EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: July 18, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Melvin E. Gaines, City Manager
BY: James Colin, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Award of Contract for Spanish Interpretation Services Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution:
1. Ratifying payment to Culture Bridges, LLC in an amount of $1,123.75 for Spanish interpretation services through June 30, 2023
2. Awarding a contract to Culture Bridges, LLC and authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute a three-year contract, in a form approved by the City Attorney, with an annual not-to-exceed amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000), for citywide Spanish-language interpretation services.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
• Promote Health & Public Safety
• Ensure Our Financial and Organizational Health
Background
On October 17, 2021, the City entered into a contract with Culture Bridges, LLC with a not-toexceed amount of $10,000. The first Council meeting with simultaneous translation was held on October 19, 2021. Following an informal bidding process, that contract was amended once in July of 2022 to its current not-to-exceed amount of $27,000.
On November 2, 2021, staff presented the Council with a report on simultaneous Spanishlanguage translation over Zoom.
While in the past, the annual not-to-exceed contract value for these services has been lower, it has been Council’s direction and staff’s intention to increase the meetings for which this service is provided. Council has directed staff to broaden the scope of the interpretation services to all Rent Stabilization Board meetings and other Board and Commission meetings at staff’s discretion. Beyond all Council meetings, staff will be considering exercising its discretion to provide more board, commissions and community meetings will have this service available to them under the new contract.
Analysis
Ratification of Payment
As noted above, the City’s existing contract is with Culture Bridges, LLC. However, earlier this year, staff determined that there were insufficient funds remaining on that contract for services rendered during that Fiscal Year.
As discussed more fully below, staff further determined that it would be best to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to find a long-term Spanish-language interpretation partner.
However, before the results of the RFP could be awarded, the contract with Culture Bridges was exhausted.
Given the shortfall in funding, the staff is are requesting that the Council ratify $1,123.75 for the additional in services overruns for the month of June 2023. We expect a similar amount for July and will return in September for final payment for those services.
Proposal Review
City staff released the RFP through an advertisement on March 23, 2023, The City received 5 proposals in response to the RFP. Following the initial review of the proposals, three bidders were moved forward for interviews and sample simultaneous interpretation. Following the interviews, staff is proposing Cultural Bridges, LLC as the City’s long-term simultaneous Spanish interpretation partner. During the interview process, staff determined that while the other applicants demonstrated sufficient interpretation performances and one provided a bid that was slightly lower, Cultural Bridges, LLC demonstrated a higher capacity and experience with topics related to municipal government.
The City Clerk has worked with Culture Bridges during the current contract term and have has been satisfied with their work for the following reasons:
Cost effectiveness; this contractor conveyed the ability to provide a high work quality, with efficient and effective use of funds;
Excellent responsiveness and consistent high quality customer service; and Lack of complaints and verifiable quality assurance standards.
Based on the foregoing and given the price,1 staff recommends that the Council find that Culture Bridges, LLC is the lowest responsible bidder pursuant to Section 2.84.080(H) of the East Palo Alto Municipal Code, including based on their ability, capacity and skill and their quality of past performance for the City.
Should the Council decide not to approve the awarding of the contract, staff can provide more information regarding other applicants and can re-open the Request for Proposals to search for an alternative interpretation services provider. Continuation of Culture Bridges, LLC as the City’s interpretation service provider is expected to deliver a high level of service to the community at a fair price.
Fiscal Impact
The budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 includes the requested annual amount of $50,000. For future years, this amount will need to be evaluated and included in the annual budget if interpretation services continue to be needed.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice 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 proposed action does not constitute a “project” with the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15378(b)(4) and (5) in that it is a governmental fiscal, organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
Attachments
1. Resolution