REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
August 15, 2019
FROM: DOUGLAS SLOAN, City Attorney
City Attorney’s Office
BY: TIMOTHY BURNS, Manager
Code Enforcement Division
RICHARD SALINAS, Senior Community Revitalization Specialist
Code Enforcement Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve a requirements contract to Sequoia Western, in an amount not to exceed $350,000 for weed and public nuisance abatement services.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council award a requirements contract in an amount not to exceed $350,000 for one year with the option for four one-year extensions to Sequoia Western, as the most capable to provide the level of service required for Weed and Public Nuisance Abatement Services (Abatement Services), and to authorize the City Attorney or designee to sign the contract on the City’s behalf.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff seeks Council approval to award a requirements contract for Abatement Services. Local companies A&S Grading and Sequoia Western responded to the City’s Request for Proposal (RFP) by providing a list of set rates for 21 various Abatement Services. Sequoia Western was unanimously chosen by the Evaluation Committee to provide Abatement Services at set rates per service item.
BACKGROUND
The Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Revitalization Divisions enforce various ordinances of the Fresno Municipal Code, including but not limited to, ordinances which address vacant buildings, vacant lots, general blight and dilapidated structures. More specifically, Abatement Services will address weeds and vacant structures which present a public safety threat, as well as constitute blight or attractive nuisance and the responsible property owner has demonstrated that they are either unwilling or unable to bring the property into compliance. Staff works to ensure cost recovery of funds through various means, including liens on the property and coordination with the County of Fresno tax roll collection process.
In prior years, the City has utilized multiple contractors for the proposed Abatement Services. To improve timeliness and efficiency, and to streamline the abatement request process, Staff worked through the Purchasing Division to produce a public bid on April 16, 2019, with a filing deadline of May 7, 2019, seeking a single contractor with the capacity and experience to perform Abatement Services. Two bids were submitted within the published deadline. After the bids were submitted and the deadline to file had passed, the Evaluation Committee reviewed and discussed each bid. The Evaluation Committee was comprised of 5 individuals as outlined in the Committee Report - Listing of Proposers (Attachment A). The committee members evaluated the proposers on 1) Cost as shown on the proposal form 2) The ability to meet the stated service requirements, 3) Past performance and experience with the City, 4) Conformance to the terms and conditions of the RFP, 5) Other related information provided by proposers. While the RPF was specifically designed to determine set rates for 21 various Abatement Services, the average dollar amount of the two bidders differed by only $242 in set rates as outlined in the attachments.
The Evaluation Committee’s unanimous determination was made after careful evaluation and analysis of the factors included in the RFP. Staff is in agreement that Sequoia Western is capable of providing the City with necessary services, in a timely and efficient manner. Specifically, their bookkeeping methods and past experience with the City has been exceptional, they have demonstrated having sufficient labor and equipment to handle all of the 21 various Abatement Services in a timely manner, and are expected to provide the best response times and constant availability when Abatement Services are required.
Staff recommends the City Council award a requirements contract in an amount not to exceed $350,000 for one year with the option for four one-year extensions to Sequoia Western, as the most capable to provide the level of service required and responsible bidder for Abatement Services, and to authorize the City Attorney or designee to sign the contract on the City’s behalf.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This item is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not implemented because all proposals received were from local businesses.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding appropriations are included in the Code Enforcement FY2020 budget.
Attachments:
Attachment A - Bid Evaluation - Listing of Proposers
Attachment B - Pricing Comparison