DATE: June 16, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Retroactive Agreement with A-C Electric Company
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Under Administrative Policy No. 34 for competitive bids or requests for proposals (AP 34), determine that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement under AP 34 is satisfied and a Sole Source - Suspension of Competition is warranted, and that the best interest of the County would be served by entering into an agreement with A-C Electric Company, as A-C Electric Company has specialized knowledge and experience with the electrical controls and programmable logic controllers that help run the water and sewer facilities of the Fresno County Special Districts, Juvenile Justice Campus (JJC), American Avenue Disposal Site (AADS), and Southeast Regional Disposal Site (SERDS); and
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive sole source Agreement with A-C Electric Company to provide site servicing and to repair electrical controls and software for programmable logic controllers for Special Districts, JJC, AADS, and SERDS, effective May 26, 2026, for a term not to exceed one year, total not to exceed $214,000.
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Approval of the recommended actions will allow A-C Electric Company to provide site servicing of electrical controls and software for programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in Special Districts, Juvenile Justice Campus (JJC), American Avenue Disposal Site (AADS), and Southeast Regional Disposal Site (SERDS). A sole source is requested because A-C Electric Company has specialized knowledge and experience with the electrical controls and PLCs that help run the water and sewer facilities in Special Districts, JJC, AADS, and SERDS. This item pertains to locations in Districts 1, 4, and 5.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There is no viable alternative action. If the recommended actions are not approved, it would be nearly impossible for another contractor to work on existing PLCs at the various water and sewer systems in Special Districts and at the JJC due to the current vendor having original copies of all the existing PLC programs as well as previous experience working at our multiple Special Districts sites. If another contractor were to take the place of the current vendor, the old systems would need to be replaced at a significant cost which would ultimately increase the rates paid by the customers of the various water and sewer systems. Additionally, no other company possesses the level of specialized knowledge required to support operations at AADS and SERDS. Their expertise in servicing the electrical controls and software for the PLCs is essential to maintaining landfill operations in compliance with Federal, State, and local regulations.
SUSPENSION OF COMPETITION/SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT:
It is requested that the County find under AP 34 that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement is satisfied, and a suspension of competition is warranted due to unusual or extraordinary circumstances, as A-C Electric Company is the only vendor that can provide specialized services required to service and repair the existing electrical controls and PCLs software. A-C Electric Company has specialized knowledge of the systems because it wrote and maintains the programs that operate the electrical controls and PCLs, which are individualized to each system. The General Services Department, Purchasing Division, concurs with the request of the Department to waive the competitive bidding process.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended agreement is retroactive to May 26, 2026, which is the date services were scheduled to resume following the expiration of Agreement No. 24-699 which expired on May 25, 2026. Upon further review, it was confirmed that AB 339 does not apply to the specialized services outlined in the agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The servicing of electrical controls and software for PLCs to be provided for the benefit of Fresno County Special Districts will be financed by the operations and maintenance budgets for each respective County Service Area or Waterworks District. Funds for each district are generated through assessments, service charges, carryover funds and interest income. The servicing of electrical controls and software for the PLCs provided at the JJC is budgeted in Org 9140 and is reimbursed through the Department of General Services. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in various Department of Public Works and Planning - Special Districts Orgs, as well as in AADS Org 9026 and SERDS Org 9020, within the FY 2025-26 Adopted Budgets and will be included in FY 2026-27 Recommended Budget.
DISCUSSION:
There are 26 water systems and 15 sewer systems operated by Fresno County Special Districts, including a water and sewer system at the JJC, AADS, and SERDS. These systems operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and require regular servicing and repairs of electrical controls and software of PLCs. The electrical controls and PLCs are pivotal to the operations of the water and sewer systems. If these components fail, the outcome could cause health and safety issues like raw sewage release or the inability to disinfect water for customers, both of which would also result in penalties or fines from the State Water Resources Control Board.
AADS is located on American Avenue, approximately 17 miles southwest of the City of Fresno and 6 miles southwest of the City of Kerman. The site encompasses 440 acres, including 367 acres of permitted and available disposal area. SERDS is located on the northwest corner of Academy Avenue and Dinuba Avenue at 12716 E Dinuba Avenue in Selma. Although the site has been closed since 1991, it remains subject to state environmental regulations and monitoring. A-C Electric currently provides specialized services at AADS to support the installation and programming of a complex data system designed to ensure regulatory compliance, improve operational efficiency, and protect public health and the environment.
A-C Electric Company has specialized experience and knowledge of the equipment in use at the water and sewer facilities due to the fact that they wrote the specific programs for each system. The software for the PLCs is individually written by the technicians that work on the equipment and is specific for each system. Without this knowledge and experience it would be nearly impossible for a new vendor to have the programs to make the changes or updates necessary to the existing PLCs. This would mean that old systems would need to be replaced at a significant cost which would ultimately affect the rates paid by the customers of the various water and sewer systems.
The programs that have been written and maintained in the past are still functioning and operating the water and sewer systems today. The use of the existing programs keeps operational costs down. If the PLCs were to be replaced due to a new vendor, the increased costs would need to be passed through to the customers in increased service rates. Going through a rate adjustment process cost the districts further administration staff time as these processes are time-consuming and there is no guarantee that the increased rates will be approved by the customers.
Approval of the recommended agreement would authorize the next agreement term with A-C Electric Company for continued services. The recommended agreement would be retroactive to May 26, 2026, the day after Agreement No. 24-699 expired to avoid a gap in services.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #72, December 17, 2024
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Sole Source Acquisition Request
On file with Clerk - Agreement with A-C Electric Company
CAO ANALYST:
Maria Valencia