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Public Works asks council to fund additional police and fleet vehicles; staff reports EV charging and fuel‑use progress
Summary
Public Works staff sought council approval to acquire 10 additional police vehicles and several Public Works units (motor grader, street sweeper replacement, jet‑vac truck). Staff reported gains in fleet miles‑per‑gallon and installation of public EV chargers; council requested bids, grant follow‑up and clarification of retained‑earnings funding.
Jeff Bowman, operations director in Public Works, presented a multi‑part fleet update and a request to purchase additional vehicles and equipment.
Bowman summarized recent fleet work: the city installed GPS telematics on over 100 vehicles to measure idling and routing, and reported improved fleet fuel efficiency (miles per gallon rose from about 9.7 to 10.9), lower total fuel use in 2024, and 21 hybrid vehicles in the fleet or on order with more planned. The city also now has 14 public EV charging ports at municipal facilities and is pursuing a level‑3 fast charger at the municipal service center (MSC) to support future EV uptake.
On acquisitions, Bowman said the police fleet remains short by roughly 10 marked patrol units because of prior supply constraints and rising upfitting costs; Bowman estimated a fully outfitted patrol vehicle now costs roughly $110,000 (vehicle + upfit). Public Works requested replacements and additions: two snowplow replacement trucks (already budgeted in 2025) plus a new motor grader (to avoid continued high monthly rental costs), replacement of an aging street sweeper, and purchase of a 12‑yard jet‑vac truck to improve stormwater inlet cleaning and reduce reliance on contractors.
Finance staff said fleet retained earnings total roughly $10M now (expected to be higher at year end) and recommended using fleet retained earnings to fund the proposed purchases; Bowman proposed bringing an ordinance for first reading and borrowing from fleet retained earnings (ordinance first reading suggested March 3, second reading April 7). Councilors asked for competitive bid confirmation, details about snow‑removal attachments for the grader, EV payback estimates, and whether grants will help fund charging infrastructure. Bowman and staff agreed to return with more detailed pricing and grant status; staff noted some grants are reimbursement‑based and federal policy changes could affect award timing.
Outcome: Council expressed support for replacing the motor grader and improving stormwater maintenance capacity and asked staff to prepare ordinance language and detailed procurement and grant summaries for upcoming readings.
