HomeMy WebLinkAboutLone Start GL Series Blowers Sole Source WRRF PURCHASING AGENT
W IDIAN�' 33 East Broadway Avenue
C> Meridian, ID 83642
Phone: 208-888-4433 Fax: 208-887-4813
CITY OF MERIDIAN
SOLE SOURCE FORM
Date: 10/27/22
Item or Service: Lone Star GL Series Blowers
X Sole Source: Item is available from only one vendor. Item is one-of-a kind
item and is not sold through distributors. Manufacturer is a
sole distributor.
Refer to instructions on 2nd page for completion.
JUSTIFICATION: (Attach additional pages if needed)
The City is demoing and rebuilding Blower Building 1 as part of the WRRF Aeration Basins 1-4
Retrofit and 9-10 Upgrade project. Blower Building 1 will be designed similarly to Blower Building
2 (recently completed in June 2020 as part of the Liquid Stream Capacity Expansion project). As
part of this project we will need three aeration blowers (two large/one small). The City currently
utilizes Lone Star GL series blowers at Blower Building 2.
Air supply equipment (blowers) is a critical function within the City WRRF. Supplying the
required air amount for the secondary treatment process affects the overall wastewater
treatment performance. Therefore, process aeration control and air supply equipment are an
essential step in the treatment process sustainability and energy efficiency.
This type of equipment (GL series blowers from Lone Star) has proven to be reliable and easy to
maintain by WRRF operations staff who are already familiar with this equipment. They are
familiar with its parts, integration with other systems at the plant, and maintenance requirements.
Purchasing matching blowers for the City's WRRF Aeration Basins 1-4 Retrofit and 9-10
Upgrade project from Lone Star would eliminate the additional time and effort required to learn a
new system and integrate that system into current practices and would reduce the possibility of
unforeseeable complications due to plant staff's unfamiliarity with a different manufacturer's
equipment.
The Lone Star GL Series blower equipment is a specialty product designed to efficiently produce
airflow at a given pressure for a particular operating environment. Going to any other
manufacturer would very likely require re-engineering the control philosophy and modifying the
supervisory control and data acquisition system that has already been developed for aeration
control. It would also require the WRRF to have a separate set of spare parts and critical
mechanical components for the different blower models (especially with recent market conditions
experiencing backlogs and shortage of parts issues).
The scope of the City's WRRF Aeration Basins 1-4 Retrofit and 9-10 Upgrade project would
include vendor-provided local control panels (LCP) for each blower and integration with a
dedicated Blower Building 1 programmable logic control (PLC) panel for sequencing and loading
all blowers in response to oxygen demand at the aeration basins. For the aeration system to
function as intended, it is necessary that the controls of the LCPs and PLC be tightly integrated.
Sole source purchasing approval is being pursued for the Lone Star Blower system due to its
overall performance, strong record of limited maintenance, and City operation and maintenance
staff familiarity. It is also essential that the Blower Building 1 PLC and new blower LCPs be fully
integrated with the existing WRRF process control programming and can deliver equipment
control programs that are stable and optimized for efficiency. Moreover, Lone Star control panels
are all based on the same PLC and operator interface hardware. Control panels provided by
other vendors would likely be dissimilar and based on different components and programming
standards. Additionally, interchangeability of parts between the blowers and streamlined
maintenance operations contribute to the efficient utilization that would come from matching
blowers.
Therefore the Public Works Department is seeking a sole source per Idaho State Statute 67-
2808(2)(a)(ii) Where compatibility of equipment, components, accessories, computer software,
replacements parts, or service is the paramount consideration.
CERTIFICATION:
I am aware of the requirements set forth in the City's Purchasing Policy& Procedures Manual for competitive bidding and the
established criteria for justification for sole source/sole brand purchasing. I have gathered technical information and have made
a concerted effort to review comparable/equal equipment. I hereby certify as to the validity of the information and feel confident
that this justification for sole source/sole brand meets the City's criteria and is accurate.
Council Approval
Date:
Requestor (Tyson I ck)
Purchasing
Approval:
Department Manager Signature Pw6hasing Manager