Council narrowly approves upfit for fire command vehicle after debate on cost and procurement

The El Segundo City Council on June 3 voted to waive competitive procurement and authorize a city manager designee to execute an agreement to purchase advanced command‑vehicle technology for an existing city vehicle.

Fire Department leaders said the upfit will modernize on‑scene incident command capabilities, allow live drone streaming, map and resource tracking, and improve coordination with the police department for large incidents. The motion to waive competitive procedures passed 3–2.

Why it matters: Council members and staff framed the purchase as improving situational awareness for incidents such as structure fires or active‑shooter responses. Opponents on the dais raised questions about rapid technology change, procurement costs, and whether lower‑cost portable solutions would meet the same needs.

What staff proposed: Fire Department presenters said the city already owns a 2019 Ford F‑250 command vehicle purchased from Chevron under a consent decree and that an upfit quote from the vendor 9‑1‑1 Vehicle in Anaheim would include displays, additional radios and integration to accept drone and mapping feeds. Staff told council the vendor is covered by a Sourcewell cooperative contract and that 9‑1‑1 Vehicle had built the earlier command vehicle package, creating warranty and technical continuity advantages. Staff identified about $204,000 in unrestricted development impact fees available for the purchase.

Council debate and concerns: Several council members questioned the quoted price, the proportion of labor in the vendor estimate, and the speed at which drone, radio and tablet technology evolve. One council member noted portable radios, tablets and off‑the‑shelf drone command systems could be assembled at much lower cost and argued an open competition or a local vendor might provide better value. Fire leadership responded the vendor had specific experience wiring and integrating systems into a vehicle and that sending the vehicle to East Coast vendors would create warranty and logistics issues.

Procurement rationale: Staff asked the council to waive formal competitive bidding under El Segundo Municipal Code 1‑7‑9(a) on the grounds that the firm’s prior work and warranty concerns made a direct award in the city’s best interest.

Costs and financing: Staff presented vendor pricing in the meeting; the department’s upfit figure was discussed in the $132,000 range in the presentation, and the purchasing waiver motion referred to a purchase amount cited at the dais as approximately $127,000 (transcript statements varied by line item). Staff proposed using development impact fee balances for the purchase and noted some equipment replacement funds would follow when the existing Suburban moved into reserve status.

Vote and outcome: The council voted to waive purchasing procedures and authorize the agreement 3–2. The transcript records the roll call and the motion passing 3–2; specific individual votes recorded in the meeting text include Council Member Boyles and Mayor Pimentel among those voting in favor. The motion authorized the city manager’s designee to execute the purchase and upfit agreement.

Next steps and implementation: Staff will finalize the contract with the vendor, upfit the 2019 F‑250 as the primary frontline command vehicle, and move the existing Suburban into reserve status for redundancy. The fire department said the upfitted pickup would stay in service locally while the older Suburban would remain available for strike‑team or maintenance contingencies.

Council directions recorded: The council debated competitive options and technology life‑cycle risk; some members asked staff to consider portable solutions and to look for ways to avoid rapidly obsolescing equipment. Staff said they would proceed with the direct award under the council motion but will continue to coordinate with police on drone integration and overall incident command procedures.