Following a slightly deeper dive into the issue, Council voted unanimously to authorize the City to enter into agreements with Alabama-based Altec Industries, Watsonville-based National Auto Fleet Group and Folsom Lake Ford to purchase vehicles for the City.
Recently appointed Mayor Phil Brock had item 5B pulled from the Consent Calendar during Tuesday’s Council meeting so he could inquire as to why the City was purchasing vehicles from suppliers based in Northern California and 2,000 miles away in Birmingham, AL.
Stelios Makrides, Chief Operating Officer for the City of Santa Monica Public Works took to the podium to explain.
"Following the Pandemic and the recent strikes with UAW (United Auto Workers) employees, we’ve seen a significant shortage of vehicles, especially when it comes to Ford," Makrides said.
"We buy Ford exclusively for all our utility vehicles … We’ve been buying from Folsom through a statewide competitive bid in the state of California since forever. So the last purchases were done in 2015, 2017 and in 2018." Makrides said that, in essence, it is a process of competitive bidding and not through any kind of favored suppliers and that it is undertaken through the state of California services.
"We get the advantage of competitive prices that our local dealerships don’t have and they don’t have the police interceptors that we buy. That is why we buy from them," he said.
Brock was about to move the item when Councilmember Caroline Torosis chimed in with a question, "How does the replacement of these vehicles align with the city’s sustainability goals and our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint?"
Makrides explained how every city has similar regulations regarding this, but he believes Santa Monica is ahead of the curve.
"We’re always looking for alternative vehicles. When it comes to police interceptors or PIUs (Police Interceptor Utility), those are regular gasoline-powered vehicles and there is not an alternative, viable solution to our needs right now. If there’s an alternative vehicle that could serve our needs then we would consider it."
The Santa Monica Police Department currently uses a 2018 specially-designed Ford PIU vehicle with six-speed automatic transmission, ballistic reinforced bodywork, a 3.7-liter direct-injection V6 engine offering a per-gallon mileage of 23 city / 24 highway or 24 combined and a top speed of approximately 131 mph.
Makrides confirmed the City’s commitment to accelerating any purchase of electric vehicles to the extent feasible for the City’s service needs.
The motion was made by Brock and seconded by Councilmember Christine Parra and was passed unanimously 6-0 as Councilmember Oscar de la Torre was absent.
