City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Community Services
Meeting Date: April 14, 2025
Report #:2502-4114
TITLE
Approval of Professional Services Contract Number C25193356 with Martina Entriken in the Amount Not to Exceed $658,390 for a Preschool and Toddler Program for a Period of Five Years.
CEQA Status - Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Contract No. C25193356 (Attachment A), with Martina Entriken, to provide instruction for a Preschool and Toddler Program for a term of five years and a total amount not- to-exceed $658,390, including $591,390 for basic services and $67,000 for additional services.
BACKGROUND
The City of Palo Alto’s Community Services Department (CSD) provides hundreds of recreational youth programs each year. CSD strives to offer a variety of programs that are high quality, exciting, dynamic and inclusive to all. These recreational classes are available to the Palo Alto community and to non-residents. The classes are marketed through the City’s ENJOY! Catalog, and on the City’s website. A long-standing preschool and toddler program has been taught at the Peer’s Park Field House at 1899 Park Boulevard in Palo Alto since 2005. To provide a successful preschool program, CSD utilizes external instructor(s) with the knowledge and expertise in early childhood education, focusing on children ages one and a half to four years old.
The current vendor, Martina Entriken, has a contracted agreement for a total not-to-exceed amount of $330,000 for three years that will expire June 30, 2025. A formal solicitation was conducted, and Martina Entriken was selected by the committee.
ANALYSIS
The City requires a qualified and experienced instructor to teach the preschool and toddler program. The program’s curriculum includes the domains outlined by the California Board of
Education Preschool Curriculum Frameworks: sensory play, art, science, math, music, and early age literacy as well as an added field trip component.
Solicitation Process
A Request for Proposals (RFP) for the project was posted on the OpenGov Procurement, the City’s eProcurement platform on December 16, 2024, and was emailed to 3,300 contractors.
The solicitation period was open for 32 days and closed on January 17, 2025. Only one proposal was submitted and was received on January 14, 2025. While only one proposal was received, this outcome mirrors the results of the same procurement process conducted three years ago, which also yielded a single response. Further supporting this observation, feedback was received from Leanne Runyan, Director and Founder of Stella Piccolo Preschool, a potential bidder who chose not to submit a proposal. Ms. Runyan indicated that the program requirements, specifically the weekly movement of equipment and the regular field trip requirement (due to associated insurance costs), presented significant challenges for preschool programs like hers, likely contributing to the low response rate.
Table 1: Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description Preschool and Toddler Program
Proposed Length of Project 5 years
Number of Vendors Notified 3,300
Number of Proposal Packages Downloaded 19
Total Days to Respond to Proposal 32
Pre-Proposal Meeting N/A
Pre-Proposal Meeting Date N/A
Number of Proposals Received 1
Proposal Price Range $657,000
Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/p alo-alto-ca/projects/134536
The proposal was evaluated and determined to be responsive to the criteria identified in the RFP. Martina Entriken proposed maintaining the same revenue split as we currently apply, which specifies her retaining 60% of total revenues and 40% of total revenues goes to the City for the five-year term of the agreement with a not-to-exceed amount of $658,390. The evaluation committee also felt that Martina Entriken’s written proposal made it clear that she has the extensive experience, knowledge and the background desired for the work. Martina Entriken has been a consistent, dependable contractor working for the City for over 18 years.
She provides a highly sought program and incorporates all the elements required for instruction. Class sizes are small with 15 children enrolled and the program requires parent participation to create a nurturing environment.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The Community Services Department Fiscal Year 2025 Adopted Budget includes funding for this contract. Funding for future years is subject to City Council approval through the annual budget process. This contract represents an increase of approximately 18% from previous annual rates due to an increase in instructor rates. Participant fees are not expected to increase in year one of the contract but may increase in future years based on demand.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The community has been very satisfied with the current preschool and toddler program run by Martina Entriken. Registrations for most classes fill quickly and accrue a waiting list. At the conclusion of the class registered families are sent a four-question survey asking about their satisfaction, how likely are they to recommend the program and to provide any feedback for the instructor or how we can serve the community better. During the term of the existing contract, 522 families were surveyed with 67 responses returned. Parents’ average response was 4.96 out of 5 when answering the question, “Overall, how satisfied were you with the program? (5 being the highest)”.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The recommendation in this report does not constitute a project requiring review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under exemption 15601(b)(3).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Martina Entriken Contract C25193356
APPROVED BY:
Kristen O’Kane, Director Community Services Department