Agenda Item: 8
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: October 13, 2026
SUBJECT: INSPECTION SERVICES CONTRACT FOR CITYWIDE
MICROTRENCHING OPERATIONS
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
PRESENTER: Amalia Marreh
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Award a one-year contract to Twining, Inc. for Public Works inspection services and authorize the City Manager or designee to execute up to four additional one-year renewal options beginning in year two, with a total contract amount not to exceed $700,000 over the entire five-year term.
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contracts and associated documents, subject to City Attorney review.
BACKGROUND
On October 14, 2025, the City Council approved a 20-year, non-exclusive agreement with Aspire Broadband Holdings, Inc. (Aspire Fiber) to access and use the City of Santa Clarita's (City) public right-of-way for the installation of fiber optic cable and associated facilities. Pursuant to the agreement, Aspire Fiber is responsible for all applicable permit, plan check, and inspection fees associated with its work, up to a total of $800,000. Due to the volume of microtrenching occurring throughout the City, supplemental public works inspection services are needed to assist City staff with oversight of Aspire Fiber’s work in the public right-of-way and to ensure that construction and roadway restoration activities comply with City standards and permit requirements. Staff recommends awarding a contract for supplemental inspection services in an amount not to exceed $700,000.
This item provides for supplemental Public Works inspection services to support the City’s oversight of Aspire Fiber’s ongoing microtrenching operations within the public right-of-way.
Aspire Fiber’s citywide deployment area is divided into ten construction areas, referred to as
“polygons,” which represent geographic areas where fiber installation and related restoration activities will be performed in phases. The current construction activities are occurring within Polygons 1 through 3, with additional polygons anticipated as the deployment progresses. The anticipated construction areas are identified in the attached Location Map, with Aspire Fiber’s overall construction program anticipated to continue for approximately 60 months from initiation.
The City conducted a Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit proposals from qualified consulting firms to provide public works inspection services for Aspire Fiber’s citywide microtrenching operations. The RFP was published and circulated via the City’s e-procurement system, BidNet, on August 11, 2026. The City transmitted the solicitation to 2,123 vendors on BidNet, of which 84 vendors downloaded the RFP. A total of five companies provided proposals for consideration.
These proposals were reviewed and evaluated based on each company’s ability to meet the specific needs of the City. An evaluation panel, comprised of City staff, scored the responses using the following categories of weighted criteria:
• Qualifications and Experience of Assigned Personnel (30 points) • Approach to Staffing Plan and Budget Management (30 points) • Quality of Sample Daily Inspection Reports and Documentation (20 points) • Approach to Coordination with Aspire and City Staff (10 points) • Relevant Municipal Staff Augmentation Experience and References (10 points) The evaluation panel scored the responses based on a 100-point scale, with the results outlined below:
Rank Company Location Score
1 Twining, Inc. Long Beach, CA 94
2 BKF Engineers Oakland, CA 86
3 DCCM Infrastructure, Inc. Riverside, CA 85
4 C2PM Los Angeles, CA 84
5 LAE Associates, Inc. Placentia, CA 83
In reviewing proposals, the evaluation panel awarded the highest score to Twining, Inc. (Twining). They demonstrated an in-depth understanding of the project needs and provided a detailed scope of work and approach to the project. Based on their experience with similar projects, and the completeness of their proposal for this project, staff recommends awarding the contract to Twining. The proposal is available in the City Clerk’s Reading File.
California Government Code 4526 prescribes the selection of architectural and engineering services to be based on demonstrated competence and professional qualifications necessary for the satisfactory performance of the services required and does not authorize the selection of professional architect and engineering services based on cost. City staff was able to reach an agreement with Twining at a fair and reasonable price.
Aspire Fiber will be responsible for all costs associated with the public works inspection services. If the contract is awarded, Aspire Fiber will deposit required funds into a trust account
managed by the City.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
All costs associated with the services rendered for the Public Works Inspection Services will be the responsibility of Aspire Fiber. There will be no fiscal impact to the General Fund associated with this item.
ATTACHMENTS
Location Map
Proposal for Twining, Inc. (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)