This link is to the City Council agenda backup item requesting 677,000 dollars for a new chiller for city hall.
It was bought through a buy board, The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN). There were several other vendors awarded at the same time as this vendor.
There was significant community input at the council meeting asking that the item be bid out.
Council’s vote was unanimously in favor of the no-bid long-lasting chiller.
City staff explained that they did not bid it out because they were in dire need of a new one and bidding would take too long. Staff further explained that they wanted to get a chiller that would give them the longest life.
A review of the TCPN evaluation shows that 30% of the contract award decision was based on price. How can that be a bid? Then looking at TCPN’s web page for this contract, we can see that it says “Contact Vendor for Pricing”. You think I’m kidding? Look here! As final proof that this deal was wired by staff be aware that the council meeting was September 12, 2010. The vendor’s contract from TCPN was not effective until September 13, 2010. I wish I was clever enough to make this stuff up!
They replaced the chiller in 2011.
A long lasting, no-bid chiller for a building that we are going to tear down now turns out to be a waste of our money.
By the way, TCPN gets 4% of whatever is awarded. Don’t tell me that buying from the buy board was about efficiency. The City of El Paso probably could have conducted its own bid for the $27,080 dollars that Houston based TCPN got as it’s cut on this, but then again staff wanted to pick their own vendor. They waited for their favorite vendor to get its contract before they brought this to City Council.
We deserve better.
elpasospeak 