City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JUNE 23, 2026 FROM: AIRPORT WARD: 3 SUBJECT: DESIGN-BUILD AGREEMENT FROM REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) NO. 2515 WITH SQUARE SIGNS LLC, DBA FRONT SIGNS OF BURBANK, CALIFORNIA FOR DESIGN, MANUFACTURE, AND INSTALLATION OF NEW MARQUEE DIGITAL SIGN AT THE RIVERSIDE AIRPORT FOR THE TERM OF DATE OF EXECUTION THROUGH SIX (6) MONTHS WITH THE OPTION TO EXTEND FOR ONE (1) ADDITIONAL THREE (3) MONTH TERM NOT TO EXCEED NINE (9) MONTHS IN THE AMOUNT OF $66,982.75 AND AUTHORIZE 15% CHANGE ORDER AUTHORITY UP TO $10,047.41 FOR A TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT OF $77,030.16 ISSUE:
Approve Design-Build Agreement from Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2515 with Square Signs LLC, dba Front Signs of Burbank, California for design, manufacture, and installation of new marquee digital sign at the Riverside Airport for the term of date of execution through six (6) months with the option to extend for one (1) additional three (3) month term not to exceed nine (9) months in the amount of $66,982.75 and authorize 15% change order authority up to $10,047.41 for a total not to exceed amount of $77,030.16.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Reject the bids submitted by Padcor of Simi Valley, California and Absolute Sign Inc of Los Alamitos, California as non-responsive; Approve Design-Build Agreement from Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2515 with Square Signs LLC, dba Front Signs of Burbank, California, for $66,982.75 for design, manufacture, and installation of new marquee digital sign at the Riverside Airport at 6951 Flight Road; Authorize 15% change order authority in an amount up to $10,047.41 for a total not to exceed amount of $77,030.16 for project changes including, but not limited to, unforeseen conditions, or necessary design changes; and Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Agreement for Design-Build with Square Signs LLC, dba Front Signs including making minor and non-substantive changes including term extensions up to one (1) additional three (3) month term.
BACKGROUND:
The Riverside Airport has been in continuous operation since 1949 and serves as a critical general aviation facility for the region. The Airport operates a contract Air Traffic Control Tower seven days per week from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., which is currently the busiest contract tower in the State of California. The airfield consists of two runways—Runway 9/27 and Runway 16/34—and a helipad. Runway 9/27, the primary runway, measures 5,401 feet long by 100 feet wide, while Runway 16/34, the crosswind runway, measures 2,850 feet long by 50 feet wide. The Airport also includes approximately 23 acres of paved aircraft parking aprons and 17 acres of aircraft tiedowns.
The Airport supports 192 based aircraft, the majority of which are singleengine aircraft. It includes 210 aircraft hangars and manages a total of 256 active leases, which encompass hangar agreements, ground leases, building leases, office leases, and concession agreements. In 2025, the Airport recorded an estimated 135,289 aircraft operations (takeoffs and landings). A significant portion of these operations are attributed to flight training activity, which continues to represent the majority of airfield usage.
The existing digital marquee sign at the entrance to Riverside Airport at the corner of Arlington, and Flight Road, has been inoperable for approximately six years. A new dynamic digital signage marquee will improve visibility of the airport, allow for advertising revenue, and the ability to inform the community of airport events.
DISCUSSION:
The Riverside Airport seeks approval to enter into a DesignBuild Agreement resulting from RFP No. 2515 for the design, manufacture, and installation of a new marquee digital sign. The existing airport marquee sign has been inoperable for approximately six years and is no longer serviceable due to outdated technology and significant deterioration. As a result, the Airport has been unable to display public information, tenant messaging, or airport announcements at the entrance, limiting communication and visibility for airport users and the surrounding community. The new digital sign will restore this communication function, enhance wayfinding, and support airport branding through modern, programmable messaging capabilities.
Approval of this agreement will replace an inoperable twentyyearold asset, restore public communication capabilities at the airport entrance, improve airport visibility, and support ongoing airport modernization efforts.
Purchasing Overview
On November 13, 2025, the City’s Purchasing Division (Purchasing) issued Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2515 on Planet Bids seeking prospective proposers to provide services to design, manufacture, and install a new digital signage marquee.
The solicitation notification is summarized in the table below:
Action
Number of Vendors
External Vendors Notified
208
City of Riverside Vendors Notified
442
Vendors who downloaded the RFP
42 Proposals received
4 A non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting was held on December 10, 2025, with one (1) vendor in attendance. A total of 15 questions were received from prospective proposers, and two (2) addendums were posted. RFP No. 2515 closed on January 13, 2026, with a total of 4 responses. Purchasing sent out a questionnaire to receive feedback from the prospective proposers on why the RFP was downloaded but failed to provide a proposal submission. The responses received included scope too big and other. One (1) proposal was found to be responsive and responsible, with three (3) proposals determined as non-responsive for not meeting the minimum bid requirements.
Under the guidance of Purchasing, three (3) City staff from the Airport department, evaluated the proposals for one (1) round, which resulted in Square Signs LLC, dba Front Signs ranking No. 1. The evaluation criteria, total points and rankings for each evaluation round are summarized in the tables below.
Round 1 – Evaluation Criteria
Evaluation Criteria
Total Points
Qualifications
30%
Experience
20%
Approach and Methodology
10%
Professional References
10%
Pricing
30%
Round 1 – Evaluation Results
Vendor
Location
Proposed Cost
Evaluation Scores
Rank
Square Signs LLC dba Front Signs
Burbank, CA
$66,982.75
2990.00
1 *Padcor
Simi Valley, CA
$54,953.00
N/A
*Absolute Sign Inc
Los Alamitos, CA
$63,042.08
N/A
*Sign Factory, Printing & Office Equipment, Inc.
El Centro, CA
$72,895.56
N/A
*Non-responsive vendor
Staff are also requesting a 15% contingency in the amount of $10,047.41 for a total not to exceed amount of $77,030.16 for unanticipated changes.
This action is pursuant to Purchasing Resolution 24101, Section 508 states, “Contracts procured through Formal Procurement shall be awarded by the Awarding Entity to the Lowest Responsive and Responsible Bidder, except that…(c) Contracts procured through Formal Procurement for Services or Professional Services, where a Request for Proposals or Request for Qualifications was used to solicit Bids, shall be awarded by the Awarding Entity in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in the Request for Proposals or Request for Qualifications.” The Purchasing Manager concurs that the recommended action is compliant with Purchasing Resolution 24101.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of this action is $77,030.16. There are sufficient funds budgeted in the Airport Fund, Airport Maintenance/Repair of Buildings and Improvement expenditure account no. 1165000-424130.
Prepared by: Daniel Prather, Airport Manager
Approved by: Daniel Prather, Airport Manager
Certified as to
availability of funds: Julie Nemes, Interim Finance Director Approved by: Gilbert Hernandez, Interim Assistant City Manager Approved as to form: Rebecca McKee-Reimbold, Interim City Attorney Attachments:
Agreement
RFP Award Recommendation
Award Bid 2515 – Airport Marquee ● Page 2