City of Diamond Bar
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR
SOLID WASTE SERVICES
Final Report
Evaluation and Scoring of Proposals
Prepared by:
Municipal Solid Waste & Recycling Advisors
3002 Dow Avenue Suite 116
Tustin, CA 92780
Office: 714.348.6350
Fax: 714.276.0625
www.sloanvazquez.com
November 30, 2023
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. OVERVIEW.............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 RFP Goals.............................................................................................................................................2 Process Goals: Integrity, Competition, and Industry-Standard Contract Terms ..................................2 A. Program Goals: Quality, High-Value Programs.............................................................................2 B. State Diversion Requirements......................................................................................................2
1.2 Participating Proposers.......................................................................................................................3
2. EVALUATION PROCESS..........................................................................................................................3
2.1 Evaluation Criteria...............................................................................................................................4 Responsiveness (Pass/Fail)....................................................................................................................5 Proposer’s Qualifications......................................................................................................................5 Technical Qualifications........................................................................................................................5 Number And Materiality of Exceptions to the Agreement...................................................................6 Financial ................................................................................................................................................6 Rate Proposal........................................................................................................................................6
3. FINDINGS...............................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Evaluation Scores................................................................................................................................7
3.2 Overview of Revenue Requirement and Proposed Rates...................................................................7
3.3 City Fees..............................................................................................................................................9
4. PROPOSED RATES................................................................................................................................10
4.1 Residential Rates...............................................................................................................................10
4.2 Commercial Rates.............................................................................................................................10
5. PROPOSAL EVALUATION.....................................................................................................................11
5.1 Summary of Proposer Evaluation Highlights ....................................................................................11 VVS ......................................................................................................................................................12 Waste Management ...........................................................................................................................12
5.2 Overview of Analysis for each Evaluation Criterion..........................................................................13 Proposer’s Qualifications....................................................................................................................13 Technical Qualifications......................................................................................................................15 City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page iii
Number and Materiality of Exceptions to Agreement .......................................................................18 Financial ..............................................................................................................................................19
6. RATE PROPOSAL EVALUATION............................................................................................................20
6.1 Rate Proposal Competitiveness........................................................................................................21
6.2 Rate Proposal Reasonableness.........................................................................................................22
6.3 Combined Rate Proposal Rating .......................................................................................................23
TABLE OF TABLES
Table 1: Proposer Combination Options.......................................................................................................4 Table 2: Evaluation Criteria and Maximum Evaluation Score.......................................................................4 Table 3: Option Evaluation Score..................................................................................................................7 Table 4: Total Rate Revenue Requirement by Proposal ...............................................................................8 Table 5: Revenue Requirement by Option....................................................................................................9 Table 6: Annual City Fees by Sector..............................................................................................................9 Table 7: Proposed Residential Rates...........................................................................................................10 Table 8: Proposed Commercial Rates ........................................................................................................11 Table 9: Proposer Staffing Overviews.........................................................................................................14 Table 10: Proposed Facilities ......................................................................................................................18 Table 11: Proposed Capital Investment......................................................................................................19 Table 12: Proposed Collection Vehicles......................................................................................................20 Table 13: Revenue Requirement Comptitiveness Rating ...........................................................................21 Table 14: Revenue Requirement Reasonableness Rating ..........................................................................23 Table 15: Combined Rate Proposal Rating..................................................................................................23 City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 1
1. OVERVIEW
On May 3, 2023, The City of Diamond Bar released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals for solid waste services from Valley Vista Services (VVS) and Waste Management, Inc. (WM). By issuing the RFP for solid waste services, the City sought to competitively procure franchised solid waste services.
A draft solid waste services franchise agreement (Agreement) was included with the RFP that provides definitions, contract terms, and conditions, including a complete description of the services to be provided.
Currently, solid waste services are provided under a Residential Cart Customer Franchise Agreement with WM and a Commercial Bin and Roll-Off Box Franchise Agreement with VVS.
WM provides collection services to residential premises that receive residential collection using carts and for temporary roll-off box and temporary bin collection service for cleanup or construction work performed at residential customers to whom WM provides collection service using carts. Temporary collection service for the construction of new residences, and all work on commercial premises, and residential premises that receive collection service using bins, are excluded from WM’s franchise agreement.
VVS provides collection services to commercial premises and all residential premises that receive collection using bins and including temporary bin and temporary roll-off box collection service with the exclusion of residential premises that receive collection service using carts.
VVS and WM were exclusively invited to present a proposal to provide solid waste service to their respective service area under the existing franchise agreements as well as a proposal to provide City-wide solid waste services including residential, commercial, and permanent roll-off and on-call services.
The City reserves the right to invite additional proposers prior to making a final decision in the selection of a contractor or contractors should the City determine that proposals received from VVS and WM are inadequate to meet the City desired goals.
The City is seeking service provider(s) who can deliver efficient service while meeting the recycling diversion targets set by the City and all requirements of State mandates. The successful contractor will be required to execute a franchise agreement with the City. The franchise agreement will be based on the Draft Agreement included with the RFP and may be modified to reflect the final negotiated terms and conditions of service. (e.g., the optional programs selected; agreed upon exceptions to the draft agreement, etc.). Services under the new agreement will commence on September 1, 2025, unless otherwise agreed upon.
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 2
1.1 RFP Goals
As part of the development of the RFP, the City established key process and program goals. These goals reflect the priorities and expectations of the City for the implementation of the RFP process, and the City’s goals and objectives for future collection services.
Process Goals: Integrity, Competition, and Industry-Standard Contract Terms • Conduct the RFP process with integrity and transparency. • Stimulate competition among proposing companies.
• Set high performance standards.
• Ensure value for ratepayers.
• Enter contract with fair terms and conditions.
The City’s approach has been conducted with integrity and transparency. The RFP has resulted in the submission of competitive proposals with several alternative proposals.
