Agenda Item: 9
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: January 24, 2023
SUBJECT: LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS FOR ZONES T33, T65, AND T65A
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 to Landscape Maintenance District Zone T-33 (Canyon Park) for an annual base amount of $35,196, plus an additional $11,212 in annual contract expenditure authority to address unforeseen maintenance and repairs, for a total two-year amount not to exceed $92,816.
2. Award a two-year contract to Stay Green, Inc., to provide landscape maintenance services to Landscape Maintenance District Zone T-65 (Fair Oaks Ranch) for an annual base amount of $67,296, plus an additional $31,928 in annual contract expenditure authority to address unforeseen maintenance and repairs, for a total two-year amount not to exceed $198,448.
3. Award a two-year contract to Stay Green, Inc., to provide landscape maintenance services to Landscape Maintenance District Zone T-65A (The Ranch at Fair Oaks) for an annual base amount of $75,708, plus an additional $31,963 in annual contract expenditure authority to address unforeseen maintenance and repairs, for a total two-year amount not to exceed $215,342.
4. Authorize ongoing appropriations from Landscape Maintenance District Fund 357 totaling $6,342, as identified in Attachment A, to support recurring landscape maintenance services expenditures associated with the recommended contract award commencing in Fiscal Year 2023-24.
5. Find that the award of contract is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Article 19 – Categorical Exemptions, Section 15301, Existing Facilities, (h) Maintenance of Existing Landscaping.
6. 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.
7. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contracts and associated documents, 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 Proposal (RFP) number LMD-22-23-22, for the maintenance of LMD Zone T33 (Canyon Park), Zone T65 (Fair Oaks Ranch) and Zone T65A (The Ranch at Fair Oaks) was published and circulated via the City’s Bidnet system on October 18, 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, 65 percent 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 444 vendors, including the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Industrial Association, of which 18 vendors downloaded the RFP.
Three companies provided proposals for consideration with the results below.
Stay Green, Inc. (SGI) achieved the highest score, with the evaluation team determining their proposal offered the best overall value. They provided the most well-balanced proposal and was distinguished by the overall composition and structure of their crew, their approach for rotating personnel throughout each assigned LMD zone, and a schedule of maintenance services encompassing 101 total weekly man hours. Furthermore, SGI’s proposal represents the greater value as their base operational cost is considerably lower than the number two rated proposal.
As part of this action, staff is requesting ongoing appropriations of $6,342 from Fund 357 commencing in Fiscal Year 2023-24 to support recurring landscape maintenance costs as listed in Attachment A.
In order to maximize operational efficiencies and ensure as-needed work and repairs are completed in a timely manner, staff recommends increasing the annual expenditure authority associated with each landscape maintenance contract as detailed in the recommended action section of this report. As-needed work constitutes, but is not limited to, responding to emergencies, repairs or replacement of irrigation systems which are damaged or have reached the end of their useful service life, replacement of dead plant material, addressing vandalism, and one-time beautification enhancement projects.
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 SGI will continue to require staff review and advanced authorization by the City’s Special Districts Division.
Finally, staff has completed a due-diligence review of SGI’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 SGI.
CEQA DETERMINATION
This award of contract is not subject to CEQA review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Article 19 – Categorical Exemptions, Section 15301, Existing Facilities, (h) Maintenance of Existing Landscaping.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
1. Do not award contract to Stay Green, Inc.
2. Other action as determined by the City Council.
PROPOSAL COMPANY LOCATION BID
AMOUNT
POINTS
AWARDED
Proposal 1 Stay Green, Inc. Santa Clarita, CA $178,200 276.00 Proposal 2 Oakridge Landscape, Inc. Santa Clarita, CA $284,244 249.66 Proposal 3 Mariposa Landscapes, Inc. Irwindale, CA $559,800 231.33
FISCAL IMPACT
The recommended action requires an ongoing appropriation of $6,342 from the Landscape Maintenance District (Fund 357) commencing in Fiscal Year 2023-24 to support recurring landscape maintenance costs associated with the award of this contract.
ATTACHMENTS
Request for Ongoing Budget Appropriations - Attachment A Response File Zone T33,T65,T65A Stay Green (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)