City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: August 17, 2026
Report #:2606-6457
TITLE
Approval of Contract Number C27196410 with Salas O’Brien Engineers, Inc. for an Amount Not- to-Exceed $298,716 to Provide Professional Design Services for the Electrification of City Facilities Capital Improvement Program Project PE-24001, for a Contract Term through August 24, 2029; CEQA Status – Exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Contract No. C27196410 with Salas O’Brien Engineers, Inc. to provide professional design services for a total not-to-exceed amount of $298,716, including $244,288 for basic services and $54,428 for additional services, for the Electrification of City Facilities Capital Improvement Program Project (CIP PE-24001). The contract term will be through August 24, 2029.
BACKGROUND
In alignment with the City’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (“80 x 30”),1 the City adopted the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (“S/CAP”),2 which provides a framework for achieving the City’s sustainability and climate goals.
In June 2023, the City adopted the 2023–2025 S/CAP Workplan, which identifies Electrification of City Facilities as a key strategy to reduce emissions by transitioning municipal buildings from gas-burning equipment to electric alternatives.3 On March 2, 2026, the City Council approved the 2026–2027 S/CAP Workplan, which continues to identify facility electrification as a key strategy for municipal assets and operations and advances implementation through the Capital 1 City Council, April 18, 2016; Agenda Item #10; SR #6754 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=79086 2 City Council, October 3, 2022; Agenda Item #9; SR #14720 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=82036 3 City Council, June 5, 2023; Agenda Item #14; SR #2303-1158 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=82342&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto
Improvement Program (CIP).7
To support implementation efforts, the City conducted a Facility Condition Assessment (FCA), which included identifying City facilities with existing gas-burning equipment and the equipment’s remaining useful life. Based on the FCA findings, the following five facilities were identified to be included in the City Facility Electrification “pilot” program and was presented to the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee on December 12, 2025.8
1. Golf Course Pro Shop/Hofbrau
2. College Terrace Library
3. Downtown Library
4. Art Center
5. Ventura Community Center
ANALYSIS
During the December 12, 2025, Climate Action and Sustainability Committee discussion of the Facility Electrification Pilot Program, Committee members raised questions regarding the feasibility of performing facility electrification assessments and design services with City staff rather than utilizing consultant support.9 While City staff provide project management, facility operations expertise, and technical oversight, the scope of work for this effort includes specialized engineering assessments, electrical infrastructure evaluations, HVAC system analysis, and development of technical design documents. Establishing comparable in-house capabilities would require additional staffing resources, specialized training, software tools, and dedicated capacity beyond current staffing levels. Additionally, as part of the Fiscal Year 2027 budget balancing, a position was eliminated that worked on building infrastructure projects, further limiting staff’s capacity. Staff also checked with three neighboring cities and confirmed that they do not have staff with the technical expertise to design these types of projects in- house, and also rely on professional services support.
The pilot program will provide an opportunity for staff to gain familiarity with facility electrification design approaches, permitting requirements and implementation considerations while leveraging consultant expertise to evaluate facility-specific conditions and develop recommendations and staff will be able to use the lessons learned from the pilot projects on future sites as appropriate.
7 City Council, March 2, 2026; Agenda Item #9; SR #2602-5985, https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=86664&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 8 Climate Action and Sustainability Committee, December 12, 2025; Agenda Item #1; SR #2507-5029, https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=84027&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 9 Climate Action and Sustainability Committee, December 12, 2025; Agenda Item #1; SR #2507-5029, https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=84027&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto Solicitation Process
A Request for Proposal (RFP) was published on February 26, 2026 on OpenGov, the City’s eProcurement platform, and 3812 vendors were notified. A non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting was held on March 9, 2026 and a total of eight different vendors attended. The solicitation period was posted for 33 calendar days and closed on March 30, 2026. A total of 10 bids were received.
Table 1: Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description Electrification of City Facilities Proposed Length of Project 36 Months
Number of Vendors Notified 3812
Number of Proposal Packages Downloaded 67
Total Days to Respond to Proposal 33
Pre-Proposal Meeting Yes, Non-Mandatory
Pre Proposal Meeting Date March 9, 2026
Number of Proposals Received 10
Proposal Price Range $244,287-$1,556,499
Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/palo-alto- ca/projects/238336
The proposals were evaluated by an evaluation committee that included representatives from the Public Works Department and the submitted proposals responsive to the criteria identified in the RFP. Salas O’Brien Engineers, Inc. was selected because of the quality and effectiveness of their services, experience of their staff, prior record of performance with the City, and their ability to provide future services.
Staff recommends approval of Contract No. C27196410 with Salas O’Brien Engineers, Inc. (Attachment A). The contract is organized by the five pilot facilities identified for electrification and is further divided into eight tasks corresponding to key project delivery milestones for each facility. This structure provides improved project tracking, greater transparency into facility- specific costs, and a clearer understanding of the infrastructure improvements required to support electrification. Staff will provide prior written authorization before proceeding with each task for each identified priority facility. The additional services budget includes $30,000 reserved for on-call design services to support additional City facility electrification efforts, if needed within this contract term. These funds will only be used if authorized by the City.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for the contract recommendations in this report is available in the Fiscal Year 2027 Adopted Capital Improvement Budget for Electrification of City Facilities Project (PE-24001).
The total fiscal impact is a not-to-exceed amount of $298,716. This includes $244,288 for basic design services and $54,428 reserved for Additional Services. Expenditures for Additional Services will only be incurred upon advanced written authorization via a Task Order assigned by the City's Project Manager.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Stakeholder engagement for the Electrification of City Facilities included coordination with the Public Works Facilities Section and the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee. As the project advances, Staff will continue coordination with Public Works Facilities and engage the Utilities Department, as appropriate.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (Existing Facilities), as the work consists of minor alterations to existing public facilities involving negligible or no expansion of existing use.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Contract No. C27196410 with Salas O’Brien APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer