City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Community Services
Meeting Date: October 20, 2025
Report #:2508-5068
TITLE
Approval of Professional Services Contract Number C26194598 with Thomas Sarsfield in the Amount Not to Exceed $660,000 for Providing Tennis Instruction Services for Seasonal Classes and Summer Camp Sessions 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. C26194598 (Attachment A), with Thomas Sarsfield to provide instruction for tennis classes and summer camps for a term of five years and a total amount not-to-exceed $660,000.
BACKGROUND
The Community Services Department (CSD) provides recreational programs to youth and adults 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, as well as on the City's website. CSD contracts with a tennis organization to instruct classes for adults and youth, as well as summer camps for youth. CSD coordinators work closely with the contractor to ensure that the correct program information, descriptions, dates, and times are provided in a timely manner and that courts are reserved properly. The current vendor, Thomas Sarsfield, has a contracted agreement for a total not-to-exceed amount of $395,000 for three years and will expire December 31, 2025. A formal solicitation was conducted, and Thomas Sarsfield was selected by the committee. The recommended new contract C26194598 will begin on January 1, 2026.
ANALYSIS
The City of Palo Alto retains qualified instructors to provide tennis classes and camps for its recreational programming. To accomplish this, staff conduct a competitive solicitation process.
Solicitation Process
A Request for Proposals (RFP) for the project was posted on the OpenGov Procurement, the City's eProcurement platform on July 9, 2025. The solicitation period was open for 15 days, closing on July 23, 2025. Two proposals were received, with one proposal disqualified due to an incomplete response submitted.
Table 1: Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description Tennis Class and Camp Instruction for Adults and Youth - REBID (RFP 194598A)
Proposed Length of Project 5-years term
Number of Vendors Notified 3604
Number of Proposal Packages Downloaded 8
Total Days to Respond to Proposal 15 Days
Pre-Proposal Meeting Yes; Non-Mandatory
Pre-Proposal Meeting Date July 14, 2025
Number of Proposals Received 2 proposals received. Disqualified 1 of the 2 proposals Proposal Price Range $660,000 (one proposal)
Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/palo-alto- ca/projects/181878
The remaining proposal was evaluated and determined to be responsive to the criteria identified in the RFP. Thomas Sarsfield proposed maintaining the same revenue split as we currently apply, which specifies him retaining 65% of total revenues and 35% of total revenues going to the City for the five-year term of the agreement with a not-to-exceed amount of $660,000. Although one proposal was received, the evaluation committee felt that Thomas Sarsfield's written proposal demonstrated he has extensive experience, knowledge, and the background desired for the work. Thomas Sarsfield and his instructors have consistently been dependable with their programs for youth and adults. Each season there are multiple offerings of class types and classes are not overcrowded, providing a quality program for participants involved.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The fiscal impact of the new contract is not-to-exceed $660,000 in the 5-year term, or $132,000 annually. This annual cost is similar to the previous 3-year contract term expiring on December 31, 2025, which has a not-to-exceed amount of $395,000, or $131,600 annually. Funding is budgeted in the FY 2026 Adopted Operating Budget of the Community Services Department and costs are offset by registration fees. Based on current enrollment projections, the City anticipates receiving approximately $184,000 in registration fees each year. Per the revenue share terms, the city will retain approximately $64,000 (35%) and pay the contractor (including their team of eight instructors) about $120,000 (65%). The additional contract authority above $120,000 provides flexibility for additional classes or potential future rate increases. This program has a relatively high cost recovery among contracted classes as it is a revenue contract with little direct expense to the City.
Additionally, the City will receive a minimum of $15,000 each year in revenue for court rental fees for private lessons scheduled directly through the consultant.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The variety of age and skill level classes and camps offered by Thomas Sarsfield over the length of the previous contract have been well attended with satisfied community members. Multiple classes and camps fill quickly at the start of each registration period, with many of them accruing a waiting list. During the term of the existing contract, 2,950 tennis players were surveyed with 178 responses returned. The average response was 4.90 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).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Thomas Sarsfield Contract; C26194598
APPROVED BY:
Kristen O'Kane, Community Services Director