July 2, 2024
Public Works
DATE: July 2, 2024
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM: Daniel Chavarria, PE, Director of Public Works
Tawfic Halaby, PE, Deputy Director of Public Works
Greg Hardesty, Parks & Landscape Maintenance
Division Superintendent
Subject:
Contract with Forster & Kroeger Landscape Maintenance,
Inc., for Point Molate vegetation management
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Parks & Landscaping Maintenance operating budget account string: 01233631-400537
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
N/A
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The Parks & Landscaping Maintenance Division requests
City Council approval of a Contract with Forster &
Kroeger Landscape Maintenance, Inc.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
APPROVE a six-month contract with Forster & Kroeger
Landscape Maintenance, Inc., beginning on July 1, 2024, and ending on December 31, 2024, in an amount not to
exceed $45,000 – Public Works (Daniel Chavarria 620-
5478 / Greg Hardesty 620-6920.
DISCUSSION:
On May 18, 2021, the City Council approved a Standard Contract with Forster & Kroeger Landscape Maintenance, Inc., for a one-year term plus two (2) one-year AGENDA
REPORT
July 2, 2024
extension options. The City exercised the two-year options, and the final extension expires June 30, 2024.
The City must retain a contractor to manage vegetation at Point Molate during the dry season to remove dead trees, shrubs, grasses, and weeds, which can serve as fuel in the event of a wildfire. To avoid an interruption of service affecting the City of Richmond operations, including dry season fuel reduction, staff requested bids from three landscape maintenance firms for six months of service. The bids are listed below in alphabetical order of company name:
Contractor Bid Amount
1. Brightview (Martinez) $45,648.00
2. Forster & Kroeger (San Rafael) $45,000.00
3. Pacific Site Management (Auburn) $45,000.00
Two firms, namely Forster & Kroeger and Pacific Site Management, provided identical low bids. Forster & Kroeger is located in San Rafael, approximately ten miles west of Richmond. Pacific Site Management is in Auburn, California, which is slightly over one hundred miles east and north of Richmond. Since the prices are identical, and due to the absence of any cause for disqualifying one of the low bids, and due to the lack of any other criteria on which to compare the two low bids, staff recommends contracting with the firm that is located only ten miles away, namely, Forster & Kroeger.
Staff recommends a six-month contract for Point Molate vegetation management with Forster & Kroeger Landscape Maintenance, Inc., with a term ending on December 31, 2024.
A formal Request for Proposals/Bids will be posted in the first quarter of the 2024-2025 fiscal year to conduct the competitive bid process to comply with the City Richmond’s Municipal Code five-year contract term limit. Attachment 1 contains the proposed contract.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Proposed Contract
Attachment 2 – Bids