Administrative
Report
N.1., File # 23-6326 Meeting Date: 8/1/2023
To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: TED SEMAAN, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
TITLE
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE SCOPE OF TREE TRIMMING SERVICES IN FISCAL YEAR 2023-24
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On June 6, 2023, the City Council approved a four-year extension to the Agreement for tree trimming services with West Coast Arborists. As part of the FY 2023-24 budget adoption process, the City Council reduced Decision Package #32 - Increased Tree Trimming Budget, by $207,851. These funds were requested to cover the gap between the Public Works core budget for tree trimming services and the current estimated annual cost. The reduction in funds for tree trimming services requires a recalibration of the scope of work provided by the contractor in FY 2023-24. This Council item has been prepared to discuss the changes in work and to ensure that available funding is used on priority trees.
BACKGROUND
During the FY 2023-24 budget adoption roughly 65% of the funds needed to cover the costs of the Year 1, Grid 1 tree trimming plan were approved. The budget motion also included direction for staff to solicit competitive bids for future tree trimming services and to place an item on the City Council agenda to discuss the issue.
Current Agreement Status
In the spring of 2019, City staff conducted a competitive request for proposals for a four-year tree trimming agreement and received four proposals. The proposal submitted by West Coast Arborists was selected because it presented the strongest combination of qualifications, resources, and references and had the lowest cost.
On July 2, 2019, the Council awarded a four-year, fixed-cost, agreement to West Coast Arborists to provide trimming services for the City’s urban forest consisting of approximately 12,000 trees. The quoted cost proposed by the second lowest tree trimming contractor, of the other three vendors that submitted proposals, was 19.1% higher than the West Coast Arborists proposal of $1,832,101.
West Coast Arborists has provided the City with reliable, high quality services for the past four years.
They are currently providing similar services for a number of south bay area agencies, including Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates and the County of Los Angeles.
WCA’s proprietary work-tracking and tree assessment system, Arbor Access, is one of the best in the industry. In addition, their record for responding to, and resolving, emergency call-outs is
N.1., File # 23-6326 Meeting Date: 8/1/2023
outstanding.
The Agreement, which expired on July 3, 2023, included a stipulation that it could be extended for four additional years if terms were approved by both the City and the vendor. Several months prior to the expiration date, staff requested that West Coast Arborists submit a pricing proposal for the fouryear extension period. The company’s initial proposal included a total cost increase of 22.8%.
After negotiation, West Coast Arborists reduced its proposed increase for the First Amendment to
19.6%, for a total not to exceed cost of $2,190,719. Based on current market conditions, extraordinary cost increases for labor and material during the past two years, and historical pricing information, staff believed the negotiated fee increase was reasonable and fair.
The pricing of the previous Agreement had been fixed since July 2019 and the proposed pricing for the extension period would be fixed through June 2027. As such, the 19.6% increase reflected an amount that is below inflation over the eight-year term of the Agreement and its first amendment.
Additionally, it was noted by staff that the increased not to exceed amount was only 0.5% greater than the second lowest vendor’s proposal, submitted in 2019.
Unit pricing contained in the amended Agreement is comparable to, or in most cases, lower than the pricing in West Coast Arborists current agreements with other cities, including Manhattan Beach, Torrance and Palos Verdes Estates.
As a result of this analysis, on June 6, 2023, staff recommended and the City Council approved the First Amendment to the Agreement with West Coast Arborists to extend the term an additional four years. Staff believes it is unlikely that an alternative vendor could provide comparable services and lower pricing and feels the appropriate course of action is to continue using West Coast Arborists for tree trimming services for the next four years under the terms of the approved extension. While the amended agreement does not guarantee any specific volume of work and could be supplanted by an alternative contract, it is recommended that West Coast Arborists continue to be the City’s primary tree trimming vendor.
