City Council Agenda Report
Meeting Date: May 5, 2026
From: Brian Saeki, City Administrator
Department: City Administration
Submitted by: Lilia Hernandez, Assistant to the City Administrator Subject
Report on Contracts Approved by the City Administrator for the BIG 4 Initiative Recommendation
A. Receive and file the report on a Services Agreement with DEODATE Corporation for economic and real estate development strategy consulting services for a total not-to-exceed $76,125 for a one-year term, as approved by the City Administrator pursuant to Vernon Municipal Code (VMC) Section 3.32.110 (B)(2); and
B. Receive and file the report on a Services Agreement with North Star Alliances, LLC for economic and real estate development strategy consulting services for a total not-to-exceed $56,000 for a one-year term, as approved by the City Administrator pursuant to VMC Section
3.32.110(B)(2).
Background
On September 16, 2025, the City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the cities of Commerce, Irwindale, Santa Fe Springs, Industry and Vernon for the purpose of uniting efforts to advocate for, advance, and plan shared priorities to seek state and federal funding, and advocate for and advance legislative and administrative policies to address the unique needs and benefits that their industrial and commercial activities offer Los Angeles County and the State of California. Subsequently, the cities of Commerce, Santa Fe Springs, and Industry executed the MOU along with Vernon and started to move forward with a plan for this multi-jurisdictional coalition of “The BIG 4,” cities.
The four cities agreed to utilize two firms, namely DEODATE Corporation (DEODATE) and North Star Alliances, LLC (NSA) to assist with formulating and executing the collective economic and real estate development strategy for The BIG 4. DEODATE is a management consulting firm specializing in real estate, economic development, and site program management. DEODATE’s government clients include Metro, Los Angeles World Airports, Port of Los Angeles, and multiple municipalities. NSA is a national strategic advisory firm that provides marketing, communications and public relations, government relations, and event and project management services. NSA’s government clients include Metro, the Biden Administration, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, and various local municipalities. These firms were selected based on their specialized areas of expertise in strategic communications and real estate and economic development, and experience working with government entities. The BIG 4 cities opted for a coordinated approach between DEODATE and NSA that combined technical expertise with strategic storytelling to elevate the BIG 4’s visibility among developers, investors, policymakers, and partners.
In preparation for the development of the BIG 4’s collective strategy, the firms first needed to perform city-specific work and complete baseline analyses of real estate, economic development, and related communication data, initiatives and strategies on a per-city basis. To that end, each City entered into individual agreements with DEODATE and NSA. Accordingly, on November 1, 2026, the City Administrator engaged DEODATE and NSA to begin their targeted tasks for Vernon.
DEODATE Corporation Agreement
The term of the agreement with DEODATE is for one year from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 for a total not-to-exceed $76,125. DEODATE serves as the lead technical and real estate economic development consultant, providing data-driven analysis, portfolio strategy, and economic development recommendations that establish the backbone of the BIG 4 initiative.
The scope of work for DEODATE includes:
• SB1 Strategy and related data collection, synthesis, structuring, and presentation • Analysis of real estate needs and current real estate utilization • Site/Portfolio related economic development
• Analysis of current technical workflows, schedules, and processes that may impact development selection
• Real estate and/or land use strategy
North Star Alliances, LLC Agreement
The term of the agreement with NSA is for one year from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 for a total not-to-exceed $56,000. NSA leads all public-facing and stakeholder communications, including messaging, marketing, narrative development, collateral creation, outreach sequencing, and engagement strategy based on DEODATE’s technical work. The scope of work for NSA includes:
• SB1 Narrative development, legislative messaging, and communications strategy support • Communications audit, opportunity messaging, and developer-ready narrative preparation
• Site-specific messaging, economic development narrative development, and white paper support
The City Administrator approved the contracts with DOEDATE and NSA pursuant to his authority under Vernon Municipal Code (VMC) Section 3.32.110 (B)(2) which allows contracts to be exempt from competitive selection requirements when the best interests of the City are served by a direct award of the contract without a competitive selection process. The City Administrator made this finding, as Vernon’s participation in the BIG 4 coalition is critical to advancing the City’s pursuits of increased state and federal funding and it serves the best interests of the City to utilize the same consulting team as the other coalition cities. The report regarding these contract approvals is provided to City Council pursuant to VMC Section 3.32.110 (B)(3).
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact is not-to-exceed $132,125 for both agreements. Sufficient funds are available in the General Fund, Industrial Development, Professional Services Account No. 011-010-150- 529215 for the current fiscal year and will be budgeted in the subsequent fiscal year if necessary.
Attachments
None.