A. Program Goals: Quality, High-Value Programs
• Consistent, reliable, and quality service
• Efficient service delivery that provides a strong value to the ratepayers • Responsive customer service system
• Well-planned and professionally executed transition to any new programs and services. • Quality outreach and education
B. State Diversion Requirements
A program goal of special note is the City’s desire to procure effective diversion programs to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. The impact of the new State Law cannot be understated. SB 1383, targeting short-lived climate pollutants, includes numerous new requirements. The regulations are highly prescriptive, with many detailed requirements. To ensure compliance with the requirements, the state sets penalties on jurisdictions, haulers, and waste generators, ranging from $50/violation to $10,000/day. The legislation explicitly affirms that funding from the State is not required and therefore implementation will require new revenues and will have rate impacts.
The City required proposers to include the programs and services necessary to meet the new requirements associated with SB 1383, as well as existing mandates. These requirements include the collection of organics (green waste and food waste) from residential, multi-family and commercial businesses; extensive outreach, education, documentation and reporting requirements; and program monitoring activities to evaluate effective program participation (I.e. does the amount of trash contaminating organics exceed the allowed levels).
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 3
1.2 Participating Proposers
Proposers were invited to submit three separate rate proposals: 1) for residential sector only, 2) for commercial sector services only, and 3) for both the residential and commercial sectors or citywide services. Both VVS and WM submitted proposals on the established due date of August 30, 2023.
WM submitted the three separate rate proposals and in addition submitted an alternative rate proposal for residential only and an alternative for citywide services. VVS submitted a citywide rate proposal and clarified that their proposal included consideration for a residential only and a commercial only option.
The alternative proposals will not be evaluated at this time, however, should the City opt to negotiate with WM, the alternative proposal will then be evaluated for consideration.
The following is a brief description of each company.
Valley Vista Services (VVS): VVS is a privately held company owned and operated by the Perez family. Based in City of Industry, CA., VVS was formally incorporated in 1957 but has been in business since 1957 when Manuel Perez procured his first truck and established City of Industry Disposal. VVS cited five jurisdictions to which it currently provides solid waste services under franchise agreements. The Perez family also owns and operates Grand Central Recycling, Inc. (GCR), a separate corporate entity that serves as a transfer station and material recovery facility.
Waste Management (WM): WM with corporate headquarters in Houston, TX, is North America’s largest waste hauler and recycling processor. WM also maintains a local headquarters in Baldwin Park, CA. The company has provided similar services to more than 100 jurisdictions in Southern California for over 40 years. Nationwide, WM’s 43,000 employees serve more than 21 million customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. WM has been providing collection services in the City of Diamond Bars for over thirty years.
2. EVALUATION PROCESS
Currently, WM provides solid wastes collection services only to the residential sector and VVS only to the commercial sector.
By requesting for separate proposals for services to the residential sector only, the commercial sector only, and for citywide services from each proposer, this procurement process allows for the continuation of the current arrangement, that is, WM continues providing services to the residential sector and VVS to the commercial sector. But it also allows for reversing this arrangement with VVS providing services to the residential sector and WM to the commercial sector, or for granting an exclusive, citywide franchise to a single contractor. As a result, there are four Options for the City to select from resulting from the four possible combinations between VVS’s and WM’s proposals.
As listed in Table 1, Option 1 represents the current configuration, that is WM providing services only to the residential sector and VVS only to the commercial sector. Option 2 swaps the service sectors so that VVS provides services only to the residential sector and WM only to the commercial sector only. Under City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 4
Option 3, WM would provide citywide services under an exclusive franchise agreement. And under Option 4, VVS would provide citywide services under an exclusive franchise agreement.
Table 1: Proposer Combination Options
Sector WM VVS
OPTION 1 (Current) Residential Only Commercial Only
OPTION 2 Commercial Only Residential Only
OPTION 3 Citywide n/a
OPTION 4 n/a Citywide
2.1 Evaluation Criteria
The evaluators consisting of Enrique Vazquez and other Sloan Vazquez McAfee (SVM) staff (the Evaluation Team) conducted an analysis and evaluation of the four Options based on the proposals submitted by each company on August, 2023 and other information submitted by proposers in response to requests by the Evaluation Team.
The Evaluation Team reviewed and scored each Option based on a 1,000-point scale using the evaluation criteria set forth in the RFP and the percentage weighting listed in Table 2.
Table 2: Evaluation Criteria and Maximum Evaluation Score Technical Proposal Evaluation Criteria Weighting Available Points Responsiveness to RFP Pass/Fail n/a
Proposer’s Qualifications and Experience 5.0% 50
Technical Qualifications 30.0% 300
Financial Resources 10.0% 100
Rate Proposal 50.0% 500
Exceptions to the Draft Agreement 5.0% 50
TOTAL 100.0% 1,000
Note: n/a = not applicable
The evaluation criteria, maximum score and scoring results are presented in Table 3. The six categories and their corresponding subcategories are described below.
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 5
Responsiveness (Pass/Fail)
Proposer must be fully compliant with the RFP and procurement procedures as demonstrated by submittal of all elements required by Sections 3 and 5 of this RFP; full completion of all rate proposal forms; compliance with process guidelines presented in Section 4; and adherence to the code of conduct signed by the proposer.
Proposer’s Qualifications
• Collection Experience. Demonstrated experience of company providing the requested or similar services to other jurisdictions. If the proposer is a joint venture, demonstrated experience of parties working together.
• Jurisdiction Satisfaction. Satisfaction of proposer references with services received, including but not limited to, implementation, customer services, reporting, assistance developing diversion programs, and working cooperatively with City staff. • Management and Customer Service Systems. Demonstrated capabilities of the company’s existing management and customer service systems’ abilities to track and monitor contract compliance, quality of collection service, and call center responsiveness. • Key Personnel Qualifications. Extent and relevance of the qualifications and experience of key personnel proposed for the transition team and on-going management of collection operations.
