AZLE — Despite any suspicions exceptionally cheap prices may have caused, the city of Azle got an offer it could not refuse at the Jan. 21 council meeting.
In February 2021, Texas communities faced power outages, blackouts and severe freezing temperatures during Winter Storm Uri. City employees had to brave the snow and ice using its single portable generator to pump sewage after its lift stations lost electricity. In order to reduce travel in hazardous conditions, among other reasons, the city has completed a grant application to the Federal Emergency Management Administration through the Texas Department of Emergency Management to purchase four additional generators, not exceeding $240,000 in total costs. The reimbursable grant will fund 90% of the project. When looking at its choice of sellers, the city could find no reason to reject its lowest bid of $152,800 from KW Power Services LLC.
“It’s not wasted on staff that the bid we recommended is so much lower than expected,” Muir said. “We couldn’t find a reason to (disqualify) him. He’s going about it a bit differently. He’s having them made by a third party. They're getting component parts, and they're putting them together. We were not all that comfortable but then reviewing it he meets the specs. He’s worked on our generators before from a maintenance standpoint.”
Rick White, public services director, said the seller had worked with the city of Azle over 10 years ago and by all indications, accepting the bid was the right decision. City purchasing agent Jennifer Walls reached out to another city in the area that had accepted a similar deal from the seller and did not report any issues. The Azle City Council expressed some reservations at approving the deal initially but ultimately voted to approve the purchase of the generators.
“It’s got a Perkins diesel in it,” Rick White said. “So, it's a really good motor. Everything in it is quality stuff, as best we can tell … We’re the second city that it's done for. I don't know how many generators he's got in service. He's cutting out the middleman.”
The 85-kilowatt-hour generators will have a two-year or 500-hour warranty. They are expected to arrive before May 30. The generators will be stored at the utility maintenance and the wastewater plant.