STAFF REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Regular Meeting of April 14, 2026
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Patrick Tang, Interim City Manager
SUBMITTED BY: Timothy Rood AICP, Community Development Director Glenn Dombeck, Public Works Director / City Engineer
SUBJECT: Extension of Pre-Qualified Vendor lists until July 31, 2027 RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Staff recommends City Council approval of a resolution extending the pre-qualified vendor lists for planning and engineering services for one (1) additional year, until July 31, 2027.
BACKGROUND:
Given staffing limitations, both the Engineering division of the Public Works Department and the Planning and Building divisions of the Community Development Department rely heavily on contract professional services to help process and review applications for large-scale projects, as well as to prepare long-term planning documents and design and manage capital improvement projects. The City’s costs for consultants engaged to review a development project are typically paid by the applicant through a deposit account.
Some projects may include the need for specialized construction administration and on-site inspection services. Often, the need for these services is immediate and without notice, so the time to enlist professional services could take up to two months if a formal Request for Proposals is issued (e.g. approximately one week to develop a scope of work, three to four weeks to advertise the need, and another two to three weeks to review proposals and award a contract).
To reduce the need for multiple Requests for Proposals and to shorten the timeframe to award contracts, the City’s practice for many years has been to establish a list of prequalified consultants. Such lists were approved by the City Council in 2014, 2018, and 2023. If an approved list of service providers is approved by the City Council, City staff may contract on an as-needed basis with any approved service provider in accordance with the City’s Purchasing Guidelines.
An extensive and broadly advertised Request for Qualifications process initiated in March 2023 resulted in 55 submittals. Following a lengthy review process, staff recommended a list of qualified vendors for various types of planning and engineering services.
At their regular meeting on June 13, 2023, the City Council approved Resolution No. 23-029 approving the staff-recommended list of qualified vendors for planning-related and engineering-related services through June 30, 2026. (Attachments 2 and 3). Since that time, the Community Development Department has contracted with seven of the 27 vendors on the Planning Services list, and the Public Works Department has contracted with 14 of the 23 vendors on the Engineering Services list. Some vendors qualified for both types of services and thus appear on both lists.
City staff have carefully reviewed the lists and believe that they still represent a broad range of qualified professional vendors well-suited to provide as-needed services to the City. In addition, there is no requirement in the Purchasing Guidelines or otherwise that precludes the City from extending the list.
Staff is currently revising and clarifying the City’s Purchasing Guidelines, which, when finalized, will clarify the process by which the City utilizes the prequalified vendor list. The proposed extension will allow time for the Purchasing Guidelines update to be completed while maintaining continuity of professional services.
ANALYSIS:
Staff recommend extending the current lists of pre-qualified Planning and Engineering Services vendors for one additional year, until July 31, 2027. Staff from Planning, Building, and Engineering divisions of Community Development and Public Works Departments anticipate approval of the new Procurement Policy by July 31, 2027 and find that the proposed extension is reasonable to provide the time needed to complete the review and adoption processes. The existing lists of Pre-Qualified Vendors for Planning-Related Services (Attachment 2) and Engineering-Related Services (Attachment 3) are attached.
Utilizing lists of prequalified vendors does not prohibit the City of Hercules from issuing future Request for Proposals if necessary. All vendors would remain subject to the terms of the City’s standard contract as well as the City’s nepotism/cronyism policy, which have been made available to all vendors.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. Expenditure authorizations will be requested at the time services are needed and in accordance with the City’s Purchasing Guidelines and Municipal Code. Most services are likely to be required for processing development projects, which are generally funded by developers as part of their entitlement review process.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attach 1 – Resolution Extending Pre-Qualified Vendor Lists Until July 31, 2027 Attach 2 – Existing List of Pre-Qualified Vendors for Planning-Related Services Attach 3 – Existing List of Pre-Qualified Vendors for Engineering-Related Services