DATE: 03/18/2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
2026-96
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
SUBJECT:
MAINTENANCE AND GENERAL SERVICES AGREEMENTS WITH CRITTER GITTERS PEST MANAGEMENT, INC. AND HERITAGE CUSTOM LANDSCAPE, INC. FOR WILD
PIG DEPREDATION SERVICES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve Maintenance and General Services Agreements with Critter Gitters Pest Management, Inc., and Heritage Custom Landscapes, Inc. for wild pig depredation services as part of the Utilities Department’s inkind services in lieu of lease payments for the property leased from the Army Corps of Engineers at 2205 Railroad Street.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Authorize award of RFP 26-023MB to Critter Gitters Pest Management, Inc. , and Heritage Custom Landscapes, Inc. in the amount of $150,000 each per year for two years for the wild pig depredation project.
b. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to negotiate and execute the Maintenance/General Services Agreements with Heritage Custom Landscapes, Inc. in the amount of $150,000 per year for initial contract term ending February 29, 2028, with one optional one-year renewal, including any non-substantive extensions, change orders, purchase orders, and amendments up to the amount authorized by Corona Municipal Code Section 3.08.060(H), which is equivalent to 10% or $15,000 per contract.
c. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to negotiate and execute the Maintenance/General Services Agreements with Critter Getters Pest Management, Inc. in the amount of $150,000 per year for initial contract term ending February 29, 2028, with one optional one-year renewal, including any nonsubstantive extensions, change orders, purchase orders, and amendments up to the amount authorized by Corona Municipal Code Section 3.08.060(H), which is equivalent to 10% or $15,000 per contract.
That the Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and, to the extent necessary, direct that the City Council take the above actions.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
On January 4, 2023, City Council approved the easement agreement between the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and City of Corona for Water Reclamation Facility No. 1 (WRF1) located at 2250 Railroad Street in the Prado Dam Flood Control Basin. The 35- year easement (through September 27, 2057) was renewed for $11,453,000 to allow the City of Corona to continue operating WRF1. The easement was fully executed by the ACOE on January 19, 2023. Under the terms of the easement, the Utilities Department is responsible for conducting in-kind services and completing projects identified and approved by the ACOE within 7 years.
Following execution of the easement agreement, ACOE and Utilities Department staff met to identify and prioritize projects to be completed beginning in Fiscal Year 2023-24.
As part of this effort, ACOE requested the implementation of wild pig depredation services within the non-leased portions of the Prado Basin to address environmental damage and ongoing operational concerns associated with feral pig activity. Under the terms of the easement agreement, in which ACOE identifies the projects, and the City of Corona carries them out, the City began a competitive procurement process for these services at ACOE's request.
ANALYSIS:
On December 30, 2025, the Purchasing Division issued Request for Proposal (RFP) Feral Pig Depredation Project – Corona WRF 1 Lease In-Kind Services RFP 023, following Section 3.08.110 Non-Public Projects formal bidding procedure and the City’s purchasing policy. The RFP was published on the City’s bidding portal, PlanetBids. A total of 111 registered vendors were notified through PlanetBids. Seven (7) vendors downloaded the RFP documents. Seven (7) proposals were received through the PlanetBids bidding service by the proposal due date of January 20, 2026, from the following vendors:
After initial evaluations, four vendors were invited for an in-person interview based on their proposal ranking by the raters.
Following the evaluation of the proposals and interviews with each bidder, Heritage Custom Landscapes, Inc. (HCL) and Critter Gitters Pest Management, Inc. (Critter Gitters), were selected as the recommended contractors for the project. Their proposals demonstrated superior technical expertise, extensive experience in conducting feral pig trapping and depredation services, and a cost-effective approach submitted with their proposal. Additionally, their proposed methodologies incorporate humane trapping practices, strategic placement of baited corral and cage traps, use of remote monitoring technology, and adaptive management techniques to improve capture success rates while minimizing impacts to non-target species and surrounding habitats, which are critical to achieving the project’s objectives.
The costs per task related to the feral pig depredation activities submitted by Critter Gitters are outlined as follows:
Line Item Description Cost Unit
Initial Costs
1 Mobilization (not to exceed 5%) / site
assessment $6,000 LS
Trap Costs
2 Trap/trap deployment/trap monitoring $1,000 Trap
Pig Removal Costs
3 Carcass removal/disposal $250 Carcass
4 Pig processing (for consumption) $300 Pig
Vendor Location Rank
Critters Gitters Pest Management, Inc. Lakeside, CA 1
Heritage Custom Landscapes, Inc. Rancho
Cucamonga,
CA
2 Integrated Pest Control Management Ontario, CA 3
Allied Pest Control Corona, CA 4
Salute to Service Wildlife Ontario, CA 5
Wildlife Innovations Lakeside, CA 6
Akela Pest Control Riverside, CA 7
Labor Costs
5 Field technician $115 Hour
6 Administrative $80 Hour
Equipment, Material and Supplies Cost
7 Equipment, materials, and supplies $25,000 LS
The estimated costs per task related to the feral pig depredation activities submitted by HCL are outlined as follows:
Line Item Description Cost Unit
Initial Costs
1 Mobilization (not to exceed 5%) / site
assessment $25,000 LS
Trap Costs
2 Trap/ trap deployment/trap monitoring $1,200 Trap
Pig Removal Costs
3 Carcass removal/disposal $200 Pig
4 Pig processing (for consumption) $700 Pig
Labor Costs
5 Field technician $140 Hour
6 Administrative $140 Hour
Equipment, Material and Supplies Cost
7 Caterpillar 305CR Excavator, $600
Rental/$350 Transportation $950 Day
8 Cracked Corn in 50lb bags $40 Bag
Staff recommends that the City Council approve Maintenance/General Services Agreements with Critter Gitters and HCL to conduct feral pig depredation services for $150,000 each per year. Staff believes this contract is in the best interest of the City.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for the recommended actions is available in the Water Reclamation Facility No. 1 Lease Operating and Maintenance Project No. 77640 within the Sewer Utility Fund 572 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action involves pig depredation and there is no possibility that approving this project will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: AFTAB HUSSAIN, ASSISTANT UTILITIES DIRECTOR REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, UTILITIES DIRECTOR
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – MGSA Critter Gitters Pest Management, Inc.
2. Exhibit 2 – MGSA Heritage Custom Landscapes, Inc.