Agenda Item: 7
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: September 13, 2022
SUBJECT: LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE DISTRICT CONTRACT
AUTHORITY INCREASE/BASE BUDGET APPROPRIATION
DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services
PRESENTER: Keith Miller
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Approve ongoing expenditure authority increases in the annual cumulative amount of $368,678 for expanded landscape services, as-needed maintenance and repairs, unanticipated work, and one-time enhancement projects within multiple City Landscape Maintenance zones for the contracts listed in Attachment A.
2. Authorize ongoing appropriations from Transit Fund (Fund 700) totaling $15,000, as identified in Attachment B, to support operations at the Vista Canyon Transit Center.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contracts and associated documents subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clarita (City) manages 61 financially independent zones within the Landscape Maintenance District (LMD), supporting landscape maintenance operations through contracts with private companies.
The Special Districts Division administers 24 individual landscape contracts, encompassing a cumulative annual value of $5,776,945. Landscape services are secured via competitive bidding, awarded for a contract period of two-years, and include up to three additional, one-year renewal options. The value of each individual landscape service contract comprises the cost for recurring monthly services, plus additional expenditure authority to address unforeseen maintenance issues which equals twenty percent (20%) of the total contract value.
The authorization of additional contract expenditure authority enables staff to utilize the incumbent contract assigned to each individual LMD zone to complete as-needed repair or one- time enhancement work. While this approach maximizes operational efficiencies and ensures such work is completed in a timely manner, in some instances the volume and/or costs of unforeseen maintenance necessitates increasing the expenditure authority of existing landscape service contracts.
At this time, staff recommends approving the expenditure authority associated with the landscape contracts identified in Attachment A in the cumulative annual amount of $368,678.
The requested increase in contract authority is necessary to address unforeseen maintenance work including responding to emergencies, repair or replacement of irrigation systems which are damaged or have reached the end of their useful service life, replacement of dead plant material, vandalism, theft, traffic collision damages, and impacts due to drought conditions.
It is important to note the expenditure authority increase granted by the City Council does not represent any guarantee of additional compensation under the terms of these existing contracts.
Beyond retaining the discretion to utilize alternative contractors as deemed necessary, all unscheduled repair work or one-time enhancement projects will continue to require staff review and advanced authorization by the City’s Special Districts Division.
Finally, staff is also recommending appropriation of an additional $15,000 in ongoing base budget to support recurring maintenance operational expenditures including landscape and monitoring services, as identified in Attachment B.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
1. Do not approve recommended contract expenditure authority increases.
2. Other action as determined by the Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds to support the landscape maintenance contract identified in Attachment A were previously appropriated by the City Council as part of the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Annual Budget adoption.
The recommended action also requires an ongoing appropriation of $15,000 from the Transit Fund to the expenditure accounts identified in Attachment B to support the operations at Vista Canyon Transit Center.
ATTACHMENTS
Contract Expenditure Authority Increase
Transit Facilities - Ongoing Base Budget Appropriation