League City is shopping for binocular night vision devices for its police SWAT team, backed by a $154,200 federal grant the City Council approved Aug. 25.
The city posted Request for Proposal #27-008 on Tuesday, Oct. 20, seeking sealed bids for the equipment. Vendors have until 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, to submit sealed proposals. The city will open them at the Johnnie Arolfo Civic Center, 400 West Walker St.
The grant money is federal. The City Council voted Aug. 25 to accept a Homeland Security Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant from the Houston region for "upgraded night vision technology" for League City's members of the Combined Agency Response Team (CART).
CART is a multi-agency SWAT unit that includes officers from League City, Pearland, Alvin and Webster. The team handles barricaded persons, hostage incidents, high-risk warrants and civil disturbances, according to the League City Police Department's CART page. Members carry out those duties on top of their regular assignments.
The team was created in 1991 as a containment unit shared with several neighboring agencies. By the early 2000s it had transitioned into a full SWAT team, according to the department. Combining agencies allows the cities to split operating costs rather than bearing them alone.
"Our job is to respond to the needs of our citizens during the scariest times of their lives," Lt. Cliff Woitena said on the department's CART webpage. "They trust us to show up when no one else can, and we don't want to let them down."
The question deadline for vendors is Thursday, Oct. 22, at 5:30 p.m. All inquiries must go in writing to the Purchasing Department by email. Proposal contents will stay confidential until City Council awards a contract, according to the RFP.
The RFP packet is available on the city's bids page. A second publication of the solicitation is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27.