Technical Qualifications
• Implementation Plan. Reasonableness of implementation schedule and ability to meet deadlines (e.g., reasonableness of equipment procurement schedules, implementation staffing levels, public education program, itemized steps for initiation, roll out and maintenance of diversion programs in all service sectors throughout the City, container/cart distribution, new corporation or maintenance yard development, contingency plans, etc. o Customer Service. Customer service approach, staffing levels, and City-specific training programs.
o Billing System. Billing approach and procedures for handling customer billing activities. o Collection Approach. Reasonableness and reliability of the proposed collection methods (e.g., technology, equipment, and containers); reasonableness of productivity and operating assumptions (i.e., number of routes, route drivers, route hours, stops per route, and other operating statistics), if applicable; and reasonableness of assumptions. • AB 341, AB 1826, and SB 1383 Implementation Plan. Completeness of proposed services, public education program, roll out and maintenance of diversion programs in all service sectors throughout the City, container/cart distribution.
• Diversion Outreach and Education Programs. The nature, reliability, and innovation of proposed diversion programs and potential of such programs to divert solid waste from landfill disposal and meet diversion requirements. Compatibility of the proposed education program, staffing level, and program ideas with the needs of the City; and, the quality of public education samples relative to other proposers. Likelihood of diversion programs to meet State-mandated outreach City of Diamond Bar, California Section 6. Proposal Evaluation RFP for Solid Waste City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 6
Services May 3, 2023 Page 32 and education, diversion monitoring and reporting and performance measurement requirements.
• Proposed Operations Facilities. Plan for providing the facilities needed for equipment storage and parking, maintenance, and administration. Level of assurance provided, if any, about site acquisition and timely development of necessary facilities if not proposing an existing, operational and permitted facility.
• Proposed Disposal, Transfer, and Processing Facilities. Reasonableness and reliability of the proposed facilities for disposal, transfer, and processing of solid waste, recyclable materials, and organic materials, including documentation of existing facility permitting/approvals and/or guarantee of sufficient capacity for tonnage from the City service area, and the reasonableness of proposed material transport plans.
Number And Materiality of Exceptions to the Agreement
The number, nature, and materiality of suggested changes to the Agreement will be considered in evaluating proposals.
Financial
• Financial Stability. Financial stability of proposer based on its financial ratios and other financial considerations.
• Insurance. Demonstrated ability of proposer to obtain adequate insurance.
Rate Proposal
• Reasonableness of Rate Proposals. The logical relationship between proposed rates and operational assumptions.
• Competitiveness of Rate Proposals. The competitiveness of the overall revenue requirement is evaluated relative to other proposals.
Evaluators allocated points on a percentage basis after reading, analyzing, and, if necessary, clarifying the responses of each proposer in each of the evaluation sub-categories. The scores assigned to each of the proposals reflect the extent to which the company fulfilled the requirements of the evaluation criteria and the extent to which each criterion was fulfilled relative to other proposals. For example, except for the “Rate Proposal” category, the response that evaluators deemed to be the most thorough, complete, responsive, and/or effective was awarded the highest rating of 100%. Then, the remaining proposals were scored based upon the evaluator’s determination of divergence (decline) from the best rated response. Several factors were measured in each evaluation category. In some cases, responses were deemed to be equal and were allotted the same scores.
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3. FINDINGS
3.1 Evaluation Scores
The evaluation scores for each Option are presented in Table 3. Additional descriptions and analysis of the Options provided in Sections 4 and 5. Based on this evaluation, Option 4-WM Citywide scored the highest with 952 points out of 1,000. Option 2-VVS Resi/WM Comm came in second with 947 points out of 1,000. Option 3 and 1 came in third and fourth, respectively.
Table 3: Option Evaluation Score
Technical Proposal Evaluation
Criteria
Available
Points
Option 1
WM-RESI
VVS-COMM
Option 2
VVS-RESI
WM-COM
Option 3
VVS
CITYWIDE
Option 4
WM
CITYWIDE
Responsiveness to RFP n/a Pass Pass Pass Pass
Proposer’s Qualifications and
Experience 50 49 49 50 48
Technical Qualifications 300 299 300 300 299
Financial Resources 100 90 90 80 100
Rate Proposal 500 440 460 453 460
Exceptions to the Draft Agreement 50 48 48 50 45
TOTAL 1,000 926 947 933 952
Ranking 4 2 3 1
3.2 Overview of Revenue Requirement and Proposed Rates
This section includes an overview of revenue requirements for each proposal and for each option or arrangement of residential, commercial, or citywide services between VVS and WM. A comprehensive analysis of proposed rates is provided in Section 4, and a description of the analysis of the rate proposal and revenue requirement is provided in Section 6.
The total revenue requirement by proposer for each proposal is provided in Table 4. Also included are the rate revenue1 under the current franchise agreements, and comparisons of each rate proposal with the adjusted current rate revenue. Prior to the implementation of the new agreement contemplated with this RFP process, the current rates will be subject to an annual rate adjustment scheduled to take effect July 1, 2024. To allow for a more realistic comparison, the current rates have been adjusted by a 1 Current rate revenue is based on current service rates and subscription levels as reported by each of the franchisees and does not include revenue from roll-off services, temporary services, and other permitted charges.
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factor of 3.0%. The proposed rate under Options 1 through 4 would take effect September 1, 2025 and the first rate adjustment under the new franchise agreement (s) is scheduled for September 1, 2026.
The rate revenue comparison by proposer for residential only and commercial only is provided for informational purposes only as either of those options would require services from both VVS and WM.
Table 4: Total Rate Revenue Requirement by Proposal
As already discussed, the proposed services can be configured into four possible combinations between VVS and WM, listed as Options in Table 1.
The total revenue requirements for these four options are presented in Table 5. Included are also the current rate revenue, adjusted rate revenue, ranking based on revenue requirement, dollar differences from the adjusted current rate revenue, and percentage difference from the adjusted current revenue.
Based on this measure only, WM’s Citywide proposal or Option 4 with the lowest rate revenue requirement of $8,410,415 ranks #1. The proposed rate revenue requirement for Option 4 represents a
12.9% decrease to adjusted current rate revenue. It is notable that Option 4 proposes an overall rate revenue reduction of $1,244,900 or 22.9% to the residential sector with an overall increase of $393,004 or 15.7% to commercial rate revenue.
