City of Alameda
Interdepartmental Memorandum
Date: March 15, 2023
To: Lieutenant Ryan De Respini
Commander, Services Division
From: Sergeant Craig Vreeland
Supervisor, Traffic Division
RE: Tow Contract – Auto Plus Towing Facility Inspection
On March 15, 2023, I conducted a facility inspection of the contractor, Auto Plus Towing, who is bidding on the City of Al ameda tow contract. I met with the owner of Auto Plus Towing, Sean Rawlins and his manager, Maria during our inspection.
Sean Rawlins guided the site visit of the facility which is loc ated at 733 Kevin Court, Oakland Ca, 94621. This is 2.4 miles from the Alameda Police D epartment. The inside storage garage is approximately 12,000 Sq. Ft and will be for the exclusive storage of all vehicles towed by the Alameda Police Department. Adjacent to this main storage garage, there is a fully secured garage with a keypad entry and surveil lance cameras on the interior / exterior for all evidence tows which require further investigation or evidence processing. There are 16 motion-activated cameras on the property, which are monitored via CCTV and there is a security guard on site 24 hours a day. Auto plus Towing is fully insured.
Auto Plus Towing has 20 tow trucks, consisting of flatbed truck s, medium size trucks for heavier tows, heavy duty trucks for big rigs, buses, or motorhomes, and a low ceiling truck for towing vehicles from underground garages. Their truck s appeared well equipped/maintained and fully oper ational. All drivers are requ ired to submit to pre- employment and random drug testing. They all have a valid California Driver Licenses and Sean participates in the EPN Employer Pull Notice Program, informing him if there are any changes to the driver's DMV record. Auto Plus has a total of 10 drivers per day for 24 hour towing coverage.
Auto Plus Towing has an Office dedicated to dispatching their t rucks. There is an average 20-30 minute response time for all Alameda tows. They use an interactive software system called “Omadi” which allows Alameda Police Dispatchers to order tow trucks to a scene and monitor the response from COMCEN. Omadi also tracks and stores all Auto Plus CAD data related to every tow, and stores uploaded copies of tow
forms, property/vehicle release forms, as well of all photograp hs the driver takes to document the condition of the vehicle prior to it being towed from a scene.
The overall appearance of the facility was orderly and well-staffed. Auto Plus Towing is on active tow rotation lists whi ch services other cities. Auto Plus Towing is currently being used by the Oakland Police Department, Berkeley Police De partment, and the California Highway Patrol. Auto Plus Towing has phone lines de dicated to law enforcement that will be answered by their dispatcher 24 hours a day. Auto Plus Towing considers all Alameda Police tows a priority. They have a large fleet of vehicles and a number of drivers that are capabl e of meeting and/or exceeding all of our tow needs.
They offer good security having CCTV and a 24 hour security guard on the premises.
Auto Plus Towing’s bid was reflective of their capability. All claims made regarding facilities and equipment were validated in person.