June 20, 2023
Community Development
DATE: June 20, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Lina Velasco, Director of Community Development
Jesus Morales, Housing Manager
Subject:
Contract Amendment with Olivers Towing to Tow and
Demolish Recreational Vehicles (RVs) at the Castro
Encampment
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The costs associated with this service will be paid for using the City’s $4.8 million Encampment Resolution
Funding; therefore, this contract will not have an impact on the City’s General Fund. Account string: 15061219-
400201-16G07.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
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STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Community Development Department is requesting City
Council approval of a contract with Oliver’s Tow, Inc., for a total contract amount of $50,000, to provide removal
and demolition services of Recreational Vehicles
relinquished at the Castro Encampment by those placed
in housing to complete restoration of the site to its
original condition.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
APPROVE a contract with Oliver’s Tow, Inc. in the
amount of $50,000, with a term from June 20, 2023,
through June 30, 2025, to support the removal and
dismantling of Recreational Vehicles relinquished at the Castro Encampment by those placed in housing –
C o m m u n i t y Development (Lina Velasco/Jesus Morales 510-620-6649).
AGENDA
REPORT
June 20, 2023
DISCUSSION:
The Castro Encampment Resolution Project is housing residents on a regular basis.
Once a resident is housed, their vehicle(s), usually an older inoperable Recreation Vehicle (RV) or auto, needs to be towed to prevent new people from occupying the RV and/or having it ransacked.
Currently, to schedule tows, City staff must work with the Parking Enforcement division to schedule a time for the division to come to the encampment to perform tows. Parking Enforcement then coordinates with the various tow companies for the removal using the rotation schedule.
Depending on the tow companies’ capacity to remove and store oversized vehicles, this can often result in delayed tow efforts. Scheduling a Parking Enforcement officer for a full day also takes away resources needed to address requests and complaints regarding vehicles throughout the City.
On March 15-28, 2023, Way 2 Love, Inc., on behalf of the City of Richmond Housing Division, solicited a Request for Quotes (RFQ) for on-call towing and demolition services of RVs to support the Castro Encampment Resolution Project. The RFQ was sent to the following three vendors via email as an informal solicitation and received responses from each of them: Tow, Inc., Ben’s Towing, and Superstar Towing (See Attachment 1).
The three towing companies solicited through this RFQ are currently providing similar towing services to the City of Richmond or other local municipalities. All three firms are highly experienced in towing vehicles. However, only Oliver’s Tow, Inc. provides towing and demolition for RVs within a reasonable price range. Ben’s Towing can provide towing and demolition service, but their per unit price is substantially higher than Oliver’s Tow, Inc. The other firm, Superstar Towing, can tow recreational vehicles but only after the body of the vehicle has been demolished, leaving the frame to be towed.
This would require the use of City Public Works resources that would need to be scheduled in advance and would prolong the removal of the RVs on-site, which may attract new residents to the encampment.
There are currently 23 RVs remaining on-site; therefore, resources are needed to ensure the timely removal of these vehicles to restore the site to its original condition.
City staff is requesting City Council approval of a contract for $50,000 to support the removal and disposal of relinquished RVs (see Attachment 2). The contract would be funded using Encampment Resolution funding provided to the City.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Contract
Attachment 2 – Quotes/Memo Selection