Option 2, with rate revenue requirement of $8,706,126, ranks as #2. Under Option 2, the haulers would swap sectors, with VVS providing services to the residential sector and WM to the commercial sector.
The proposed rate revenue would increase by decrease by 9.8% over the adjusted current rate revenue with residential revenue decreasing by $768,576 or 10.8% and commercial rate revenue decreasing by $180,613 or 7.2%.
VVS’s Citywide proposal or Option 3, with rate revenue requirement of $10,006,865, ranks #3, representing an overall rate revenue increase of 3.6% over adjusted current rate revenue with residential revenue decreasing by $768,576 or 10.8% and commercial rate revenue increasing by $1,120,127 or 44.6%.
Ranking fourth is Option 1 with total rate revenue of $10,276,865, representing an overall increase of
6.4% over adjusted current rate revenue. This option represents a continuation of the current configuration with WM providing services to the residential and VVS to the commercial sector.
Residential rate revenue would decrease by $498,576 or 7.0% and commercial rate revenue would increase by 1,120,127 or 44.6% over adjusted current rate revenue.
Total
Diff From
Current
% Diff From
Current Total Diff
% Diff From
Current
Residential Only 6,938,400 7,146,552 6,377,976 (768,576) -10.8% 6,647,976 (498,576) -7.0% Commercial Only 2,435,692 2,508,763 3,628,889 1,120,127 44.6% 2,328,150 (180,613) -7.2% Citywide 9,374,092 9,655,315 10,006,865 351,551 3.6% 8,410,415 (1,244,900) -12.9% Proposal
Current
WM-Resi
VVS-Comm
Current
Adj for
Inflation 3%
VVS WM
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 9
Table 5: Revenue Requirement by Option
3.3 City Fees
All proposals include payment of fees to the City as provided in Table 6.
Table 6: Annual City Fees by Sector
Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4
Sector
Current
WM-Resi
VVS-Comm
Current
Adj for
Inflation 3%
WM-Resi
VVS-Comm
VVS-Resi
WM-Comm
VVS
Citywide
WM
Citywide
Residential 6,938,400 7,146,552 6,647,976 6,377,976 6,377,976 5,508,648 Commercial 2,435,692 2,508,763 3,628,889 2,328,150 3,628,889 2,901,767 Total 9,374,092 9,655,315 10,276,865 8,706,126 10,006,865 8,410,415 4 2 3 1
Residential (498,576) (768,576) (768,576) (1,637,904)
Commercial 1,120,127 (180,613) 1,120,127 393,004
Total 621,551 (949,189) 351,551 (1,244,900)
Residential -7.0% -10.8% -10.8% -22.9%
Commercial 44.6% -7.2% 44.6% 15.7%
Total 6.4% -9.8% 3.6% -12.9%
Ranking
Difference From Current Rate Revenue
Percentage Difference From Current Rate Revenue
Fee Type Residential Commercial Total
Franchise Fees $287,000 $123,000 $410,000
Cal Recycle $375,000 $375,000 $750,000
Residential Impact $175,000 $175,000
Residential Street Sweeping $175,000 $175,000
Total City Fees $1,012,000 $498,000 $1,510,000
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4. PROPOSED RATES
4.1 Residential Rates
Proposed rates for standard residential cart service are provided in Table 7. Additional rates for ancillary residential services are provided in Exhibit 1.
The first column in Table 7 provides the current rates followed by the adjusted rates and then the rates proposed under Options 1 through 4. As noted previously, the current rates will be subject to an annual rate adjustment scheduled to take effect July 1, 2024. The current rates have been adjusted by 3% to allow for a more realistic comparison.
WM’s Citywide proposal or Option 4 offers the low lowest residential rates for a 64-gallon default cart service2
. WM’s proposed residential rates represent reductions from 9.5% to 24.1% from adjusted current rates for standard service and from 15.9% to 29.6% for senior service. VVS proposed the second lowest residential rates under Options 2 – residential only and Option 3 – citywide. VVS’s proposed residential rates represent reductions from adjusted current rates from 6.7% to 15.3% for standard service and from
7.5% to 20.9% for senior service.
Table 7: Proposed Residential Rates
4.2 Commercial Rates
A sample of current and proposed commercial rates for the most common commercial refuse collection services are provided in Table 8. The current rates will be subject to an annual rate adjustment effective July 1, 2024, a year prior to the start of the new agreement. 2 Standard service includes three 64-gallon carts: trash, recycling, and organics. Residents may choose to reduce or increase their cart sizes according to their needs.
Rates Effective Date 1/2/2024 7/1/2024
Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4
Current
WM-Resi
VVS-Comm
Current
Adj for
Inflation 3%
WM-Resi
VVS-Comm
VVS-Resi
WM-Comm
VVS
Citywide
WM
Citywide
35-Gallon Cart $31.09 $32.02 $29.54 $29.89 $29.89 $28.99 % Change from Current -7.8% -6.7% -6.7% -9.5%
64-Gallon Cart $38.31 $39.46 $36.39 $35.39 $35.39 $29.93 % Change from Current -7.8% -10.3% -10.3% -24.1%
96-Gallon Cart $45.96 $47.34 $43.66 $40.11 $40.11 $36.64 % Change from Current -7.8% -15.3% -15.3% -22.6%
35-Gallon Cart Senior $26.76 $27.56 $26.58 $23.91 $23.91 $23.19 % Change from Current -3.6% -13.3% -13.3% -15.9%
64-Gallon Cart Senior $33.03 $34.02 $32.76 $31.46 $31.46 $23.94 % Change from Current -3.7% -7.5% -7.5% -29.6%
96-Gallon Cart Senior $39.40 $40.58 $39.30 $32.09 $32.09 $29.31 % Change from Current -3.2% -20.9% -20.9% -27.8%
9/1/2025
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It should be noted that commercial rates cannot be fairly evaluated by comparing individual rates. The full value of commercial services is best evaluated by comparing the revenue requirement of the entire commercial sector based on proposed rates and subscription levels as provided in Table 5.
