City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: OCTOBER 20, 2026 FROM: PARKS, RECREATION AND COMMUNITY
SERVICES DEPARTMENT WARDS: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 7 SUBJECT: TERMINATE THE LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH MERCHANTS LANDSCAPE SERVICES, INC. OF SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, FROM REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 2448 FOR LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE SERVICES FOR SPORTS PARKS FOR THE REMAINING TERM OF NOVEMBER 1, 2026 TO JUNE 30, 2028; AND AWARD A LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE SERVICES AGREEMENT FROM REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 2448 TO BRIGHTVIEW LANDSCAPE SERVICES, INC. FOR THE REMAINING TERM IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,816,680, PLUS, AN ADDITIONAL $170,000 FOR VANDALISM AND GRAFFITI REMOVAL COSTS AND AUTHORIZE A 5% CHANGE ORDER AUTHORITY OF $140,834 FOR A TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $3,127,514 ISSUES:
Consider terminating the Landscape Maintenance Services Agreement with Merchants Landscape Services, Inc. of Santa Ana, California, from Request for Proposal No. 2448 for Landscape Maintenance Services for Sports Parks for the remaining term of November 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028, and award a Landscape Maintenance Services Agreement from Request for Proposal No. 2448 to Brightview Landscape Services, Inc. for the remaining term in the amount of $2,816,680, plus, an additional $170,000 for vandalism and graffiti removal costs for a total amount of $2,986,680 and authorize a 5% change order authority of $140,834 for a total contract amount not to exceed $3,127,514.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Terminate the executed Landscape Maintenance Services Agreement with Merchants Landscape Services, Inc. effective October 31, 2026, pursuant to the termination clause in the agreement as the vendor is unable to fulfill the pricing and terms originally proposed under Request for Proposal No. 2448 due to business conditions from proposed pricing; Award a Landscape Maintenance Services Agreement from Request for Proposal No. 2448 to Brightview Landscape Services, Inc. for the remaining contract term of November 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028, in the amount of $2,816,680; Approve an additional $170,000 for vandalism and graffiti removal costs for a total contract amount of $2,986,680; Authorize a 5% change order authority on the base contract, in the amount of $140,834, for the initial contract term; and Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the termination with Merchants Landscape Services, Inc. and the Agreement with Brightview Landscape Services, Inc. including making minor and non-substantive changes including the extension up to one additional two-year term, subject to the availability of budgeted funds.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Riverside currently contracts out landscape maintenance services for 14 Sports Parks. These services include comprehensive landscape care such as irrigation management, turf mowing and edging, restroom maintenance, debris removal, ball field maintenance and graffiti abatement.
Park Name
1 Andulka Park (excludes tennis center)
2 Arlington Heights Sports Park
3 Don Derr Park
4 Don Jones Park
5 Don Lorenzi Park
6 Hunt Park
7 Hunter Hobby Park
8 La Sierra Park
9 Nichols Park
10 Orange Terrace Community Park
11 Patterson Park
12 Reid Park
13 Ryan Bonaminio Park
14 Shamel Park
The previous agreement with Brightview Landscape Services, Inc. expired on June 30, 2025. To ensure continuity of service and avoid any lapse in maintenance during the transition to a new contractor, Inland Empire Landscape, Inc. agreed to provide interim services through a Stop-Gap Agreement, in the amount of $100,000 to cover services from July 1, 2025, through August 8, 2025.
The City did a Request for Proposal (RFP) No. 2448 and awarded the contract to Merchants Landscape Services, Inc. for a 3-year term from August 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028, for the total contract amount of $5,202,300, which included $345,000 for additional funds for repairs due to vandalism and graffiti and a 5% change order authority.
DISCUSSION:
Purchasing Overview
On February 12, 2025, the City’s Purchasing Division (Purchasing) issued RFP No. 2448 on PlanetBids seeking prospective proposers to provide Landscape Maintenance Service for City Sports Parks.
The solicitation notification is summarized in the table below:
Action
Number of Vendors
External Vendors Notified
500
City of Riverside Vendors Notified
362
Vendors who downloaded the RFP
58 Proposals received
9 A non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting was held on February 20, 2025, with 17 vendors in attendance. A total of 28 questions were received from prospective proposers, and 2 addendums were posted. RFP No. 2448 closed on March 13, 2025, with a total of 9 responses. All responses were found to be responsive and responsible.
