Eastpointe council approves pavilion roof, computer replacement and buys leased vehicles
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Summary
At its May 6 meeting the Eastpointe City Council awarded a $12,584 contract to replace a pavilion roof at Kennedy Park, authorized purchase of 80 desktop computers and associated Microsoft licenses for about $97,008 total, and approved buying out several leased city vehicles instead of renewing leases.
The Eastpointe City Council on May 6 approved three procurement actions: awarding a contract to replace the Kennedy Park pavilion roof, purchasing 80 desktop computers and software licenses, and directing administration to buy leased vehicles rather than renew leases for code‑compliance and DPW use.
Roof replacement: The council awarded the Kennedy Park pavilion roof replacement contract to Weatherseal Home Improvement Company Inc., Shelby Township, Michigan, for $12,584 and authorized the city manager to sign the documents. Staff reported that a metal roof alternate was available but the estimated difference led DPW to recommend shingles for cost reasons.
Computers and software: Staff said the 2024–25 budget contained $100,000 for a phased computer replacement. The council approved purchasing 80 Lenovo ThinkCentre desktop computers through the state MI‑DEAL contract with CDW for $60,004.96 plus Microsoft 2024 licenses (transcript amount cited approximately $37,012) resulting in a combined cost roughly in the $97,000 range, which staff said is under the budgeted amount.
Vehicle leases: Council considered whether to buy out seven end‑of‑lease vehicles (six code/building vehicles and one DPW vehicle) or to continue leasing. Staff provided buy‑out figures totaling about $42,409 to purchase the vehicles outright and noted existing vehicles had low mileage and could last 8–10 years. Council voted to direct administration to purchase the vehicles at lease end and to stop leasing vehicles for code enforcement moving forward.
Why it matters: The purchases represent near‑term capital outlays already budgeted or evaluated against operating lease costs. The buyout decision affects long‑term fleet replacement strategy and total cost of ownership; the computer purchase is part of an organization‑wide refresh to update aging hardware.
Details and votes: All three actions passed on roll call votes. Council members asked staff about alternate roofing materials, cloud vs. on‑premise licensing for Office products, and whether leased vehicles include maintenance in monthly payments. Staff answered that the lease cost included maintenance and that buying out the vehicles produced a 14‑month payback vs. continuing to lease for those units. The council directed administration to present monthly status updates as procurement and implementation proceed.
