TO: HONORABLE MAYOR FROM: Raymond Riordan
AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO THE DATE: September 13, 2023
AGREEMENT WITH WITT
O’BRIEN’S LLC FOR COVID-19
CONSULTING SUPPORT
Approved Date
9/14/23
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager or designee to negotiate and execute the Eighth Amendment to the Agreement with Witt O’Brien’s LLC to extend the Agreement from September 30, 2023 to March 30, 2024 with no increase in compensation, in order to continue assisting the City with strategic emergency management support in updating plans and protocols based on the lessons learned in response to COVID-19 and 10 concurrent emergencies.
SUMMARY AND OUTCOME
The response to COVID-19 was complicated with ten concurrent emergencies (noted in the Analysis Section) that occurred during the pandemic. The lessons learned in response to all the incidents have been collected to optimize the City’s emergency planning and readiness for response to future catastrophic events. The complexity of responding to so many events required staff to take time off to decompress, leading to extended deadlines for the Emergency Operations Plan, annexes, and protocols. The extension request for services from Witt O’Brien’s LLC (Witt O’Brien’s) will assist staff in completing the work on the Emergency Operations Plan, annexes, and protocols’ presentations to City Council for adoption.
BACKGROUND
In March 2020, the City, County of Santa Clara, State of California, and the United States declared respective states of emergency in response to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The City mobilized an immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic by activating its Emergency Operations Center and contracting on an emergency and exigent basis with Witt O’Brien’s to provide consulting support regarding COVID-19. The initial term of the Agreement, as executed on March 18, 2020, was for 180 days with two options to extend for a period of three months each. The First Amendment increased compensation from $175,000 to COUNCIL AGENDA: 9/26/23
FILE: 23-1297
ITEM: 2.8
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
September 13, 2023
Subject: Amendment to the Agreement with Witt O’Brien’s LLC for COVID-19 Consulting Support
$320,000 under City Manager authority on May 1, 2020. On June 30, 2020, the City Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Second Amendment to the Agreement, increasing compensation to $730,000 with no extension to the term. The Third Amendment, effective September 14, 2020, extended the term of the Agreement through December 13, 2020 with no increase in compensation. The Fourth Amendment, effective December 1, 2020, extended the term of the Agreement through March 14, 2021 with no increase to compensation.
With the execution of the June 30, 2020 amendment, Witt O’Brien’s maintained its support of the City with continuity and logistics planning for essential services; technical guidance regarding essential worker safety and use of personal protective equipment; review and interpretation of the frequent federal, state and local pronouncements on COVID-19; expedited Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursement applications for food distribution and personal protective equipment; and substantial strategic assistance on identifying, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating City community mitigation factors, such as healthy hygiene and physical distancing related to epidemiology, healthcare capacity, social services, and public health. Public health expertise regarding COVID-19 has been the most significant and complex of Witt O’Brien’s services.
With each amendment, it was acknowledged that the time required for the competitive bid process could interrupt City access to the expertise Witt O’Brien’s provides in public health and strategic disaster planning and its deep knowledge of FEMA programs and eligibility. Continued sole sourcing of this service was warranted under San José Municipal Code, Section 4.12.235 for unique services, federal procurement standards pursuant to 2 CFR §200.320(f)(2) and 2 CFR §200.320(f)(3), FEMA 44 CFR §13.36(d)(4), and the FEMA March 17, 2020 Memorandum on Procurement Under Grants Conducted Under Emergency or Exigent Circumstances for COVID-
19. On March 30, 2021, City Council approved the Fifth Amendment to the Witt O'Brien’s contract for COVID-19-related strategic planning support services and increased compensation by $260,000 for a revised total amount not-to-exceed $990,000, and retroactively extended the Agreement from March 14, 2021 to March 31, 2022, subject to appropriation of funds.
On March 29, 2022, the City Council approved the Sixth Amendment to the Witt O’Brien’s contract, from March 30, 2022 to March 30, 2023, to initiate updates to the City’s Emergency Operations Plan, annexes, and protocols. Witt O’Brien’s awareness of the operations during response were invaluable in improving these plans for future emergencies.
On March 21, 2023, the City Manager’s Office approved the Seventh Amendment to the Witt O’Brien’s contract until September 30, 2023, to allow staff to recuperate from the extended emergencies and to collect their feedback on planning documents.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
September 13, 2023
Subject: Amendment to the Agreement with Witt O’Brien’s LLC for COVID-19 Consulting Support
ANALYSIS
With City Council action taken on March 29, 2022, funds from the Office of Emergency Management’s Non-Personal/Equipment allocations in the General Fund were available to pay for all costs associated with the updates to the Emergency Operations Plan, annexes, and protocols. Funds in the amount of $247,480 was encumbered for this work. There are no additional funds requested for this extension.
The workload of City staff assigned to address the updates to the Emergency Operations Plan, annexes, and protocols remained high following the termination of the pandemic emergency on May 19, 2023. Staff requires more time to review the updates provided by the contractor and ensure the plans meet the needs of City. All emergency plan updates will be presented to the City Council in the first quarter of the calendar year of 2024.
The ten concurrent emergencies during COVID-19 response included:
• June 21-22, 2020: Civil Unrest
• October 11-13, 2020: Public Safety Power Shutoff
• January 16, 2021: Flood Watch and Response
• August 25, 2021: Gas Leak
• August 25 - 28, 2021: Wildland fire threat (unrelated to the Gas Leak) • September 13 - 15, 2021: Gas leak
• October 23, 2021: Flood watch
• April 9, 2022: Home Depot Fire
• December 26, 2022 - January 14, 2023: Atmospheric River and flood response • March 14 – 17, 2023: Atmospheric River and flood response
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
The Office of Emergency Management will convene the City’s Emergency Services Council, as identified in City of San José Municipal Code, Chapter 8.08, to review the Emergency Operations Plan, annexes, and protocols prior to presentation to the City Council for adoption in the first quarter of the 2024 calendar year.
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office and City Manager’s Budget Office.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
September 13, 2023
Subject: Amendment to the Agreement with Witt O’Brien’s LLC for COVID-19 Consulting Support
PUBLIC OUTREACH
This memorandum will be posted on the City’s Council Agenda website for the September 29, 2023 City Council meeting.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION AND INPUT
No commission recommendation or input is associated with this action.
CEQA
Not a Project, File No. PP17-003, Agreements/Contracts (New or Amended) resulting in no changes to the physical environment.
PUBLIC SUBSIDY REPORTING
This item does not include a public subsidy as defined in section 53083 or 53083.1 of the California Government Code or the City’s Open Government Resolution.
/s/
RAYMOND RIORDAN
Director, City Manager’s Office of
Emergency Management
For questions, please contact Raymond Riordan, Director of the Office of Emergency Management, at (408) 794-7055.