City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: September 24, 2024
Agenda Item: 5.B
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Water Resources Subject: Award Contracts to SG Creative, LLC, Katz and Associates, Inc. and Randle Communications for On-Call Public Affairs & Communication Support for Water Resources Division
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Award RFP #392 to SG Creative, LLC, Katz & Associates, Inc., and Randle Communications for On-Call Public Affairs & Communications Support for the Water Resources Division;
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with SG Creative, LLC, for a total amount not to exceed $500,000 over a five-year period, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval;
4. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Katz & Associates, Inc., for a total amount not to exceed $500,000 over a five-year period, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval; and
5. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Randle Communications, for a total amount not to exceed $500,000 over a five-year period, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
The City of Santa Monica is a recognized leader for its long history of implementing innovative and sustainable water supply projects and policies to provide a climate resilient water supply for the community. As an example, the City’s Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project (SWIP), that produces purified water from stormwater and municipal wastewater, recently received state, national, and global awards (e.g., 2024 2 of 6
Distinction Award for Water Reuse Project of the Year at the Global Water Awards) for first-of-its-kind innovations and its state-of-the-art water purification process.
To support one of the City Council’s priorities, Sustainable and Connected Community, staff in the Water Resources Division aims to develop community outreach and education materials focused on the City’s water, wastewater, stormwater harvesting, and recycled water infrastructure as well as water quality, water conservation and water resources protection programs. These efforts include developing formal tour programs for SWIP and the Arcadia Water Treatment Plant, school age educational materials, community event tabling materials, and short videos to educate the community on the City’s award-winning water treatment and purification facilities.
Staff recommends awarding a total of three professional services agreements for OnCall Public Affairs and Communications Support to SG Creative LLC., Katz & Associates Inc., and Randle Communications in amounts not to exceed $500,000 each for a five-year term.
Discussion
The City of Santa Monica’s Water Resources Division (WRD) in the Public Works Department operates and maintains drinking water, wastewater collection, and recycled water services for residents, commercial, and institutional customers throughout the city. The City currently services approximately 18,000+ metered customers with a current average annual water demand of approximately 11,600 acre-feet per year (AFY). Since the 2018 update to the Sustainable Water Master Plan (SWMP), the City has made great progress towards reducing its reliance on imported water supplies and provide a climate resilient water supply for the community. These efforts include several first of its kind innovations and award-winning projects including:
• The SWIP, a first of its kind stormwater harvesting and municipal wastewater advanced water treatment facility that produces purified water that exceeds all drinking water standards and is used to replenish local groundwater aquifers.
The SWIP has won numerous awards including the 2024 Distinction Global Water Award for Water Reuse Project of the Year, 2023 Helen Putnam Award of 3 of 6
Excellence from the League of California Cities, and the 2023 Transformational Innovation Award from the National WateReuse Association. • The first Flow Reversal Reverse Osmosis retrofit system in the United States that will increase overall production efficiency at the Arcadia Water Treatment Plant from 80% to 90%. This will allow the City to produce an additional 10% of highquality drinking water without having to pump additional groundwater to enhance sustainable management of local groundwater supplies.
• The Olympic Well Field Restoration Project that will restore groundwater quality in the Olympic Sub-basin. The Olympic Advanced Water Treatment Facility will utilize ultraviolet light advanced oxidation processes, one of the highest contaminant removal efficiencies in the country, to destroy industrial contaminants from the Olympic sub-basin.
To complement and enhance public awareness of the City’s efforts in implementing innovative and sustainable water solutions, staff is seeking on-call support to develop public outreach and educational materials centered around the City’s water, wastewater, stormwater harvesting, and recycled water infrastructure as well as water quality, water conservation, and water resources protection programs. The goal is to develop outreach materials and programs that could be utilized for various public engagement opportunities including tours of the City’s water/wastewater facilities, K-12 classroom education, tabling at community events, increasing awareness on water rates and cost, and short videos educating the public on the history of the City’s water supply, multi-barrier water treatment process to produce high-quality drinking water, and efforts to maximize local water resources to provide a climate resilient water supply.
Utilizing SG Creative LLC., Katz & Associates Inc., and Randle Communications will allow the City’s WRD to have outreach and educational materials that will engage the public, which currently are underdeveloped. The City’s WRD does not have staff dedicated to outreach, which results in engineering and administrative staff taking on responsibilities outside of their job duties. All three firms selected have extensive experience collaborating with utilities and water agencies, including East Valley Water District, Valley County Water District, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, and Golden State Water Company. The expertise brought by these firms will ensure the 4 of 6
City has materials that meet industry standards and have been proven effective with other ratepayers.
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Qualified
Persons/Firms
SG Creative LLC, Katz & Associates Inc, and Randle Communication Evaluation
Criteria
Experience & Technical Competence; Value Added/Breath of Service; Cost of Services; & References.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
RFPs Received
SG Creative, LLC Katz & Associates Inc. Randle
Communication
Arellano
Associates
BB Communications
Group
Green Media Creations,
Inc.
JPW
Communications
NBS
S Groner Associates We the Creative
RFP Data
Date Posted Posted On Advertise In (City
Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
01/09/2024 City’s Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica
Daily Press
45 02/16/2024
Justification to Award
SG Creative LLC, Katz & Associates Inc., and Randle Communications were chosen to provide on-call public affairs and communications services. Each firm was chosen for their individual experience and technical competence in providing public affairs and communication services for the water/wastewater industry. SG Creative LLC demonstrated the strongest ability and experience with working with water districts and small municipalities in producing and organizing community events, Katz & Associates demonstrated the strongest ability with creating physical outreach material and educational campaigns for water districts, and Randle demonstrated the strongest multimedia creation abilities for water related communication material.
Environmental Review
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to 5 of 6
Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines. The action is covered by the commonsense exemption which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” The action is for awarding on-call public affairs and communications support to SG Creative LLC., Katz & Associates Inc., and Randle Communications to prepare outreach and educational materials on water resources programs. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Water and Wastewater Funds to award agreements with SG Creative LLC, Katz & Associates Inc., and Randle Communications to provide on-call public affairs and communications services for the water utility. Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Contract Request (SG Creative LLC)
FY 2024-25
Request Amount
Department
Account #
Future Years Total Contract
Amount
$50,000 50500001.550010 $200,000 $250,000
$50,000 51500001.550010 $200,000 $250,000
$100,000 Total $400,000 $500,000
Contract Request (Katz & Associates Inc.)
FY 2024-25
Request Amount
Department
Account #
Future Years Total Contract
Amount
$50,000 50500001.550010 $200,000 $250,000
$50,000 51500001.550010 $200,000 $250,000
$100,000 Total $400,000 $500,000
Contract Request (Randle Communications)
FY 2024-25
Request Amount
Department
Account #
Future Years Total Contract
Amount
$50,000 50500001.550010 $200,000 $250,000
$50,000 51500001.550010 $200,000 $250,000
$100,000 Total $400,000 $500,000
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Prepared By: Thomas Poon, Senior Administrative Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. FY 24-25 Oaks Iniative (SG Creative)
B. FY 24-25 Levine Act Disclosure (SG Creative)
C. FY 24-25 Oaks (Katz & Associaties)
D. FY 24-25 Levine Act Disclosure (Katz & Associates)
E. FY 24-25 Oaks (Randle Communications)
F. FY 24-25 Levine Act Disclosure (Randle Communications)