconded by: Corrieri Voting aye: Beatty-Hansen, Betcher, Corrieri, Gartin, Junck, Martin Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 23' day of March, 2021.