Table 8: Proposed Commercial Rates 3
5. PROPOSAL EVALUATION
This section provides an overview of the proposals submitted by VVS and WM. In Section 5.1, a summary of each company’s proposal highlights is provided. Section 5.2 provides an overview of the findings for each evaluation criterion category for both companies.
5.1 Summary of Proposer Evaluation Highlights
The following summary provides highlights of the proposal evaluations:
3 WM proposed rates are for the first bin. Second and additional bins are offered at a lower rate.
SIZE 1XWK 2XWK 3XWK 4XWK 5XWK 6XWK
2 Yard Bin $137.94 $239.15 $326.93 $423.08 $524.33 $609.03 3 Yard Bin $170.77 $283.12 $397.53 $516.11 $632.61 $772.08 4 Yard Bin $216.21 $347.96 $482.72 $687.50 $822.27 $998.80 2 Yard Bin $176.57 $326.29 $489.44 $652.58 $767.40 $874.96 3 Yard Bin $197.73 $368.62 $552.93 $737.23 $873.21 $1,001.94 4 Yard Bin $218.89 $410.94 $616.41 $821.88 $979.03 $1,128.92 2 Yard Bin $116.75 $210.15 $303.55 $396.95 $490.35 $525.32 3 Yard Bin $144.54 $260.18 $375.81 $491.45 $607.08 $722.72 4 Yard Bin $183.00 $329.40 $475.80 $622.20 $768.61 $915.01 2 Yard Bin $142.65 $256.76 $385.14 $513.53 $641.91 $770.29 3 Yard Bin $176.60 $317.89 $476.83 $635.78 $794.72 $953.67 4 Yard Bin $223.59 $402.47 $603.70 $804.94 $1,006.17 $1,207.41
CURRENT
OPTION 1 & OPTION 3: VVS CITYWIDE AND COMMERCIAL ONLY
OPTION 2: WM COMMERCIAL ONLY
OPTION 4: FROM WM CITYWIDE
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 12
VVS
VVS submitted a comprehensive, high-quality proposal that was tailored to the City of Diamond Bar’s requirements. The following highlights from the VVS proposal provide a brief overview of some of the primary differentiators.
Locally Owned and Community Focused. VVS described their family-owned business with over six decades of experience, local headquarters, customer service call center, and operating facilities. The company credits their commitment to “Satisfy the Customer at any Cost” as leading to their customers’ satisfaction.
Local Infrastructure. VVS described their local infrastructure:
• Grand Central Recycling, Inc. (GCR) – A materials recovery facility owned and operated by the Perez family as a separate corporate entity that plays a pivotal role in advancing their comprehensive waste management strategy.
• Proposed Organics Processing. GCR will serve as a hub to manage the waste streams with a 38,850 square foot expansion scheduled to be completed by July 2024 and consisting of a $25M capital investment. This will add organics waste recovery capacity using the OREX (Organics Extrusion Press) Technology developed by Anaergia Corporation. • Kitchen Pails. VVS will provide a 3-gallon lidded, dishwasher-safe pail with introductory roll of pail liners and educational materials with clear program guidelines, detailing acceptable items for both the yard waste cart and the food waste pail to all SFDs and multi-family units.
Waste Management
WM also submitted a thorough, high-quality proposal, specialized for the City of Diamond Bar. The company emphasized its familiarity with the City while responding to the City’s new requirements. The following highlights from the WM proposal describe some of the company’s primary differentiators.
Routing Technology. WM described their eRouteLogistics software for developing, managing, and modifying routes. The software is used daily by the operations team to ensure that each route is well-maintained and adjusted to reflect new developments and changes in service levels, customer counts, and traffic patterns. eRouteLogistics displays customer locations in a user-friendly map through a variety of coloring and labeling options and allows users to visualize existing and future routes. Updated in near real-time, eRouteLogistics enables our route managers, drivers, dispatchers, and customer service representatives to resolve any questions or concerns our customers or municipal partners may have concerning routes.
Technology to Optimize Performance. WM described their operations framework, “Service Delivery Optimization” or SDO, which focuses on four pillars of performance: Safety, Service, Savings and Satisfaction. WM’s technology is used to define, track and measure all aspects of operations to achieve continuous improvement. The company also emphasized their network of facilities which they described as strategically located near Mission Viejo.
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Effective Outreach and Education. The company emphasized the importance of “innovative, personalized and proven” outreach and education to help customers in Mission Viejo navigate a major change in services, including the significant expectations that customers separate organics and recyclables as required by SB 1383. WM described an outreach and education campaign to engage customers throughout the term of the new agreement.
Value, Partnership and Dedication. WM described the cost effectiveness achieved through SDO technology and the proximity of their facilities, and how this gives them the ability to offer reasonable rates. WM emphasized their 30 years of experience in delivering on-time, reliable services and their ability to provide dependable services from day one of the new contract. The proposal also highlighted the company’s stability as the largest service provider and ability to finance capital purchases and provide “gold-standard” insurance. Additionally, WM described the dedication of their local team and the service benefits associated with their knowledge of the City.
5.2 Overview of Analysis for each Evaluation Criterion
The following summary of findings provides highlights of the key proposal components that were considered in the evaluation process.
Proposer’s Qualifications
Collection Experience. VVS and WM are both well qualified to provide service in the City of Diamond Bar. Each service provider offers extensive experience in Southern California and has the local infrastructure necessary to efficiently meet the City’s needs.
VVS cited four cities in addition to Diamond Bar including the City of La Puente, City of Cypress, City of Walnut, and City of El Monte.
WM cited five cities including the City of Arcadia, City of La Verne, City of San Dimas, City of Baldwin Park, and Chino Hills.
