EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: June 21, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Patrick Heisinger, Interim City Manager
BY: Jessica Caballero, Management Analyst II
Romeo Herrera, Chief Building Official
SUBJECT: Building Support Services
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a consultant contract for Building Support services with CSG Consultants in an amount not-to-exceed $70,000.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 1: Enhance Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
Background
Upon review of the City of East Palo Alto Municipal Code in preparation of upcoming required updates to the California Building Codes, Building Division staff under Community and Economic Development determined that the City’s Municipal Code needs to be updated and better reflect current City standards in accordance with the State building code.
On May 9, 2022, the City staff issued a formal bid solicitation process to hire a qualified consulting firm to provide assistance with review, drafting, and recommending best practices and Standard Operation Procedures for code enforcement, in accordance with the adopted California Building Codes and the East Palo Alto Municipal Code. The consultant also may assist with upcoming building and municipal code adoption and changes, as well as additional duties that may be assigned by the Chief Building Official.
If approved, City Council authorizes the City Manager to execute a consultant contract with the selected consultant to provide support to the Building Division.
Analysis
The City seeks a qualified consulting firm with the necessary technical knowledge of code enforcement and general program administration skills to assist in assessing the City’s code enforcement codes and program. As of May 20, 2022, staff received a total of two bids. The following table summarizes the bid results:
No. Company Name Hourly Rate1
1 Bureau Veritas North America,
Inc.
• Building Official $140
• Inspector $95-$115
• CASp Inspector $140
• Admin $65
2 CSG Consultants • Code Enforcement Officer II $130
While both bidders have extensive Code Enforcement experience in the Bay Area, CSG Consultants’ proposal represented the right balance of understanding the needs of East Palo Alto. CSG has successfully performed similar code enforcement program and code review services in numerous jurisdictions in California, including the Cities of Newark and Portola and the Counties of San Joaquin and Monterey. In addition, CSG has as long-standing relationship with the City of East Palo Alto, having successfully delivered a variety of municipal services, including code enforcement support. CSG can provide services, on average, 24-hours per week. CSG proposes a virtual kick-off meeting with stakeholders to discuss and confirm goals and identify project milestones. This work would be followed by a building and municipal code review and assessment phase involving an in-depth review of codes by CSG staff and further discussions with the City’s Chief Building Official and department head.
All work would be subject to a progress review by the Chief Building Official and other stakeholders, as appropriate. CSG’s final work product would be agreement between the City of East Palo Alto and CSG, of any code updates, general procedures, best practices and policy recommendations related to the Code Enforcement Program.
CSG is a local third-party consultant providing a diverse set of services within the government realm. CSG provides the code enforcement services the City is in the market for. BV provided a comprehensive bid however BV did not provide detailed information as to the consulting they would be providing to perform the services.
Contingent upon completing all requirements of the contract specifications, staff recommends the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with CSG Consultants to provide support for the City’s Building Division in the Community & Economic Development Department for a cost of up to $70,000 for a period up to one-year from contract execution with an option to extend for up to two (2) additional six-month extensions as noted in the resolution, or until the not-to-exceed cost is depleted, whichever comes first. 1 Bidders submitted a proposal including a singular hourly rate for providing support services to the City’s Building Division.
Fiscal Impact
The not-to-exceed cost of $70,000 for building division support services will be supported by FY2021-22 vacancy savings in the General Fund.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by making the agenda and report available on the City’s website and on a bulletin board located at City Hall: 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The action being considered does not constitute a “Project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378 (b)(5), in that it is a government administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
Attachments
1. Resolution