FY 2023-24 Funding/Tree Trimming Work Scope
The estimated cost to perform tree trimming services throughout Grid 1, which is the southerly end of the City, south of Ruby Street and Camino Real, during FY 2023-24 is $594,781. This cost is based on regular tree trimming along with special trimming requests in other districts not included in the regular annual scope of work. Under the terms of the amended Agreement with West Coast Arborists, all in-grid trimming and special trimming requests are completed under the negotiated pricing terms.
The amount of funding approved in the budget for this work is $386,927, which includes $283,000 in the Public Works Department’s core budget and $103,927 in one-time funding provided by the Council through modifications to Decision Package #32. This leaves a funding gap of $207,851. As only 2/3rds of the regularly scheduled work in Grid 1 can be completed, staff must prioritize the areas where funding will be best utilized.
One option to address the funding shortfall is to reduce the typical grid 1 scope of work and eliminate special trim requests for out of grid Chinese Elm trees, Eucalyptus trees and other large trees in the City. If this method were implemented, it is anticipated that City trees in the area from Knob Hill to
N.1., File # 23-6326 Meeting Date: 8/1/2023
the southern City limit could be trimmed in FY 2023-24.
It should be noted that, currently, there are special trimming requests on file from District 1, District 2 and District 3. There are also complaints from Athens Services that some trees hang too low to allow street sweepers to safely pass while sweeping gutters in both the Grid 1 and Grid 2 tree trimming areas. In past years, these special requests have been addressed on an as-needed basis and funded by increased appropriations from the General Fund and Street Landscaping and Lighting Fund. If the above described reductions are implemented, these requests would be on hold for the Fiscal Year.
A second option is to monitor in-grid pruning process and special requests over the next several months to determine the appropriate service level required to keep the City’s urban forest healthy and community property safe. Staff could then present its findings as part of the mid-year budget process to determine if additional funding should be provided to achieve completion of the Year 1, Grid 1 tree trimming originally planned in the West Coast Arborists Agreement.
Photos of trees requiring special trimming that obstruct street sweeping operations and sidewalks are attached for reference.
Future Tree Trimming Work Scope
The attached map shows projections of the areas that could be serviced during the next two years with the funding available in the FY 2023-2024 budget, assuming the same amount of one-time funding ($103,927) is approved for FY 2024-2025. During the first year, it is anticipated that the area from Knob Hill to the southern City limit could be completed. During the second year, the remainder of Grid 1 and the segment of Grid 2 south of Emerald Street could be serviced. At current funding levels, it would take approximately five and a half years to service the entire City, with Districts 4 and 5 being serviced in years four and five, as opposed to the traditional four-year cycle.
COORDINATION
This item was coordinated by the Public Works Department.
FISCAL IMPACT
Under the terms of the first amendment to the West Coast Arborists Agreement approved on June 6, 2023, the cost for tree trimming services over the next four years would not exceed $2,190,719. As the Public Works Department’s core operating budget cannot accommodate this amount, annual increased appropriations to the General Fund and Street Landscaping and Lighting Fund will be necessary to fully fund the Agreement.
Should the City Council elect to solicit proposals for a new tree trimming agreement and pricing, the process would take approximately two months. It is not known if pricing obtained through a bidding process would be higher or lower than the pricing in the extension with West Coast Arborists, although staff expects rates would be higher. This assumption is based on inflationary pressures since the last solicitation of quotes and the fact that the second-lowest bidder in 2019 provided a price that was 19.1% higher than West Coast Arborists at the time, and only 0.5% lower than the rate recently negotiated with West Cost Arborists for the extended four-year agreement term.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
N.1., File # 23-6326 Meeting Date: 8/1/2023
ATTACHMENTS
· Agmt - First Amendment to Agreement with West Coast Arborists, June 6, 2023 · Agmt - Initial Agreement with West Coast Arborists, July 2, 2019 · FY 2023-24 Decision Package #32
· FY 2023-24 Budget Response Report #9
· Map - Annual Pruning Grid
· Map - Projected Services with Available Funding - Year 1 · Map - Projected Services with Available Funding - Year 2 · Photos - City Trees