Jurisdiction Satisfaction. VVS provided the reference list above from five jurisdictions all with service over eight years and the City of La Puente has been serviced over 29 years. WM provided the reference list above from five jurisdictions, four of which were all with service over twelve years and City for the Baldwin Park has been service for over 33 years. WM’s City of Chino reference from WM was only one year old and described as the latest transition executed and transitioned in five months.
Both VVS and WM show longevity servicing these jurisdictions, which demonstrates jurisdiction stratification.
Management and Customer Service Systems, Both VVS and WM offer customer service systems capable of tracking and monitoring contract compliance, quality of collection service, and call center responsiveness. Each company is exceptionally equipped with quality, industry-specific systems capable of meeting the City’s requirements for documentation, reporting, and billing.
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 14
Both companies included digital enhancements to the customer service experience including on-line chat, mobile application, expanded website capabilities, focus on social media and community outreach.
VVS included some new expanded customer service features:
• Our Customer Service representative team comprises multilingual representatives proficient in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Tagalog, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. • VVS uses Cisco WebEx contract center ensuring tracking calls and wait times. • Additional customer service features include live chat, mobile app, user-friendly website, social media.
WM included some new expanded customer services features:
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) - self-service options online. • Contact Back System – get a call back, no need to wait on hold. • Live Chat support – online direct chat option.
• MY WM App – application for customer to pay bills and request and schedule service. • Repeat Issues within two months, issues a ticket to management that requires accountability and ticket closure.
Key Personnel Qualifications. VVS and WM both employ exceptionally qualified personnel possessing decades of local industry experience.
VVS included summary resumes for 13 staff of which four had an percentage dedication to the City of Diamond Bar equaling to 1.8 full-time employees. In their rate proposal forms, which included a budget to support their proposed rates, VVS provided funding for 3.8 full-time employees excluding drivers.
WM included summary resumes for 19 staff of which 12 had a percentage dedication to the City of Diamond Bar equaling to 8 FTE. In addition, WM provided summary resumes for a senior leadership team of five. In their rate proposal forms, which included a budget to support their proposed rates, WM provided funding for 4.8 full-time employees, excluding drivers indicating a discrepancy between proposed FTE of 8 and budgeted FTE of 4.8.
Table 9: Proposer Staffing Overviews
VVS WM
Title % Title %
Contractor Representative 10% Public Sector Services Manager 100% Operations Supervisor 50% Public Sector Reginal Manager 25% Client Services Manager 20% Recycling Coordinator 25%
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 15
Additional Service Rep 100% Sustainability Manager 100% District Manager 100%
Roll-Off Route Manager 50%
Residential Route Manager 50%
Residential Route Manager 50%
Commercial Route Manager 100%
Operations Specialists 25%
Contract Compliance Manager 25%
Maintenance Manager 100%
Full Time Equivalents 1.8 8.0
Chief Financial Officer
Controller
Human Resources Manager
Operations Manager
Risk and Safety Manager
Miantenance Manager
Government Affairs
Diversion Compliance
Coordinator
Social Media & Outreach
Coordinator
Not Indicated
Area Customer Experience
Manager
Communications Senior Manager
Centralized Dispatch Manager
Route Managers
SB 1383 Team of three
Senior Leadership Team of 5
Not Indicated
Technical Qualifications
Implementation Plan. Each company prepared a detailed implementation schedule designed to meet the deadlines necessary to commence the new agreement on September 1, 2025. The plans were reviewed for reasonableness and completeness. Both VVS and WM proposed implementation schedules capable of achieving staffing levels, procurement of equipment, customer outreach and education program development and transition activities necessary to facilitate the transition to new services.
AB 341, AB 1826, and SB 1383 Implementation Plan. Both VVS and WM prepared detail summaries meeting compliance with AB 341 (Commercial Recycling), AB 1826 (Organics Recycling), and SB 1383 (Organics Waste Reduction). Each companies’ proposals addresses planning, education, diversion, implementation, reporting, and ongoing monitoring to achieve successful compliance.
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 16
VVS and WM developed comprehensive programs to achieve the City’s diversion goals, ensure regulatory compliance and respond to the new SB 1383 requirements. Each company proposed collection programs designed to achieve the performance standards set forth in the agreement.
Additionally, the companies proposed the required dedicated recycling coordinator and prepared a detailed outreach and education strategy to inform customers of the new requirements, promote effective program participation and notify customers of compliance issues. VVS identified a specific staff to serve as full-time recycling coordinator and WM committed to hire and train a qualified Recycling and Sustainability Manager for the City of Diamond Bar.
Diversion Outreach and Education Programs. Both companies provided a thorough and comprehensive plan for outreach and education accompanied with quality educational materials and state of the art systems to support their programs.
VVS proposal included the following activities to promote diversion programs:
• Identifying key stakeholders and conducting preliminary meetings; training sessions for city personnel; providing information on proper sorting, container usage; targeted meetings with property owners; tracking and monitoring diversion rates, tonnages, and conducting waste compositions; generating regular reports to City; implementing contamination monitoring including physical inspections, photo documentation, and customer notifications; providing continuous assistance through helplines, online platforms, and community engagement events. • Food Rescue Collaboration including
o Stakeholder Engagement: Identifying and partnering with established food rescue organizations.
o Targeted Awareness Campaigns: Informing residents, businesses, and food establishments.
o Collection and Donation Process: Establishing collection routes, providing safe and hygienic food storage and handling, collaborating with local food banks, shelters, and community organizations.
WM proposal included the following activities to promote diversion programs:
• Hiring a dedicated Recycling and Sustainability Manager • Targeted education and outreach for all sectors including conducting community workshops including chamber, civic group, HOAs/property managers, educational institutions; distributing educational flyers; creating how-to videos; providing City staff training including City’s contracted janitorial service; working with code enforcement; providing City staff training on how to properly recycle.
• Incentive Programs: Residential recycling rewards, commercial recycling rewards, food recovery program that recognizes commercial customers who work with local food recovery organizations.
• Use of Smart Truck SM program to track cart monitoring, which has been approved by CalRecycle for tracking contaminate routes.
