City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: March 2, 2026
Report #: 2511-5418
TITLE
Approval of Professional Services Contract Number C26195818 With BKF Engineers in an Amount Not to Exceed of $900,000 Over a 3-year Term for On-Call Surveying and Design Support Services; 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. C26195818 with BKF Engineers to provide on-call surveying and design support services for a term of three years and a total amount not to exceed $900,000.
BACKGROUND
The City currently has one land surveyor, who primarily performs grade checking for Public Works Capital Improvement Program (CIP) construction projects and administrative documents and does not have the capacity or capability to perform larger surveys. The recommended on- call contract for surveying will augment the staff surveyor to meet this need, and replaces a previous on-call surveying contract which expired on October 31, 2025. 1,2 The proposed scope of services includes providing on-call support surveying services to help to help advance street resurfacing projects, including the survey and drainage design for various City streets. The contract capacity allows for these professional services to be utilized for other CIP projects (including storm drain, parks, and buildings projects) requiring surveying, including large roadway survey needs. Work will be assigned to the consultant on a task order basis. 1 City Council, October 24, 2022; Agenda Item #5; SR #14785; https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=82060&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 2 BKF Engineers, Professional Services Agreement for On-Call Surveying, C23185658; https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/2/public-works/engineering-services/cip-contracts/c23185658- bkf-engineers-contract.pdf
ANALYSIS
On October 1, 2025, a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Palo Alto On-Call Surveying Services was posted at City Hall and sent to builder’s exchanges and contractors through the City’s eProcurement system. The bidding period was 21 calendar days. Six proposals were received on October 22, 2025, but one was disqualified for providing an incomplete bid package.
Table #1: Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description Palo Alto On-Call Surveying Services RFP #195818 Proposed Length of Project 36 months
Number of Vendors Notified 3806
Number of Proposal Packaged Downloaded 37
Pre-Proposal Meeting No
Number of Proposals Received 6
Proposal Price Range N/A
Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/palo-alto- ca/projects/198788
The proposals were evaluated and determined to be responsive to the criteria identified in the RFP. BKF Engineers was selected because of the quality and effectiveness of their services, the experience of their field staff, their prior record of performance with the City, and their ability to provide future services. The cost of services was evaluated separately through an administrative team and incorporated into the evaluation process, but the Proposal Price Range is marked as N/A because staffing rates vary from company to company and proposal rates cannot be directly compared.
The RFP establishes a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000 per year. This annual authorization is intended to provide flexibility to efficiently and quickly deliver work across multiple individual CIP projects. Annual expenditures may fluctuate depending on workload demands including investigation of drainage issues for street resurfacing projects, storm drain potholing and surveying, and potential survey work associated with park projects. Funds authorized under this contract do not carry over from year to year. Task orders will be authorized with checks and balances requiring approval by both project management and the departmental director. Task orders over $100,000 will require approval by the City Manager or their designee.
Under the most recent contract, approximately 75% of the total requested funding was utilized over a three-year period, demonstrating that the not-to-exceed amount provides appropriate capacity while remaining fiscally controlled. Table #2 below is a summary of task orders from previous contract C23185658. Staff anticipates similar types and costs of task orders to continue with the new contract. BKF Engineers’ rates have increased by approximately 4% annually from the previous contract’s first year rates in 2022 to the new contract rates in 2026.
Therefore, staff recommends approval contract C26195818 (Attachment A) with BKF Engineers.
Table #2: Summary of Task Orders Completed in Contract C23185658 with BKF Engineers Task Order
No. Issue Date Description of Work Preformed Total
Amount
1 2/21/2023 Design Services for Cubberley Field Restroom Lift Station and Force Main $37,458.00
2 3/2/2023 Topographical Survey and Base Map of Robles Park – 4116 Park Boulevard $32,752.00
3 3/9/2023 Topographical Survey and Base Map of Foothill Nature Preserve – 11799 Page Mill Road $58,000.00
4 3/13/2023 Fernando Avenue & Orinda Street ADA Survey $5,800.00 5 3/15/2023 Topographical Survey and Base Map of Barron Avenue from Whitsell Avenue to La Donna Avenue $9,520.00
6 - No Task Order -
7 7/24/2023 Design Services for El Camino Real ADA Ramp Improvements Project $138,650.00 8 3/12/2024 Topographical Survey and Base Map of Kendall Avenue from La Donna Avenue to Josina Avenue $9,800.00
9 3/28/2024 Design Services for Cubberley Field Restroom Lift Station and Force Main - Budget Amendment No. 1 $5,000.00
10 4/11/2024 Design Services for El Camino Real ADA Ramp Improvements Project $184,000.00 11 11/6/2024 Design Services for Cubberley Field Restroom Lift Station and Force Main - Budget Amendment No. 2 $12,700.00
12 10/2/2024 Stormwater Treatment Third Party Review Services for Boulware Park Project $7,900.00
13 12/9/2024 Topographical Survey and Base Map of Rinconada Pool $18,868.00 14 1/22/2025 Topographical Survey and Base Map of Parking Lot 8, 440 Sherman Avenue $15,000.00
15 1/30/2025 Surveying Services for Hamilton Avenue Storm Drain Capacity Project $116,020.00 16 2/20/2025 Surveying Services for 430 Palm Street $3,000.00 17 2/20/2025 Surveying Services for 757 Homer Avenue $3,250.00 18 4/29/2025 Lot Line Adjustment Plat & Legal Descriptions for Cubberley Community Center $9,800.00
19 6/24/2025 ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey for 2575 E. Bayshore Road $24,700.00 20 7/1/2025 Surveying Services for Mitchell Park Restroom $11,000.00 21 8/13/2025 Control Survey and Topographical Survey for Center Drive $49,800.00 Table #2: Summary of Task Orders Completed in Contract C23185658 with BKF Engineers Task Order
No. Issue Date Description of Work Preformed Total
Amount
22 10/16/2025 Change Order Request for Surveying Services at Cubberley Community Center $7,921.00
Total Funding Utilized in Previous Contract $760,939.00
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for on-call project work will be encumbered as survey and design task orders, assigned to specific CIP projects, and funded within the existing CIP projects’ budgets as approved by the City Council through the annual budget process.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Stakeholder engagement will be conducted as necessary for each project. Over 2,000 notices were sent through the City’s public procurement process to notify potential service providers of this opportunity.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is not a project as defined by CEQA because a contract award for on- call surveying and design services is a continuing administrative or maintenance activity. CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(2).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Contract with BKF Engineers; C26195818
APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer