The Otter Creek Golf Course owns and maintains a fleet of golf carts necessary for the daily operations of the golf course including seventy (70) standard (patron-operated) carts, two (2) beverage carts and one (1) courtesy shuttle.
The current fleet of standard carts was purchased in February of 2013 with the understanding that these carts would last approximately five years before needing full replacement based on anticipated extensive maintenance costs such as the batteries wearing out, the tires and brakes needing to be replaced, etc. The two beverage carts were added to the fleet in 2009 and are gas powered. Given their current conditions, it was anticipated that they would be replaced on the same cycle as the standard carts. The courtesy shuttle, however, is still in fairly good condition.
Nick Lenox, Director of Parks and Recreation, planned on submitting a request to replace the 70 standard carts and two beverage carts in the FY 2019 budget. However, the incidence of repairs to the golf carts has sharply increased during this recent playing season, with eight carts needing complete battery replacements and numerous other carts needing new windshields, new tires (due to flats or lack of tread), brakes wearing out and other issues.
Given the current deteriorated conditions and increased recent maintenance costs, the staff at Otter Creek prepared an estimate totaling $65,420.00 to replace all the batteries, tires, various broken windshields and other defective equipment on the 72 carts. The carts could be expected to last another 2 years with this investment.
The staff also received a proposal from NB Golf Cars, LLC totaling $246,586.00 based on the U.S. Commodities Purchasing Program to replace the said 72 carts with 2018 model Club Car brand carts. A financial analysis shows that the replacement option would yield the better long-term return when the additional maintenance of the existing fleet was taken into account along with the much shorter warranty period for the replacement batteries (1 year vs. 4 years on the new carts). Also, if the purchase of the 72 carts is delayed until next year, the pricing will increase approximately $30,000.00.
It is recommended that the proposal from NB Golf Cars, LLC in the total amount of $246,586.00 to replace the 70 standard carts and 2 beverage carts be accepted at this time. |