AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: June 27, 2024
Item Number:
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Christopher Paulson, Human Services Administrator Joana Torres, Community Services Manager
Stephanie Harris, Director of Community Services
Subject: RECOMMENDATION TO CONTINUE SAFETY AND
HOSPITALITY SERVICES TO THE RESIDENTS AND
VISITORS OF BEVERLY HILLS.
AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN
AGREEMENT WITH BBB-CA, INC. DBA BLOCK BY
BLOCK, CALIFORNIA FOR SAFETY AND HOSPITALITY
AMBASSADOR SERVICES IN THE NOT-TO-EXCEED
AMOUNT OF $1,185,249 FOR THE FIRST NINE
MONTHS OF FISCAL YEAR 2024-2025; AND
APPROVAL OF A PURCHASE ORDER IN THE AMOUNT
OF $1,185,249 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024-2025 FOR BBBCA, INC. DBA BLOCK BY BLOCK, CALIFORNIA; AND
REQUEST FOR THE MAYOR TO ESTABLISH A CITY
COUNCIL AD HOC COMMITTEE TO REVIEW AND
PROVIDE DIRECTION ON THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR
THE BEVERLY HILLS AMBASSADOR PROGRAM.
Attachments: None
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council continue to provide safety and hospitality services to the residents and visitors of the City of Beverly Hills through the Beverly Hills Ambassador program.
Meeting Date: June 27, 2024
Additionally, staff requests that City Council authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with BBB-CA, Inc. DBA Block by Block, California for safety and hospitality Ambassador services in the not-to-exceed amount of $1,185,249 for the first nine months of fiscal year 2024-25, and approval to issue a purchase order for fiscal year 2024-25 in the amount of $1,185,249 with BBB-CA, Inc. DBA Block by Block, California.
It is also requested that Mayor Friedman establish a Council Ad Hoc Committee to review and provide direction on the current and future scope of work for the Beverly Hills Ambassador Program so a Request for Proposals (RFP) can take place.
INTRODUCTION
At the March 18, 2024 City Council meeting, the Council adopted the homelessness plan that had been a project since November of 2022. One of the recommendations in the homelessness plan (Task 2F) is to maintain and expand the presence of the Beverly Hills Ambassadors in the business district.
This was also supported by 45% of respondents to the survey conducted in 2023 as part of the formulation of the homelessness plan. Respondents requested sidewalks, alleys, and parks be clear of unhoused people. Additionally, one third of respondents called for zero tolerance regarding pan handling and loitering and stated that existing laws should be enforced.
The Ambassador services are those provided by Block by Block, California, which does not currently extend beyond June 30, 2024. The City has contracted with Block by Block for safety and hospitality Ambassador services for many years and the current threeyear contract comes to an end this fiscal year. It was anticipated that the homelessness plan would have been completed in 2023, however, the scattered-site housing program required a pivot, and the plan was delayed.
When the homelessness plan timeline was delayed, plans for staff to more thoroughly analyze the scope of work for the Beverly Hills Ambassadors prior to the end of the current agreement was delayed as well. Had the plan not been delayed, staff would have returned to the City Council earlier in 2024 to seek direction on future year agreements, request for funding and more thoroughly cleanup this agreement.
The timing of the homelessness plan adoption did not allow for all of those actions to take place as originally desired. As a result, a nine-month agreement (July 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025) allowing for status quo service levels to continue with the Beverly Hills Ambassadors into the next fiscal year is being requested while a Request for Proposals (RFP) takes place.
Additionally, staff is requesting Mayor Friedman establish a Council Ad Hoc Committee to review the past, present, and future scope of work for the Ambassadors and provide any direction that may involve modifications, expansion, or contraction of existing services. Based on the direction from the Ad Hoc, staff will then be prepared to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) if necessary and procure and appropriate effective Ambassador services under a new multi-year agreement.
DISCUSSION
The positive impact of the Ambassador team on the Beverly Hills community has been significant. Ambassadors provide 24-hour safety escorts and hospitality services in the Meeting Date: June 27, 2024
City's business triangle, South Beverly Drive, and other designated areas such as the City’s parking garages; providing assistance to residents, merchants, and tourists.
Residents appreciate the quality of life preserved in the downtown core, merchants value the team’s role in promoting hospitality and addressing social service needs, and individuals in-need are getting the assistance they deserve. The Ambassador team has proven to be responsible, reliable, and flexible in response to an ever-growing demand for their services. This also extends to their role in collaborating with the City’s additional outreach teams, such as the Beverly Hills Outreach Team, Mental Health Evaluation Team from the Police Department, Nastec, and Park Rangers, to outreach to the unhoused and connect them with services.
The Ambassador team also provides permit, field, and facility management at Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Vista Middle School, Hawthorne Elementary School and Horace Mann Elementary School at their fields and athletic facilities during JPA use. The Ambassadors supplement the District security staff, and are responsive to City programs held at the schools. Per the JPA, the overall security of District facilities continues to be the responsibility of the District.
Staff is recommending the continuation of the Ambassador Program’s existing coverage to support the high quality of life in Beverly Hills for an agreement covering the first nine months of fiscal year 2024-25 in the not-to-exceed amount of $1,185,249.
Request for Council Ad Hoc
In addition to the request for a nine-month agreement, staff is requesting Mayor Friedman establish a Council Ad Hoc Committee to review and provide direction on the current and future scope of work for the Beverly Hills Ambassador Program.
The City first released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for downtown hospitality and safety services in 2015, and Block By Block, California was awarded the contract and has continued in that role since 2015. In those nine years, the number of Ambassador personnel, the geographic area covered, the variety of assignments, and the budget have all steadily increased.
In 2015, the original agreement was in the amount of $499,068 for 10 full-time equivalent (FTE) personnel, providing “observe & report” safety services, quality of life-crime deterrence, continual engagement of the unhoused population, safety escorts, hospitality, reporting, and developing strong relations with businesses and relaying business concerns to the City of Beverly Hills.
In 2024, the agreement is in the amount of $1,185,249 for 21.20 FTE employees, providing all the original services from 2015, with the addition of staffing BHUSD fields and athletic facilities to monitor permits, tour bus hospitality and outreach, returning abandoned shopping carts, monitoring all City parking garages 24/7, assisting with the enforcement of passive and aggressive panhandling, tobacco education and outreach, electronic scooter pick-up, and a greater involvement in homeless outreach services which includes active participation in the Apricot software system and participating in annual and quarterly homeless counts and weekly team meetings.
As a result of the evolution of the Ambassador program, staff requests Mayor Friedman establish a City Council Ad Hoc Committee to review the existing scope of work for the Ambassadors, provide direction on amendments to the current and future scope of work for the Ambassador program, and possibly direct staff to release a Request for Proposals to obtain a new multi-year agreement with a vendor to provide the Ambassador program.
Meeting Date: June 27, 2024
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposal for a nine-month agreement for fiscal year 2024-25, to continue to provide existing Ambassador coverage throughout the City is $1,185,249.
Funding for the Beverly Hills Ambassador Program for the first nine months of fiscal year 2024-25 is available in the proposed Fiscal Year 2024-25 Community Services Department budget.
Staff recommends City Council waive bidding requirements per Beverly Hills Municipal Code section 3-3-204, E due to the pre-existing relationship between the City and Block by Block. It is in the best interest of the City to continue working with Block by Block as they have become a great resource and have proven to be an asset to the Beverly Hills Community.
Stephanie Harris
Director of Community Services
Approved By