Report to/Rapport
au:
Transportation and
Transit Committee/
Comité des transports et des services de transport
en commun
and Council/et au Conseil
Submitted
by/Soumis par: Councillor / Conseiller
Jacques P. Legendre
Contact/Personne-ressource: Councillor / Conseiller Jacques P.
Legendre
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Ref N°:
ACS2002-CCS-TTC-0011 |
SUBJECT: DONATION
OF BUSES TO HÔPITAL BEIT-CHABAB
OBJET: DONS
D’AUTOBUS À L’HÔPITAL BEIT-CHABAB
That the Transportation and Transit Committee recommend Council waive Subsection 41(4) of By-law No. 50 of 2000, as amended, and approve the donation of four surplus wheelchair accessible, Orion II Para-transit vehicles to Hôpital Beit-Chabab in Bikfaya, Lebanon.
Que le Comité des transports et des services de
transport en commun recommande au Conseil de déroger au paragraphe 41(4) du
Règlement municipal no 50 de 2000 et d’approuver le don de quatre
autobus excédentaires Orion II accessibles aux personnes en fauteuil roulant à
l’hôpital Beit-Chabab de Bikfaya, au Liban
In August 2002, eight wheelchair accessible Orion II Para-transit vehicles will become surplus to City requirements. These are 1985 and 1989 vintage vehicles that are owned by the City and have been leased to the Para-Transpo service provider as a higher capacity mini-bus. Furthermore, these vehicles have reached or exceeded their design life of 12 years and have, on average, each accumulated in excess of 700,000 kilometers.
In January 2002, Mr. Peter Irani, an Ottawa citizen, inquired about the possibility of the City donating four of the surplus accessible buses to Hôpital Beit-Chabab, a hospital for the handicapped located in Bikfaya, Lebanon. According to Mr. Irani, the vehicles would be used by the hospital to transport patients to and from their residence. This humanitarian initiative is rather novel and, as such, does not fit easily within the City’s existing protocols for dealing with surplus assets.
The “sale” of assets surplus to the City’s needs is governed by By-law No. 50 of 2000, the “Purchasing By-law”. Subsection 41(4) of that by-law provides as follows: “Sale of surplus furniture, vehicles, equipment, stock, supplies and other goods and material shall be made to the highest responsive bidder…”. Accordingly, Council is asked to waive the provisions of Subsection 41(4) so that this particular disposal may proceed as a donation, rather than by sale.
In order to confirm the export regulations for vehicles to Lebanon, the Fleet Services Branch contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (“DFAIT”). The export of these vehicles is permissible under Canadian export regulations; however, an approved “Application for Permit to Export Goods” is required. Permit application forms and completion instructions were provided to the Fleet Services Branch.
Mr. Irani advised that he has been in contact with the Lebanese government and confirmed their support for the donation of these buses to the hospital. According to Mr. Irani, the Lebanese Ambassador to Canada has also been briefed on this project.
Mr. Irani has stated that his
project team will cover all costs and administration associated with the
transport of the vehicles from Ottawa to their final destination. He states that he has a temporary storage
location for the buses in Ottawa pending their shipment to Lebanon. City vehicles are disposed of in "as is" condition with no representation or warranty as
to their mechanical fitness.
There was no public consultation regarding the disposal of the buses. Other transit operators were consulted regarding their experience with the sale of used Orion II buses to assist in establishing market value and demand.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The value of these Orion II buses is uncertain. The Blue Book value of 1989 Orion II buses is listed as $18,300 to $22,500. However, the buses are rather unique and have a history of low demand on the resale market. The City (OC Transpo) last disposed of similar models in 2000. A total of seven Orion II (1985 to 1996 models) vehicles, in various states of repair, and a spare parts package were sold for a total package price of $53,500 or about $7,000 for each bus. By comparison, the City of Windsor was unable to find a buyer for a surplus Orion II and ended up trading it and two 1995 casino shuttle vans for one 1991 40 foot transit bus. The Blue Book value of the 40’ transit bus is $25,000 to $35,000 and the two shuttle vans are $18,000 to $26,000; indicating a realized value of $7,000 to $9,000 for the Orion II.
Based on the research conducted by the Fleet Services Branch, the estimated value of the 1989 Orion II ParaTranspo buses is between $7,000 to $8,000. The present market demand for these vehicles is assessed as weak and this could result in lower sale prices or lengthy disposal processes.
The donation of these buses will result in lost revenue to the City that could have been realized through the sale of the vehicles. While the total estimated value of the unrealized revenue for the four 1989 Orion II Para transit buses could be as high as $32,000, it is exceedingly difficult to provide a precise figure.
Fleet Services staff will prepare an export permit to be submitted and approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and transfer ownership of four Orion II Para transit buses to Hôpital Beit-Chabab in Bikfaya, Lebanon.