Fuel Services for Air Support Unit

The City of Tucson Police Department Air Support Unit seeks a qualified vendor to provide bulk delivery of Jet-A turbine aviation fuel to support law enforcement aircraft operations through a Request for Proposal issued on April 30, 2026. The procurement requires direct fuel delivery into the Air Support Unit's on-site 1,000-gallon storage trailer located at 6702 S. Plumer Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85756, with an estimated annual consumption of approximately 50,000 gallons and generally required weekly deliveries based on operational usage. Offerors must submit pricing information including the Tucson metropolitan area Jet-A wholesale bulk fuel price, a proposed per-gallon vendor differential markup, delivery charges, minimum delivery quantities, and pricing based on the estimated 50,000-gallon annual volume, with fuel deliveries required within seven business days and no later than ten calendar days following a telephone request. Fuel must comply with ASTM D1655 specifications, and contractors must maintain commercial general liability insurance with limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate, commercial automobile liability insurance with a $1,000,000 combined single limit, and environmental and hazardous waste insurance with $5,000,000 limits, with all deliveries on an FOB Destination Freight Prepaid basis. The contract term is one year from the award date, with the City holding the option to extend for up to four additional one-year periods. Key dates include a pre-submittal meeting scheduled for May 7, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. via Microsoft Teams, a question submission deadline of May 14, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., and proposals due May 28, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. through the City's online bidding system. Evaluation criteria, in order of importance, are price proposal, method of approach, and qualifications and experience, with the City also considering early payment discounts of 21 calendar days or more in the price evaluation.

The solicitation documents indicate that contractors must comply with multiple federal compliance frameworks, including HUD provisions applicable to non-construction contracts, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) requirements, Fair Housing Law obligations, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) terms and conditions, and HUD Section 3 requirements mandating that a minimum of 25 percent of all labor hours be performed by Section 3 workers with an additional 5 percent performed by Targeted Section 3 workers. No specific set-asides for disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) are identified in the primary RFP; however, the FTA Terms and Conditions document references DBE participation goals and requires disadvantaged business enterprise certifications as applicable. The procurement documentation does not identify any incumbent vendors, current contractors, or special technology integration requirements beyond the existing on-site 1,000-gallon storage trailer infrastructure at the ASU hangar. No specific award value or budget range is disclosed in the solicitation materials, and offerors are instructed to base their pricing on the estimated 50,000-gallon annual consumption figure with consideration given to early payment discount opportunities. The contract does not specify any set-asides restricting the types of organizations that can respond, making it open competition among qualified fuel service vendors meeting the specified insurance, delivery, and compliance requirements.