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Council approves marine motor purchase, police vehicles and a training simulator; waives bidding for several buys
Summary
Waukegan authorized purchases including two outboard motors for the fire department dive boat, new police vehicles, a Diligent agenda-management platform and a simulated heavy equipment trainer — several buys were handled as waivers or sole-source approvals because of urgency or vendor uniqueness.
Waukegan aldermen on March 17 approved a set of equipment and technology purchases for public-safety and training purposes, citing urgency, local vendor relationships and sole-source availability in several cases.
The council approved a not-to-exceed $58,869.43 purchase to replace two outboard motors for the Waukegan Fire Department’s dive and rescue boat from Bay Marine Chicago after department leaders said the current loaner boat had an unusable motor and a long lead time for a new vessel. Fire leadership told the council the department must retain an operational boat for the coming boating season; a previously offered loaner from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office was not sufficient.
Police vehicle and equipment purchases approved included a 2025 police interceptor (joint purchase) not to exceed $51,762 and a 2025 Toyota Tundra (good-faith waiver) not to exceed $48,604 to be used by a Community Crimes Division/DEA task force officer; staff said the vehicle for the task-force officer will be paid from forfeiture funds tied to the task force.
Training and software purchases - A simulator from CM Labs was approved as a sole-source purchase for about $219,785.74; staff said this simulator is the only product found that provides heavy-equipment training for Public Works and the Water Department. - The council approved migration from BoardDocs to Diligent Community Platform and associated software licenses not to exceed $29,100 for FY2025; the clerk’s office and IT said Diligent is the successor platform and will support agenda management going forward.
Why it matters: The fire department argued that a timely purchase of motors is needed to maintain water-rescue capability before a new boat could be acquired — department officials said a new boat build could take two to three years. Police and public-works leadership said the simulator and vehicles improve operational readiness, and that local vendors sometimes offered quicker delivery or service.
Procurement notes: Several items used waivers or sole-source justifications: Bay Marine was selected in part because of a local relationship and faster turnaround; the simulator was presented as sole-source after staff research indicated it was the only available product meeting requirements. The Toyota Tundra and police interceptor purchases were described as joint or expedited purchases to ensure officers have reliable vehicles and to allow immediate deployment of a task-force vehicle.
Votes and next steps: The purchases passed by recorded roll call. Departments will finalize purchase orders and schedule installation or delivery; staff said the simulator will be used across departments for operator training and the boat motors will be installed before the peak boating season.
Provenance: Details appear in the March 17 committee and council discussion and roll-call votes for equipment, vehicle and simulator procurements.