Under the guidance of Purchasing, 4 City staff from the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, evaluated the proposals for 2 rounds, which resulted in Merchants Landscape Services, Inc. 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
20%
Pricing
15%
Experience (Projects of similar size and scope)
25%
Professional References
5%
Technical Approach and Methodology
35%
Round 1 – Evaluation Results
Vendor
Location
Proposed Cost
Evaluation Scores
Rank
Merchants Landscape Services, Inc.
Santa Ana, CA
$4,626,000.00
2690
1 Mariposa Landscapes, Inc.
Irwindale, CA
$5,587,704.00
2598
2 Brightview Landscape Services, Inc.
Riverside, CA
$5,070,024.00
2380
3 Inland Empire Landscaping, Inc.
San Bernardino, CA
$5,736,240.00
2268
4 Pacific Coast Landscape & Design, Inc.
Riverside, CA
$5,076,000.00
2235
5 EMTS, Inc.
Clovis, CA
$5,096,340.36
2083
6 Integrity Arborist and Ecoscape, Inc.
Riverside, CA
$4,770,972.00
2066
7 Evolution Landscaping & Plumbing
Huntington Beach, CA
$4,786,164.00
1920
8 RP Landscape & Irrigation
San Bernardino, CA
$4,925,232.00
1803
9 The top 4 proposers were within a competitive point range and were invited to move forward to Interviews (Round 2 Evaluation).
Round 2 – Evaluation Criteria
Evaluation Criteria
Total Points
Methodology
30%
Staff Availability
20%
Company Quality Control Program
20%
Financial Resources to Maintain Solvency while Performing Services 10%
History of Performing Similar Services
20%
Round 2 – Evaluation Results
Vendor
Location
Evaluation Scores
Rank
*Mariposa Landscapes, Inc.
Irwindale, CA
$5,587,704.00
1 Merchants Landscape Services, Inc.
Santa Ana, CA
$4,626,000.00
2 Brightview Landscape Services, Inc.
Riverside, CA
$5,070,024.00
3 Inland Empire Landscaping, Inc.
San Bernardino, CA
$5,736,240.00
4 *Vendor was unable to successfully negotiate and failed to meet the departmental budget.
Following the evaluation, Mariposa Landscapes, Inc. was selected as the most qualified company to perform the requirements of the RFP. However, the City was unable to reach a successful agreement, as the contractor was not able to meet the Departments budget without significantly reducing the level of service. Such reductions would have negatively impacted on the condition and maintenance of City parks.
Given these circumstances, the City elected to proceed with the second-ranked vendor, Merchants Landscape Services, Inc., whose proposed pricing was $961,704 lower than that of Mariposa Landscape Services, Inc. Additionally, the scope of services was more closely aligned with the Parks Division's budget and operational needs.
On August 4, 2026, Merchants Landscape Services, Inc. requested to be released from their existing contract after requesting an additional $35,000 per month for the remaining duration of their contract due to additional costs not accounted for. As the City could not take on the additional costs, Brightview Landscape Services, Inc., who were next in line, was contacted to request their assumption of the remaining contract term at their originally proposed pricing. On August 14, 2026, Brightview Landscape Services, Inc. agreed to accept the contract.
This action is pursuant to Purchasing Resolution 24421, Section 508 which 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 24421.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of this action is $3,127,514, which includes a 5% change order in the amount of $140,834 and an additional $170,000 for landscape maintenance services and additional costs for materials for mainline breaks, vandalism, irrigation repairs and graffiti abatement for the 20-month period from November 1, 2026, to June 30, 2028. Funds are budgeted in General Fund, Landscape Maintenance Sports Parks, account number 5215000-421204. In addition, estimated remaining funding of $1,150,594 from Merchants Landscape PO will be utilized to fund the new Brightview contract.
Prepared by: Vanessa Mayne, Senior Administrative Analyst Approved by: Pamela M. Galera, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Julie Nemes, Finance Director
Approved by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: James Johnson, City Attorney
Attachments:
Agreement
Presentation
Vendor Change for Landscape Maintenanceh Page 5