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Council waives bidding for advanced command‑vehicle tech; 3–2 vote follows debate over costs and rapid tech change
Summary
Council approved a waiver of competitive bidding to upfit a city-owned command vehicle with advanced communications, displays and drone integration; the motion passed 3-2 amid concerns about vendor concentration, labor-intensive costs and rapidly evolving technology.
The City Council approved, by a 3-2 vote, a purchasing waiver to directly award a contract to upfit an existing 2019 Ford F‑250 command truck with advanced command‑and‑control technology for the fire department.
Chief Evan Sifke outlined the operational need for better situational awareness, including streaming drone video to a command post, large monitor displays of mapping and integration with the department’s response software. "We've been working a lot closer with PD as…
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