Agenda Item: 5
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: February 22, 2022
SUBJECT: AWARD LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT FOR ZONE 28 (NEWHALL)
DEPARTMENT: Neighborhood Services
PRESENTER: Keith Miller
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Award a two-year contract to Oak Springs Nursery, Inc., to provide landscape maintenance services to Landscape Maintenance District Zone 28 (Newhall) for an annual base amount of $248,649, plus an additional $49,732 in annual contract expenditure authority to address unforeseen maintenance and repairs, for a total two-year amount not to exceed $596,762.
2. Authorize ongoing appropriations from Landscape Maintenance District Fund 357 totaling $41,301, as identified in Attachment A, to support recurring landscape maintenance services.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute up to three additional, one-year renewal options beginning in year three, for an annual amount not to exceed $298,381; plus an adjustment in compensation consistent with the appropriate Consumer Price Index, upon request of the contractor, contingent upon the appropriation of funds by the City Council during the annual budget for such fiscal year.
4. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contracts and associated documents, and modify the awards in the event impossibility of performance arises, and execute all documents subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clarita (City) administers 61 financially independent zones within the Landscape Maintenance District (LMD) providing landscape maintenance services through contracts with private companies. Request for Proposals (RFP) No. LMD-21-22-17, for the maintenance of LMD Zone 28 (Newhall) was published by the City on December 9, 2021.
The City transmitted the solicitation to 325 vendors, in addition to the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Industry Association. Seventeen companies downloaded the proposals, with two vendors providing proposals for consideration.
Unlike a bid procurement, where the recommended contract award is based upon the lowest, most responsive bid, this procurement utilizes multiple weighted criteria to evaluate and score proposals. A multiple weighted criteria procurement reinforces performance expectations and works to ensure that vendors dedicate adequate employees to service the contract. To improve maintenance standards and enforce accountability, the solicitation also includes provisions to impose payment reductions on the contractor when maintenance schedules are not met, or where poor performance is documented.
The following categories comprise the weighted criteria used to evaluate the proposals.
• Value Provided (30%)
• Rotation Schedule (20%)
• Team Composition/Crew Member Structure (15%)
• Acknowledgement and Understanding of Specifications (15%) • Proposal Amount (10%)
• References and Certifications (10%)
Company Location Bid Amount RFP Points
Oak Springs Nursery, Inc. Sylmar, CA $248,659 282.33
Venco Western, Inc. Oxnard, CA $522,900 246.00
In reviewing proposals, the evaluation team awarded the highest score to Oak Springs Nursery, Inc. (Oak Springs). The evaluation process determined that the Oak Springs proposal offered the best overall value to meet the landscape maintenance needs within LMD Zone 28 (Newhall).
Oak Springs achieved the highest score in the areas of Value Provided, Rotation Schedule, and Proposal Amount that comprises 60 percent of all weighted evaluation criteria. The proposal submitted by Oak Springs dedicates 547 monthly hours of combined supervision and field labor towards servicing LMD Zone 28. Oak Springs scored particularly well in the area of Value Provided, having outscored the competitor in every sub-category except one.
As part of this action, staff is requesting the ongoing appropriation of an additional $41,301 in base budget to support recurring landscape maintenance services expenditures associated with the recommended contract award, as listed in Attachment A. Sufficient funding within LMD Zone 28 (Newhall) is available to support the increased ongoing annual maintenance expenditures.
Based on operational experience managing these landscape zones, staff also recommends increasing the annual expenditure authority associated with this contract by $49,732 to address unscheduled repairs and as-needed work. By authorizing as-needed contract expenditure authority, City staff is able to utilize LMD assessments generated by property owners in a cost-
effective and responsible manner.
It is important to note that as-needed work does not represent any guarantee of compensation under the terms of the recommended contract. All as-needed work performed by Oak Springs under this contract will require advance review and authorization by the City’s Special Districts Division.
Staff has completed a due-diligence review of Oak Springs professional references and determined their work meets the City's standards and performance expectations. Staff recommends awarding this landscape maintenance contract to Oak Springs.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
1. Do not award contract to Oak Springs.
2. Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund associated with this action. The recommended action requires an appropriation of $41,301 in additional to the ongoing base budget from LMD Fund 357 to support recurring landscape maintenance costs associated with the award of this contract.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A
Oak Springs Proposal (available in the City Clerk's Reading File) RFP LMD-21-22-17 (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)