City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: January 13, 2026
Agenda Item: 4.M
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Anuj Gupta, Director of Transportation, Department of Transportation, Transit Maintenance
Subject: Award Bid # 4506 to A and A Fleet Painting, Inc. for Bus Body and Paint Repairs
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) and a finding of no possibility of significant effects pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Award Bid # 4506 to A and A Fleet Painting, Inc. for transit bus body repairs and painting services for the Department of Transportation; and
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with A and A Fleet Painting Inc., in an amount not to exceed $3,437,363, including a 10% contingency, for a five-year period, with future year funding contingency on Council budget approval.
Summary
Big Blue Bus, a division of the Santa Monica Department of Transportation (DOT), operates 195 transit buses across 69 square miles of greater Los Angeles, providing an average of 820,000 rides while traveling 390,000 miles each month. While in service, transit buses experience body damage resulting from normal wear, road damage, and accidents that necessitate repair and painting services. Bus body repair services are required to ensure that buses can be repaired and returned to service in a timely manner. Staff recommends Bid #4506 be awarded to A and A Fleet Painting, Inc., to provide body repair and painting services for transit buses in an amount not to exceed $3,437,363 for a five-year period.
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Discussion
Transit buses experience wear and damage to their body panels, structure, painted surfaces, and branding decals during normal operation from normal road damage and wear, contact with fixed structures and trees, and traffic collisions. This damage may result in repainting or replacement of body panels, replacement of branding decals, or major structural repair work in order to return the transit bus to good operating condition.
DOT staff perform minor body repairs; however, major repairs and paintwork exceed DOT’s capacity to repair in-house. Painting of transit buses must be completed in an enclosed paint booth that complies with applicable safety and environmental regulations. Additionally, repairing structural accident damage requires specialized facilities and tooling. Bid #4506 requires that the vendor provide all equipment, facilities, and materials necessary to paint, repair, and replace transit bus panels and structural components including a fully enclosed paint booth that complies with applicable Federal, State, and local rules and regulations.
The bid award would enable the City to repair transit bus body damage in a timely manner, minimizing vehicle down time. Staff recommends Bid #4506 be awarded to A and A Fleet Painting, Inc. for transit bus body repair and painting services.
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Bidder A and A Fleet Painting, Inc.
Evaluation Criteria
Price, experience, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform the services; the capacity of the bidder to perform provide the service promptly, within the time specified, and without delay.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.180
Submittals Received
A and A Fleet Painting $3,437,363 Complete Coach Works NO BID CG, Inc. $3,988,600 Fleet Collision Center, Inc. $4,441,157 Bid Data
Date
Posted Posted On Advertise In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
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10/10/2025
City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica Daily
Press 18 11/3/2025
Best Bidder Justification
Bid #4506 was evaluated by the evaluation committee from the Department of Transportation, Transit Maintenance Division. A and A Fleet Painting Inc. is able to provide all services and comply with all specifications required under Bid #4506, and their references provided positive feedback regarding the quality and timeliness of their work, as well as their experience providing painting and bus body repairs for 40- foot and 60-foot transit buses. A and A Fleet Painting has experience performing bus body repairs for large transit agencies including Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (LACMTA), OmniTrans, Foothill Transit, and Anaheim Regional Transportation. References interviewed by staff credited A and A with fast response times, good work quality, and clear, accurate estimates provided in a timely manner.
A and A Fleet Painting Inc. is evaluated to be equal to the incumbent vendor based on their experience, capacity and skill to perform the bid services, and capacity to provide prompt service without delay and is the lowest cost bidder and agreed to a firm-fixed contract for five years, offering cost savings to the City. Based on their equal performance on experience and ability to perform the work and their low cost, A and A Fleet Painting, Inc. is recommended as the best bidder.
Protest
On November 18, 2025, City staff notified bidders of staff’s intention to recommend A and A Fleet Painting, Inc. as the best bidder of bid #4506 for transit bus body repairs and painting services. On November 25, the Finance Director received a timely protest from CG, Inc. On December 4, after conducting a full investigation into the merits of the protest, the Finance Director determined the protest claims were unsubstantiated and denied the protest.
Based on the Finance Director’s final determination denying the protest, staff recommends Bid #4506 be awarded to A and A Fleet Painting, Inc. for transit bus body repairs and painting services.
Environmental Review
The contract for transit bus body repairs and painting services is categorially exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) and Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. Section 15301 4 of 5
exempts Class 1 (Existing Facilities) projects from CEQA, which includes the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. The repair and painting of transit bus body components would not result in any modifications to existing maintenance facilities and would not expand or materially change existing maintenance operations or increase the City’s fleet of transit buses. Therefore, this is categorically exempt as set forth in Section 15301 of the CEQA guidelines. Additionally the contract is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, 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 contract would provide for bus body repairs and services, and would not have a physical impact on the environment.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the Big Blue Bus fund to award a contract with A and A Fleet Painting, Inc. for repair and painting of transit bus body components.
Contract Request
FY 2025-26
Request
Amount
Future Years
Amount Department/CIP Account # Total Contract Amount
$206,242 $1,856,176 60600008.550012 $2,062,418
$137,495 $1,237,450 C6004750.689000 $1,374,945
Total $3,437,363
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval. 5 of 5
Prepared By: David Nanjo, Administrative Analyst
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. A and A Fleet Painting OAKS
B. A and A Levine Act_Updated
C. Protest Letter - BID 4506 - CG Inc.
D. Protest City Response - BID 4506 - CG Inc.