Agenda Item: 12
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: May 23, 2023
SUBJECT: LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT FOR LMD ZONE T-1
AD VALOREM
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-1 Ad Valorem for an annual base amount of $62,400, plus an additional $18,720 in annual contract expenditure authority to address unforeseen maintenance and repairs, for a total two-year amount not to exceed $162,240.
2. Authorize ongoing appropriations from Landscape Maintenance District Zone T-1 Ad Valorem (Fund 367) totaling $51,170 to support recurring landscape maintenance services expenditures associated with the recommended contract award commencing in Fiscal Year 2023-24 as shown on Exhibit A.
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 documents, subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clarita (City) administers 62 financially independent zones within the Landscape Maintenance District (LMD), providing landscape maintenance services through contracts with private companies. Request for Proposal (RFP) number LMD-22-23-48 for the
maintenance of LMD Zone T1 Ad Valorem was published and circulated via the City’s Bidnet system on March 31, 2023.
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 provided.
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 606 vendors, including the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Industrial Association, of which 26 vendors downloaded the RFP.
Four companies provided proposals for consideration with the results below.
PROPOSAL COMPANY LOCATION BID
AMOUNT
POINTS
AWARDED
Proposal 1 Stay Green, Inc. Santa Clarita, CA $62,400 247.33 Proposal 2 Oakridge Landscape, Inc. Santa Clarita, CA $46,440 245.67 Proposal 3 Specialized Landscape
Management Services, Inc.
Simi Valley, CA $31,380 236.34
Proposal 4 SGD Enterprises DBA Four
Seasons Landscaping
Van Nuys, CA $83,700 213.33
Stay Green, Inc. (Stay Green) achieved the highest score, with the evaluation team determining their proposal offered the best overall value. Stay Green’s proposal was distinguished by the overall composition and structure of their crew, their approach for rotating personnel throughout the assigned LMD zone, and a schedule of maintenance services encompassing more than 32 total weekly man hours.
As part of this action, staff is requesting ongoing appropriations of $51,170 from Landscape Maintenance District Zone T-1 Ad Valorem (Fund 367) commencing in Fiscal Year 2023-24 to
support recurring landscape maintenance.
The request for additional appropriations is a direct result of how prevailing wage increases have affected the overall landscape labor market and inflationary impacts upon fuel and material costs.
This impact is evidenced by the range of competitive pricing provided by the four responding vendors. In this instance, staff’s recommended contract award reflects an overall increase of 171 percent compared to the current competitively awarded contract. The increase not only reflects an increase in the monthly maintenance amount but also provides additional as-needed expenditure authority to cover deferred maintenance plant replacements and irrigation infrastructure repairs/replacement.
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 the 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 Stay Green 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 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, Inc.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
1. Do not award contract to Stay Green, Inc.
2. Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
The recommended action requires an ongoing appropriation of $51,170 from the Landscape Maintenance District Zone T-1 Ad Valorem (Fund 367) commencing in Fiscal Year 2023-24 to support recurring landscape maintenance costs associated with the award of this contract.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - LMD Requested Budget Appropriations
RFP#LMD-22-23-48 Final (available in the City Clerk's Reading File) Response File Zone T1 Ad Valorem Stay Green (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)