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 17
• Conducting SB 1383 route audits and cart monitoring; conducting waste evaluations; reports to the City; education and promotion using social media and website, conducting event education; providing non-compliance notifications; conducting annual site visits to review compliance; assistance to the City with waivers.
• Commercial edible food recovery and donation: Create customized educational materials highlighting how and where to participate in edible food recovery and donation.
Proposed Disposal, Transfer, and Processing Facilities. The facilities proposed by both companies meet the requirements of the RFP. Both companies demonstrated the viability of their facility plan and have secured the capacity necessary to manage the material collected within the City. VVS’s local infrastructure is located in closer proximity to the City. Table 10 provides a list of the proposed facilities to be used by proposers for landfilling and for recycling and organic waste material processing.
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 18
Table 10: Proposed Facilities
Type of Facility VVS WM
Organics GCR Materials Recovery Facility
17445 Railroad St
City of Industry, CA 91748
Materials are transported to Agromin
Organics.
Azusa Material Recycling Facility
1504 West Gladstone
Azusa, CA 91702
Material to be pre-processed and
transported to any of the following:
• South Valley Compost Site
• South Kern Industrial Center
Compost Facility
• WM Pala Composting Facility
• Ecology Compost
Recyclables Grand Central Recycling & T.S.
17445 Railroad St
City of Industry, CA 91748
Azusa Material Recycling Facility
1501 West Gladstone
Azusa, CA 91702
C&D Grand Central Recycling & T.S.
17445 Railroad St
City of Industry, CA 91748
Downtown Diversion, Inc (DDI)
2424 E. Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Maitri Road Recycling
24980 Maitri Rd.
Corona, CA 92883
Disposal El Sobrante Landfill
10910 Dawson Road
Corona, CA 91719
Olinda Alpha Landfill
1942 N. Valencia
Brea, CA 928239
El Sobrante Landfill
10910 Dawson Road
Corona, CA 91719
Transfer Grand Central Recycling & T.S.
17445 Railroad St
City of Industry, CA 91748
Pomona Valley Transfer Station
1371 E. 9th St
Pomona, CA 91766
Grand Central Recycling & T.S.
17445 Railroad St
City of Industry, CA 91748
Azusa Material Recycling Facility &
Transfer Station
1501 West Gladstone
Azusa, CA 91702
Number and Materiality of Exceptions to Agreement
VVS took no exceptions to the draft franchise agreement as published with the RFP.
WM listed two exceptions, 1) Section 105. Extraordinary Rate Adjustments, and 2) Section 13.7 Liquidated Damages. With regards to Extraordinary Rate Adjustments, WM proposed changes to the draft franchise agreement that provides more latitude in the process for securing extraordinary rate City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 19
adjustments. Additional negotiations will be required to finalize the franchise agreement and due to other considerations, such as their very competitive rates, SVM considers this a serious exception.
With regard to liquidated damages, WM did not propose specific changes but took exception to this section to retain the option to discuss these items with the City during negotiations to further clarify and resolve standards of performance and penalty amounts that WM considers ambiguous, unclear, or excessive. SVM does not consider this exception to be difficult to resolve.
Financial
Financial Stability: VVS and WM demonstrated the financial capabilities necessary to service the City.
Based upon the review of the submitted financial statements, both companies are capable of acquiring equipment and providing financial assurance of performance.
WM is a large national corporation with reported revenue of $19.7B for fiscal year 2022 and an asset base of $31.4B. Based on its 2022 financial statement, WM’s current ratio calculates to 0.81 ($3,551B / $4,394B) and its debt ratio calculates to 0.78 ($24,503 / $31,367).
VVS is local corporation with reported of $115M for fiscal year 2022 for Valley Vista and Grand Central Recycling combined and an asset base of $15.7M. Based on VVS report, its current ratio calculates to
0.84 ($15.7M / $18.6M) and its debt ratio calculates to 0.57 ($62.4M / $109.3M).
Each company’s anticipated capital investment is shown in Table 11. As the largest solid waste services company in North America, WM’s financial capabilities exceed those of VVS, however for the purposes of the Diamond Bar contract, both companies are financially equipped to provide the financial stability required by the City.
Table 11: Proposed Capital Investment
Type of
Investment
VVS WM
Sector Residential Commercial Total Residential Commercial Total Vehicles
$4,981,199
11 $1,253117
4 $6,234,316
15 $2,800,000
8 $1,125,000
3 $3,925,000
11 City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 20
Total
Units
Containers
Carts
Pails
Bins
$2,500,491
45,819
15,273
0 $561,672
542
n/a
0 $3,062,163 $2,331,638
45,819
0 0
$510,553
476
n/a
578
$2,842,191
Other $0 $0 $0 $0 $80,000 $80,000
Total Capital $7,481,690 $1,814,789 $9,296,479 $5,131,638 $1,715,553 $6,847,191 Table 12 provides a list of the quantities and make and model of the collection vehicles proposed by each company. It should be noted that for WM, the quantity of vehicles provided in Table 11 differ from those in Table 12. The quantity and type of vehicle provided in Table 12 were taken from WM proposal while the quantity of vehicles provided in Table 11 were taken from WM Rate Proposal forms. This is an indication that WM’s proposal may be underpriced as it has not accounted for all the costs required to provide the vehicles it proposes to provide.
Table 12: Proposed Collection Vehicles
Company Automated Side Load Front-End Load Scout
VVS Qty: 10
Chassis: CCC/LWT
Body: McNeilus
Cubic yard capacity: 28
Qty: 4
Chassis: CCC/LWT
Body: F.F. Gomez
Cubic yard capacity: 38
Qty: 1
Chassis: Not stated.
WM Qty: 9
Chassis: Peterbilt 520, Autocar ACX
Body: Not Stated
Cubic yard capacity: 40
Qty: 4
Chassis: Peterbilt 520, 56
Body: Not stated
Cubic yard capacity: 40
Qty: 2
Chassis: Ford F-150
6. RATE PROPOSAL EVALUATION
Proposers were required to provide detailed financial information by completing the Rate Proposal Forms issued with the RFP. This information allows for the evaluation of the proposals rate revenue requirements and reasonableness of their cost assumptions.
