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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-06-08 - AGENDA REPORTS - AWARD TREE TRIMMING CONTRACTS (2)CONSENT CALENDAR DATE: SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT Agenda Item: I CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT City Manager Approval: Item to be presented by: June 8, 2010 Robert Sartain AWARD TREE TRIMMING SERVICE CONTRACTS Public Works RECOMMENDED ACTION City Council award contracts to Stay Green, Inc., for tree maintenance funded under Urban Forestry in the amount of $475,000, and authorize a 15 percent contingency of $71,250, for a total amount not to exceed $546,250, and to ISS Grounds Control for tree maintenance funded under the Landscape Maintenance District (L MD) of the Special Districts Division for an amount not to exceed $434,783, and authorize a 15 percent contingency of $65,217, for a total amount not to exceed $500,000. 2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to modify the awards in the event other issues of impossibility of performance arise, execute up to four annual renewal options not to exceed $546,250 for the Urban Forestry contract and $500,000 for the LMD contract, plus Consumer Price Index adjustments, contingent upon the appropriation of funds by the City Council in the annual budget for such fiscal year, and execute all documents, subject to City Attorney approval. BACKGROUND Urban Forestry and the Landscape Maintenance District are responsible for the citywide tree maintenance program. Urban Forestry maintains approximately 50,000 trees, while LMD is responsible for approximately 25,000 trees. Historically, the City maintained Urban Forestry trees using the services provided by a tree trimming contract, supplemented by in-house staff. A contractor is required to maintain the larger trees, as the City does not have the capital resources required to maintain them. Additionally, the contractor for Urban Forestry and LMD provides other associated maintenance, including tree planting, pest control, weed control, tree removal, stump grinding, and irrigation installation. Ap,rflowEl Urban Forestry trees are trimmed on a five- to six-year trim cycle. Trees within Landscape Maintenance Districts are maintained on a two- to three-year trim cycle and entirely by contract. The more frequent trim cycle of LMD trees is a special benefit given to property owners as part of their annual levy. The majority of LMD trees are located on private property within landscape easements. LMD trees not on private property are in the public right-of-way, providing a special benefit to the adjacent properties in an LMD zone. The current Urban Forestry tree maintenance contract is due for renewal on July 3 ) 1, 2010, while the contract maintained by LMD will expire on June 30, 2010. In reviewing the existing contracts, staff determined the City would benefit from aggregating the tree maintenance work into similar contracts. Staff developed new contracts with similar language, specifications, I I requirements, and expiration dates to increase cost savings for overall tree maintenance based on the combined volume of trees. The Purchasing Division prepared a bid solicitation for Urban Forestry and LMD in compliance with the Support of Santa Clarita Businesses program. The notice was published on March _3 )I and April 4, 20 10, and sent to the Chamber of Commerce, the Valencia Industrial Association, and 23 vendors on file, as well as posting it on the City's Website. Eighty vendors downloaded a bid packet and 7 vendors submitted bid responses. On May 10, 2010, the following seven bid responses were opened by the Purchasing Division: Urban Forestry results: Vendor Location Bid Stay Green, Inc. Santa Clarita, CA $209,980 ISS Grounds Control Santa Clarita, CA $235,650 Trimming Land Company,.Inc. South Gate, CA $295,250 Mariposa Landscapes, Inc. Irwindale, CA $390,000 Oakridge Landscape Santa Clarita, CA $418,300 United Pacific Services, Inc. La Habra, CA $664,750 Davey Tree Surgery Co. Livermore, CA No bid LMD results: Vendor Location Bid ISS Grounds Control Santa Clarita, CA $271,135 Trimming Land Company, Inc. South Gate, CA $307,600 Mariposa Landscapes, Inc. Irwindale, CA $321,785 Oakridge Landscape Santa Clarita, CA $364,475 Stay Green, Inc. Santa Clarita, CA $383,125 Davey Tree Surgery Co. Livermore, CA $524,017 United Pacific Services, Inc. La Habra, CA $798,950 The vendors' bids were reviewed for accuracy and conformance to the contract documents and found to be complete. Staff finds Stay Green, Inc., to be the lowest responsive bidder for Urban Forestry and ISS Grounds Control to be the lowest responsive bidder for LMD. During the last bid process in November 2006, Urban Forestry requested maintenance pricing for 9,000 trees based on the five-year trim cycle and a tree population of 45,000 trees. The lowest bid in 2006 was $819,000, while the budget was only $450,000. As a result, the contract and scope of work was reduced to reflect the existing budget. In 2006, LMD's bid process requested maintenance pricing for 27,000 trees based on a three-year cycle. Similar to Urban Forestry's bid results, the bids received were.more than double the LMD budget. The current bid requested maintenance pricing for 4,000 Urban Forestry trees to be trimmed based on past pricing. However, due to competitive pricing, the unit value received was below price expectations. With lower pricing, Urban Forestry and LMD will now be able to perform maintenance on approximately 9,000 trees rather than the previously estimated 4,000 trees, allowing the City to catch up on previously deferred maintenance and return to the standard five - and three-year trim cycle. As such, staff is requesting a contract amount for the total budget as opposed to the actual lowest bid amount. Additionally, a 15 percent contingency will enable the City to utilize the contractor for unexpected emergencies and other departments may also use the existing contract for tree work from their budgets that is outside the normal routine scheduled tree maintenance. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS Other action as determined by the City Council. FISCAL IMPACT Funds for the Urban Forestry contract will be available in Account 14507-5161.001 and the LMD contract in Fund 357, as part of the proposed Fiscal Year 2010-11 budget.