Agenda Item: 9
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: July 12, 2022
SUBJECT: LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT FOR LMD ZONE 32 (VISTA CANYON RANCH)
DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services
PRESENTER: Keith Miller
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Award a two-year contract to Stay Green, Inc., to provide landscape maintenance services for Landscape Maintenance District Zone 32, Vista Canyon Ranch, Phase I, for an annual base amount of $12,000, and approve up to an additional $5,000 in additional expenditure authority to support as-needed repairs and/or replacements for a total not to exceed contract amount of $34,000.
2. Authorize ongoing appropriations from Landscape Maintenance District Fund 357 totaling $45,264, as identified in Attachment A, to support establishment of a base budget for Landscape Maintenance District Zone 32 inclusive of recurring landscape maintenance services expenditures associated with the recommended contract award.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute up to three additional, one-year renewal options beginning in year three, not to exceed the annual contract amount, inclusive of as- needed expenditure authority, plus an adjustment in compensation consistent with the appropriate Consumer Price Index, upon request of the contractor, and contingent upon the appropriation of funds by the City Council in 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.
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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) number LMD-21-22-41, for the maintenance of LMD Zone 32 (Vista Canyon Ranch), was published and circulated via the City’s BidNet system on May 13, 2022.
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. While the price for services is a component constituting 10 percent of the weighted evaluation criteria, a majority of the evaluation criteria focuses on the composition and structure of the contractor’s crew, their schedule to rotate through the maintenance areas, and overall value. The following categories comprised the weighted criteria used to evaluate proposals:
• Value Provided (30%)
• Rotation Schedule (20%)
• Team Composition/Crew Member Structure (15%)
• Acknowledgement and Understanding of Specifications (15%) • Proposal Amount (10%)
• References & Certifications (10%)
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 for poor performance should the contractor fail to meet their maintenance schedule.
The City transmitted the solicitation to 316 vendors, including the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Industry Association, of which 12 vendors downloaded the RFP.
Three companies provided proposals for consideration with the results below.
PROPOSAL COMPANY LOCATION BID
AMOUNT
POINTS
AWARDED
Proposal 1 Stay Green, Inc. Santa Clarita,
CA
$61,200 259.00
Proposal 2 American Heritage Landscape,
Inc.
Canoga Park,
CA
$97,920 248.33
Proposal 3 Oakridge Landscape, Inc. Canoga Park,
CA
$102,900 223.67
Stay Green, Inc. (Stay Green) achieved the highest score, with the evaluation team determining their proposal offered the best overall value to meet the landscape maintenance needs of this zone. Stay Green’s proposal encompasses an operational schedule which provides 36 combined weekly hours to service all maintenance areas throughout the zone and staff highly qualified in the operation of irrigation controllers and equipment.
Among the three responding companies, Stay Green was the only proposer to identify a certified Recycled Water Site Supervisor within the composition of their team. As Vista Canyon Ranch represents the first LMD Zone that will be supported exclusively by reclaimed water produced by the on-site water recycling facility, irrigation knowledge and expertise represent an especially important operational consideration.
While this competitive process sought proposals identifying the annual cost associated with servicing all designated maintenance areas within LMD Zone 32, the City is only accepting operational responsibility for the first phase of landscape improvements. In consideration of this phasing approach, the initial Stay Green annual contract amount associated with this award of contract will be $17,000 inclusive of the monthly recurring base and additional expenditure authority for as-needed maintenance or repairs.
Staff is requesting the creation and appropriation of an ongoing base budget in the amount of $45,264 to support operations of the initial maintenance areas of this newly formed LMD Zone being turned over to the City. Base budget costs are listed in Attachment A and inclusive of landscape services, water and electrical utilities, monitoring services and an allocation to address as-needed maintenance and repairs.
Concurrent to the appropriation of an operational base budget for Zone 32, staff recommends increasing the annual contract expenditure authority by an additional $5,000. This additional authority will allow Stay Green to respond to emergencies, complete repairs or replacement of irrigation systems which are damaged or have reached the end of their useful service life, replace dead plant material, address vandalism, and undertake one-time beautification enhancement projects.
It is important to note that the increase in expenditure authority granted by the City Council does not represent any guarantee of additional compensation under the terms of the recommended contract. Beyond retaining the discretion to utilize alternative contractors as deemed necessary, all unscheduled repair work or one-time enhancement projects performed by Stay Green will continue to require staff review and advanced authorization by the City’s Special Districts Division.
Staff will return to City Council to request the appropriation of additional ongoing base budget and increased contract expenditure authority in advance of Vista Canyon turning over subsequent phases for management by the City.
Finally, staff has completed a due-diligence review of Stay Green’s professional references and determined their work history meets the City's standards and performance expectations. Based on the above, staff recommends awarding this landscape maintenance contract to Stay Green.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
1. Do not award contract to Stay Green, Inc.
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 $45,264 in ongoing base budget from LMD Fund 357 account to the account codes identified in Attachment A of this report.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - LMD Zone 32 Requested Base Budget Appropriation RFP#LMD-21-22-41 (available in City Clerk's reading file) Stay Green Zone 32 Proposal (available in City Clerk's reading file)