Council approves sole-source 5-year Rockwell Automation support agreement for water and wastewater systems

Klamath Falls, Ore. — The Klamath Falls City Council on Aug. 4 authorized the city manager to execute a five-year, sole-source support and inventory agreement with North Coast Electric (Rockwell Automation) for the city’s water and wastewater automation systems.

The contract was described by Kelly Brennan, maintenance manager, as a 24/7 technical-support program that includes 200 hours of on-site field service engineering each year, remote troubleshooting tools and a parts-inventory program. “I’m here seeking your approval to enter into a 5 year agreement for tech support and inventory support with Rockwell Automation for the water and wastewater divisions for a total of $257,442,” Brennan said during the council meeting.

The council adopted findings supporting an exemption from competitive bidding and then voted to authorize the city manager to sign the sole-source agreement. City Attorney Mike Swanson asked the council to adopt the findings "as presented with the amendment on number 5 to change a date from 02/08/2023 to 07/14/2025," to align the exhibit language, and the council approved the amendment before voting on the resolution.

Why it matters: City staff said the agreement aims to reduce service disruptions by guaranteeing priority access to critical replacement parts and rapid support, addressing ongoing procurement and supply-chain difficulties for automation components. Brennan told councilors that the parts program will stock “a page and a half” of the city’s most critical spare items on-site and that Rockwell would not invoice the city until a part is removed from the inventory shelf.

Key details: - Contract structure: 24/7 remote support, 200 on-site hours per year, dashboard analytics, remote “live view” troubleshooting and maintenance checks on stored spares. - Parts bank: Brennan said Rockwell will ship identified critical spares to the city and perform periodic diagnostics and refurbishing for those items; refurbished parts will carry a two-year warranty. - Up-front parts credit: Brennan described a $30,000 parts bank to be used for repairs and refurbishment logistics. - Pricing discrepancy in record: Brennan presented a total of $257,442; later in the meeting the motion to authorize execution listed the contract amount as $257,004.42. The council record does not resolve that difference during the meeting.

Discussion vs. action: Councilors asked clarifying questions about stock availability and sole-source justification. Brennan said Rockwell will “pull from their worldwide market” and that agreements with larger customers had previously given those customers priority access to scarce parts; the new agreement was described as placing the city in a similar priority position. The city attorney and council then adopted findings and approved the resolution exempting the purchase from competitive bidding, followed by authorization for the city manager to execute the agreement.

Outcome: The council approved the findings (as amended) and authorized the city manager to execute the sole-source five-year support agreement with North Coast Electric / Rockwell Automation; the motion carried and the city moved forward with contract execution.

Budget and next steps: The council did not provide a detailed budget breakdown in the meeting beyond the contract total cited on the record and the $30,000 parts credit. City staff indicated procurement advertisements had been posted as required and that exhibit findings supporting the sole-source determination would be entered into the record.