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 21
The RFP included criteria for evaluation of the Rate Proposal component of the proposals. The criteria are described in detail under Section 2.0, Proposal Evaluation Process and are included here in summary form for ease of reference:
• Competitiveness of Cost Proposals: Cost competitiveness relative to other proposals. • Reasonableness of Cost Proposals: Logical relationship between proposed cost and operation assumptions. Proposals were evaluated on total first-year revenue requirement.
The rate proposals were evaluated based on total revenue requirement. This is important because the economic value of the contract cannot be assessed based on the price of a specific service. For example, a low price quoted for the residential rate may not readily reflect the financial costs of the entire contract. For this reason, the proposals were evaluated on the overall revenue requirement to perform all the services required by the RFP.
6.1 Rate Proposal Competitiveness
Each rate proposal’s competitiveness was determined using a formulaic approach. First, the rates quoted in the rate sheets by each proposer were used to project Year 1 revenue requirement. The proposal with the lowest total revenue requirement was given a rating of 100% for competitiveness.
The remaining proposals were rated based on the percentage deviation from the proposal with the lowest revenue requirement.
Based on this analysis Option 4-WM Citywide proposal offers the overall lowest revenue requirement for Year 1 and therefore receives a rating of 100%. Option 2 – VVS Residential / WM Commercial offers the second lowest revenue requirement. With a 3.0% additional requirement than Option 4, Option 2 receives a rating of 97.0%. Option 3-VVS Citywide receives a rating of 81.0% as it requires 19.0% more rate revenue than Option 4. Option 1-WM Residential / VVS Commercial requires 21.4% more rate revenue than Option 4 and receives a rating of 78.6%.
Table 13: Revenue Requirement Comptitiveness Rating
Proposer
Year 1
Proposed
Revenue
Difference
from Lowest
Option
Percent
Difference
from Lowest
Option
Rating
Option 4:
WM Citywide $8,410,415 $0 n/a 100.00%
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 22
Option 2:
VVS Residential
WM Commercial
$8,706,126 $295,711 3.0% 97.0%
Option 3:
VVS Citywide $10,006,865 $1,596,450 19.0% 81.0%
Option 1:
WM Residential
VVS Commercial
$10,276,865 $1,866,450 21.4% 78.6%
6.2 Rate Proposal Reasonableness
In addition to evaluating rate proposal competitiveness, the reasonableness of the rate proposals was considered. The primary tool used to evaluate the reasonableness of the rate proposals was the preparation of a financial proforma to serve as the Benchmark Proforma. Prior to the public distribution of the RFP, SVM prepared the Benchmark Proforma to project the price for providing the services requested in the RFP. SVM has many years of experience in preparing solid waste services rate proformas. The model considers that there may be variations in proposer costs due to competitive advantages or long-term arrangements they may have made that allows some of the proposers to maintain an economic advantage. However, deviations from revenue requirement identified in the Benchmark Proforma must be reasonably explained.
Our Benchmark Proforma indicated that the services contemplated in the RFP could reasonably be performed with a Revenue Requirement of $10M per year, representing an increase in revenue requirement of 20.1% from the adjusted current revenue requirement of $8.3M.
To perform the reasonableness rating for each rate proposal, the revenue requirement for each rate proposal was compared to and rated based on the percentage deviation from the projected revenue requirement in the Benchmark Proforma. While it was anticipated that proposers would deviate from the Benchmark Proforma due to varying competitive advantages and/or disadvantages, deviations greater than 20% may indicate that a proposal is significantly underpriced or overpriced. This is important because an underpriced proposal can become problematic under a 10-year contractual commitment. If the proposer is financially unable to sustain its operations, the City may have to consider granting unexpected financial relief in order to minimize possible service disruptions.
Based on this analysis, Option 2 and 4 offered first year revenue requirements below the Benchmark Proforma ranging from 13.1 to 16.0. Option 3 offered first year rate revenue at the same level as the benchmark proforma. Option offered rate revenue above the proforma. All of these deviations are reasonable. Option 3 came the closest to the benchmark proforma and received a rating of 100%.
Option 1 followed and received a rating of 97%. Option 2 and 4 received a rating of 87% and 84% respectively due to their larger deviation from the benchmark proforma.
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 23
Table 14: Revenue Requirement Reasonableness Rating
Proposer
Year 1
Proposed
Revenue
Difference
from Lowest
Option
Percent
Difference from
Lowest Option
Rating
Option 4:
WM Citywide $8,410,415 ($1,606,284) -16.0% 84%
Option 2:
VVS Residential
WM Commercial
$8,706,126 ($1,309,320) -13.1% 87.0%
Option 3:
VVS Citywide $10,006,865 ($3,901) 0.0% 100%
Benchmark
Proforma $10,010,766 $0 0% n/a
Option 1:
WM Residential
VVS Commercial
$10,276,865 266,099 2.7% 97.0%
6.3 Combined Rate Proposal Rating
When the competitiveness and reasonableness ratings are combined, Option 4-WM Citywide ranks 1 with a 92% total. Option 2-VVS-Resi/WM Com ranks second with a 91.95% rating and followed by Option 3-VVS Citywide and Option 1-WM Resi/WM Com.
Table 15: Combined Rate Proposal Rating
Option 1
WM-RESI
VVS-COM
Option 2
VVS-RESI
WM-COM
Option 3
VVS
CITYWIDE
Option 4
WM
CITYWIDE
Revenue Requirement -
Competitiveness 79.6% 97.0% 81.0% 100%
City of Diamond Bar Solid Waste Services RFP November 30, 2023 Evaluation Analysis Final Report Page 24
Revenue Requirement -
Reasonableness 97.3% 86.9% 100% 84.0%
Combined Rating 87.950% 91.95% 90.50% 92.0%
Ranking 4 2 3 1