REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Travis Hopkins, City Manager
VIA: Eric Parra, Chief of Police
PREPARED BY: Brian Schrieber, Lieutenant, and Ingrid Ono, Sr. Exec. Asst.
Subject:
title
Approval of a Sole Source Justification with Heli-Mart, Inc. for the Ongoing Purchase of Parts for the Police Department Helicopter Fleet for Fiscal Years 2026/27 through 2030/31
body
Statement of Issue:
The City Council is requested to approve a Sole Source Justification with Heli-Mart, Inc. for the ongoing purchase of helicopter parts for the Huntington Beach Police Department Air Support Unit for a five-year term beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2031, in an amount not to exceed $175,000 per fiscal year.
Financial Impact:
The total cost of purchases under this sole source arrangement shall not exceed $175,000 per fiscal year, for a maximum of $875,000 over the five-year term. Actual expenditure will depend upon the maintenance requirements of the helicopter fleet in each fiscal year. Funding is included in the Police Department’s adopted Air Support Unit budget, and purchases will be made under Purchase Order No. 26767-OC. Appropriations for subsequent fiscal years will be requested through the annual budget process.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
Approve the Sole Source Justification with Heli-Mart, Inc. for the ongoing purchase of parts for the Police Department helicopter fleet for the period of July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031, in an amount not to exceed $175,000 per fiscal year.
end
Alternative Action(s):
Do not approve recommended action and direct staff accordingly.
Analysis:
The Huntington Beach Police Department Air Support Unit (ASU) maintains a fleet of three MD Helicopters. In addition to providing air support services to the City of Huntington Beach, the ASU provides contracted air support services to the Cities of Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and Irvine. These responsibilities require that the fleet always remain mission-ready, which in turn depends upon reliable and timely access to replacement parts.
Heli-Mart, Inc., located in Irvine, California, has served as the ASU’s primary parts supplier under a sole source arrangement for approximately the past 12 years and provides most of the parts used to maintain the fleet. Heli-Mart maintains the largest inventory of MD Helicopter parts of any supplier, including the manufacturer, and on multiple occasions has supplied parts that no other vendor could provide, allowing aircraft to remain in service. Because of its proximity, Heli-Mart can deliver parts within hours of an order, and within 30 minutes, when necessary, at no shipping cost to the City. Heli-Mart is also available to the Department on a 24-hour on-call basis for emergency needs, a service no other vendor offers. In addition, Heli-Mart holds a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Repair Station certification, which allows it to overhaul certain components rather than requiring the purchase of new parts, resulting in further cost savings.
Prior to preparing the Sole Source Justification, the ASU conducted market research by requesting quotes for five representative parts anticipated to be needed in the coming fiscal year from the two closest competing vendors, Sea Side Helicopters and PAC Aviation International, Inc., as well as from the manufacturer. Each was asked to provide pricing, inventory availability, delivery timeframes, and associated shipping costs. Heli-Mart’s quote was the lowest of all vendors contacted and was the only one to offer same-day delivery at no charge. Heli-Mart had four of the five parts in stock, with the fifth available as a lower-cost overhaul. Neither competing vendor had any of the requested parts in stock; their delivery times ranged from two days to several months, and both quoted shipping costs in the hundreds of dollars per order. The manufacturer had four of the five parts in stock, but its pricing was 10 to 20 percent higher than Heli-Mart’s and its delivery times ranged from days to weeks, with shipping charges for each part.
Overall, Heli-Mart’s pricing is approximately 4 to 15 percent lower than that of the two closest vendors and the manufacturer. Because parts are ordered on a continual basis, the use of a non-local supplier would add an estimated tens of thousands of dollars in annual shipping costs. More significantly, extended wait times for parts would result in aircraft being out of service, reducing the ASU’s ability to support officers in the field and potentially reducing revenue generated through the City’s air support contracts with neighboring cities.
The City’s sole source review process has been completed, and the Sole Source Justification is attached.
Environmental Status:
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5), administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment do not constitute a project.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Goal 2 - Fiscal Stability, Strategy A - Consider new revenue sources and opportunities to support the City's priority initiatives and projects.
Attachment(s):
1. Sole Source Justification - Heli-Mart, Inc.