HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-10-10 - AGENDA REPORTS - LMD TREE PRUNING AWARD CONTR (2)Agenda Item:
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR City Manager Approval: ,
Item to be presented by: Dennis Luppens
DATE: October 10, 2006
SUBJECT: AWARD OF TREE PRUNING CONTRACT FOR LANDSCAPE
MAINTENANCE DISTRICTS
DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council award a tree pruning contract to Staygreen, subject to the right of the City Manager
to modify the award in the event issues of impossibility of performance arise, and authorize City
Manager to execute the contract and contract extensions subject to the City Attorney approval for
the pruning of trees in an amount not to exceed $543,350.
BACKGROUND
As part of the FY 06-07 budget, City Council approved an appropriation of $543,350 to trim
9,000 of the Landscape Maintenance District's 27,000 trees. Prior to 2006, most of the LMD's
27,000 trees were pruned in one pruning cycle every three years. However, staff believes it is
more appropriate to pursue a planned pruning cycle of 9,000 trees every year. The change was
made to spread out the cost of pruning over three fiscal years. hi addition, as the LMD has
grown and added more trees, it was difficult to prune all 27,000 trees in one pruning season.
The Invitation to Bid was published three times on August 20, August 23, and August 27 and
was conducted in compliance with the Support of Santa Clarita Businesses program.
Notifications were sent to the Chamber of Commerce, Valley Industrial Association, and four
vendors on file. Additionally, 23 vendors downloaded the bid package from the City's website.
The following bid responses were opened by Purchasing on September 14, 2006:
Vendor Location Bid
Staygreen Santa Clarita, CA $1,434,700
West Coast Arborists Anaheim, CA $1,795,000
APPROVED
The bids submitted by the aforementioned vendors were much higher than the approved budget.
Staygreen, the recommended vendor, has agreed to work with staff and keep the cost per tree the
same but reduce the scope of work to stay within budget parameters. Staff estimates
approximately 3,000 trees will be pruned. Of the 9,000 trees originally planned for pruning in
2006, staff will prioritize by trimming trees planted near major roadways, paseos, and open
spaces. Trees that are located on slopes or in open areas that do not have a higher degree of
public use will be lower on the priority list.
For the 2007 pruning cycle, staff will work to create a pruning budget recommendation that will
help catch up on the pruning cycle. Urban forestry plans to issue a tree pruning RFP in 2007.
The advantage of the two divisions working under one contract may be increased competition
between private tree pruning firms, thus creating a lower bid.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for the award of this contract were appropriated in the FY 06-07 budget in the amount of
$543,350 in the LMD fund.