Fire chief says HFD and P&L ‘followed all directives as given’
The Henderson City Commission on Tuesday rescinded a recent approval to buy firefighting extrication equipment from a company owned by a city firefighter, and later in the meeting approved the purchase of the same equipment from a distributor in Ohio.
As reported in a previous Hendersonian article, the city of Henderson stopped a $49,275 purchase of extrication equipment from P&L Rescue Services, which is co-owned by Henderson Fire Department firefighter Brandon Lingerfelt, days after the city commission approved it at its Dec. 16 meeting.
Most purchases of $40,000 or more require—by state statute—to be put up for a competitive bidding process. The city commission, however, approved a non-competitive quote from the company.
City officials said there are some exceptions to that threshold, and in this case, P&L is a sole source distributor of Genesis equipment, which is what HFD needs. When a purchase from a sole source distributor passes the $40,000 threshold, most of the time, it only needs to be approved by the city commission. But when the sole source distributor is also owned by a city employee, additional steps need to occur, and that didn’t take place, city officials said.
City officials, though, including City Manager Dylan Ward, say the purchase could have been legitimate had a couple more steps been followed.
Cities are allowed to purchase from vendors that are owned by a city employee, according to Kentucky Revised Statutes 61.252, but the city must first meet certain requirements, including disclosing that the contract is with a city employee and making that disclosure a part of the official record. Then a commission must determine the purchase is in the best interests of the public, and that also needs to be made a part of the public record, according to KRS.
Ward stressed that neither Lingerfelt nor HFD Chief Josh Dixon did anything wrong. Ward said not taking the final steps was an oversight of city staff.
HFD was tasked with finding the extrication equipment that will be used in new rescue equipment that will arrive soon, and that’s what they did, Ward said.
“We are in this situation through no fault of them,” Ward said.
That sentiment was echoed by Dixon.
“I would like to emphasize that both the fire department and P&L Rescue followed all directives as instructed,” Dixon said in a text message to the Hendersonian.
According to Ward, HFD needs the Genesis equipment because it fits with current HFD rescue equipment and other county departments use the same equipment, and when they are all on a scene together, being able to switch out equipment in a moment’s notice is important.
Dixon said getting the best equipment—that can be switched with other responders—for the best price is what he’s tasked with.
“As the fire chief, my responsibility is to ensure that we acquire the highest quality equipment at the lowest possible cost for the benefit of our department, our city, and the agencies we support with mutual aid,” Dixon said.
Soon after the city decided to stop the purchase, Mayor Brad Staton said the city will no longer allow purchases from sole source distributors that are owned by city employees. He said ethical dilemmas could arise from that.
As for how the city will buy Genesis equipment in the future, Ward said that is still being worked out. It could require the city to put out a competitive bid with suppliers outside of the region Henderson is in, or possibly the master distributor of Genesis for this region, Howell Rescue Equipment of Dayton, Ohio, would change its policy. Currently, there are no other distributors of Genesis for Henderson.
On Tuesday, the city commission approved the purchase of the equipment at the same price, $49,275, from Howell Rescue Equipment. The vote was unanimous.
Ward said the city reached out to Howell and explained the situation—the need for the equipment and the need to get it quickly because the rescue truck on which it will be used is scheduled to arrive soon. The distributor said that normally it wouldn’t sell equipment direct to a purchaser, but because of this situation, it would, Ward said.
Dixon told the Hendersonian that Lingerfelt did not want comment.
According to a city document, the equipment includes the S49-SL3 Eforce, a spreader, for $17,870; the SC240 – SL3 NXT GEN, a cutter, for $15,960; a 41-inch SL3 RAM M28, a push pull tool, for $12,450; an EForce Ram Kit W/12 for $2,580; and shipping for $415.
