City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JANUARY 16, 2024 FROM: GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WARD: 3 SUBJECT: REJECT ALL PROPOSALS FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS NO. 2265 FOR THE DESIGN AND INSTALLATION OF AN AUTOMATED ENTRANCE AND EXIT GATE LOCATED AT THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE CORPORATION YARD AND AUTHORIZE STAFF TO RELEASE A REVISED REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS ISSUE:
Reject all proposals for Request for Proposals No. 2265 for design and installation of an automated entrance and exit gate located at the City of Riverside Corporation Yard due to the lack of qualified responses and authorize the staff to release a revised Request for Proposals to obtain more qualified responses.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council reject all proposals for Request for Proposal No. 2265 for design and installation of an automated entrance and exit gate located at the City of Riverside Corporation Yard; and Authorize staff to release a revised Request for Proposal.
BACKGROUND:
To better accommodate incoming and outgoing vehicle traffic at the City of Riverside Corporation Yard, the General Services Department developed request for proposal documents for a planned project to design and install an automated gate system in the southeast corner of the Corporation Yard. The new gate would accommodate City vehicles only for entrance and exit and be controlled by City employee badges.
DISCUSSION:
On August 3, 2023, the General Services Department, in conjunction with the City’s Purchasing Division, issued Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2265 on the City’s Electronic Bidding System, PlanetBids Vendor Portal, and issued a public notice in the Riverside Press Enterprise newspaper seeking experienced and qualified contractors to bid for the Corporation Yard Automated Gate design and installation project. The PlanetBids notification was sent to 441 City of Riverside vendors and 500 external vendors. A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting and site visit was held on August 15, 2023. Only one prospective proposer, Poncino Construction, attended this pre-bid meeting. With 10 prospective proposers, RFP 2265 closed on September 14, 2023, with a total of one response. The proposal was received from Foothill Lock and Key. The Purchasing Division performed a preliminary review of the proposal for responsiveness and concluded that the proposal was incomplete as the proposer did not include a bid bond. Thus, the Purchasing Manager deemed this proposal non-responsive.
A lack of response email was sent to the prospective proposers to find out why they did not participate. Two responses were received back, one stating that the scope of services was vague and the other response was to inform the City that they only work through cooperatives, which the City does not utilize for Public Works projects.
Purchasing Resolution 23914 Section 507 states “Rejection of Bids. The Manager may in his/her discretion reject any and all Bids, or any segregable portions thereof, for any one or more type of Goods, Services or Construction included in the Specifications when the public interest is served thereby, provided specifically that any potential award does not otherwise require consideration by the Awarding Entity, in which case any rejection or award shall be made by the Awarding Entity. The Awarding Entity may also take any other action permitted by Section 1109 of the City Charter.” The Purchasing Manager concurs that the recommendation to reject all proposals is in accordance with Purchasing Resolution no. 23914, Section 507.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item supports Strategic Priority No. 6 – Infrastructure, Mobility & Connectivity and supports Goal 6.2 – Maintain, protect, and improve assets and infrastructure within the City’s built environment to ensure and enhance reliability, resiliency, sustainability, and facilitate connectivity.
This item aligns with EACH of the Cross-Cutting Threads of the City’s Strategic Plan as described below:
Community Trust – The request to reject all proposals is agendized for City Council consideration, ensuring public transparency and creating community trust.
Equity – All proposals received through PlanetBids are reviewed for completeness and adherence to the proposal requirements, ensuring equitable treatment.
Fiscal Responsibility – The formal procurement process ensures that the best possible pricing is obtained.
Innovation – Planning this project demonstrates the General Services Department’s intent to develop innovative solutions for managing incoming and outgoing traffic flow and increasing security at the City’s corporation yard.
Sustainability and Resiliency – All General Services Department’s capital projects are planned with sustainability and resiliency in mind.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
Prepared by: Mike Combs, Building Services Project Manager Approved by: Carl Carey, General Services Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Edward Enriquez, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/ Treasurer
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachment: RFP No. 2265 Rejection Recommendation Corporation Yard Gate Bids Page 2