City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: December 1, 2025
Report #:2509-5205
TITLE
Approval for the City Manager or their Designee to Execute Contract No. C26195084 with SCA of CA, LLC, to Procure Services for the Sweeping of City Parking Garages, Parking Lots and an Underpass for a Period of Five Years for a Total Not to Exceed Amount of $581,852; CEQA Status – Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute contract no. C26195084 with SCA of CA, LLC. in the amount of $581,852 over a five-year term for scheduled sweeping services for the City’s parking garages, Cubberley Community Center parking lots, and University Avenue underpass.
BACKGROUND
The Public Works Public Services Division is responsible for the cleanliness of parking garages, parking lots, and underpasses within the City. Historically, staff has used a contractor (currently Hermes Robotics) for the sweeping services at the High/Alma North Garage, Civic Center Parking Garage, Cambridge Parking Garage, Ted Thompson Parking Garage, Sherman Parking Garage, Cubberley Community Center parking lots, and University Avenue Underpass. Sweeping service occurs weekly with the exception of Cubberley Community Center which occurs twice per month.
Since 2020, staff has witnessed a shift in the use of City parking garages. Over the last three years, the extended use of these garages has generated a greater workload for the City’s contractor, including the need for additional labor. Additionally, Parking Garage J (Cowper/Webster) has been maintained by City staff who would remove debris by hand and perform frequent spot cleanings. The increase in use of this garage now requires more thorough cleaning than can be provided with existing staff resources. Parking Garage J has low vertical clearance, which does not allow access by the City’s parking lot sweeper. In order to properly clean this garage, Parking Garage J has been included in the recommended contract (Attachment A).
SCA of CA, LLC, is the current contractor for the City’s residential and commercial street sweeping. They have provided reliable sweeping services to the City over the past ten years and met standards for quality and responsiveness. Their personnel have demonstrated flexibility in accommodating service requests and have been effective in addressing concerns raised by City staff and residents.
ANALYSIS
The sweeping services and frequency will remain unchanged from previous years: Parking Garage Q, Civic Center Parking Garage, Cambridge Parking Garage, Ted Thompson Parking Garage, Sherman Parking Garage, and University Underpass will continue to be swept weekly and Cubberley Community Center parking lots twice per month. Parking Garage J has been added and will be swept weekly.
If the recommendation for the proposed sweeping services contract is not approved, the City may face cleanliness impacts and compliance issues with its stormwater discharge permit. The San Francisco Bay Municipal Regional Stormwater National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit1, also known as the Municipal Regional Permit (MRP), requires the City to use an effective approach to reduce trash from entering the City’s storm water system, such as sweeping. In the absence of a contractor, the City would in-source these duties requiring additional staff and purchase of additional equipment to provide these services in-house. A comparative cost analysis would be required to pursue an alternative.
Procurement Process
On July 2, 2025, a Request for Quotations (RFQ) was posted on OpenGov for the Parking Garage, Underpass and Parking Lot Sweeping Services. Bids were received from two contractors on August 11, 2025. See Table 1, for a brief overview of the procure process. 1 Municipal regional NPDES Permit, May 1, 2022; municipal-regional-stormwater-npdes.pdf Table 1: Summary of Procurement Process
Bid Name/Number
RFQ # 195084 Parking Garage, Underpass and Parking
Lot Sweeping Services
Proposed Length of Contract 5 years
Where was Bid posted OpenGov
Total Days on Open Gov 40
Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting Yes
Number of Companies attended Pre-Bid Meeting 4
Number of Bids Received 2
Number of Qualified Bids Received 2
Bid Price Range From a low of $581,853 to a high of $2,112,663 for the full 5-year term.
Staff reviewed both bids, and both were deemed responsive. Staff recommends awarding the contract to SCA of CA, LLC. Table 2 provides cost comparisons between the SCA of CA, LLC and Elite Maintenance bids over five years.
Table 2: Bids Summary
Year of Contract Elite Maintenance Inc. SCA of CA, LLC
Y1 $234,740 $105,300
Y2 $234,740 $110,565
Y3 $234,740 $116,095
Y4 $234,740 $121,898
Y5 $1,173,1701 $127,994
Total $2,112,662 $581,852
In comparison to the 2022-2025 contract with Hermes Robotics3, the annual cost of the contract has more than doubled, as the prior contract consisted of a flat annual cost of $49,500.
The increase in cost is believed to be due to the following reasons:
Hermes Robotics did not build in annual cost increases. Parking Garage J was added to the contract scope
The workload associated with each location has increased
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for the first year of the contract recommended in this report is available in the Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Operating Budget for the University Avenue Parking District Fund, California 3 Hermes Robotics Contract for Garage Sweeping Services S23183986B; paloalto.gov//files/assets/public/v/1/public-works/public-services/s23183986b-hermes-robotics.pdf Avenue Parking District Fund, and Public Works Department General Fund as summarized by the following table:
Table 3: Funding by Department
Dept Location Tasks 1-3 Fund
PWD University Business District: Garage Q, Civic Center Parking Garage, Parking Garage J, and University Underpass
$56,160 University Avenue
Parking District Fund
PWD California Business District: Sherman Parking Garage, Ted Thompson Parking Garage, and Cambridge Parking Garage
$42,120 California Avenue
Parking District Fund
PWD Cubberley Community Center Parking Lots $7,020 General Fund Funding for subsequent contract years will be determined through the annual budget development process and is subject to Council approval.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Services provided under the recommended contract have been included in Downtown cleanliness discussions at Council Retail Committee meetings and with University and California Avenue Business District groups over the past two years.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This contract is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Sections 10560 and 10561.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: SCA of CA LLC, Contract C26195084
APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer