Title
Street Landscape Maintenance Consolidation
Description
Staff requests the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Subcommittee recommend City Council approval to award a contract for street landscape maintenance. Based upon bid results, staff recommends a contract award to Basin Tree Service & Pest Control, Inc., DBA United Right-of-Way, for a service level of three times per year. This rate of frequency would provide regular maintenance to street landscaping and improve the current complaint-driven process.
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
As a result of the City's Comprehensive Organizational Review Evaluation (CORE) process, City staff presented a recommendation to consolidate street landscape maintenance operations into the Street Transportation Department, as this function has been split between Parks and Recreation and the Street Transportation Departments. Currently, the Street Transportation Department manages an annual contract of $1.5 million to provide landscape maintenance for approximately 76 miles outside of freeway walls, which includes special areas such as traffic calming devices, washes, basins and new street landscapes. The Parks and Recreation Department currently performs street landscape maintenance in the right of way on a complaint-only basis due to various budget reductions to the program. In order to respond to street landscape maintenance complaints, Parks and Recreation Department staff is redirected from their parks maintenance efforts, and a significant use of overtime is also necessary.
On April 28, 2015, City staff presented to City Council the concept of consolidating street landscape design and maintenance activities into the Street Transportation Department (Attachment A). Consolidating activities into the Street Transportation Department with a predictable service level would create an opportunity to achieve greater consistency and efficiency. City Council unanimously passed the motion to pursue outsourcing measures.
Following Council approval, staff from the Parks and Recreation, Street Transportation, Finance, and Budget and Research departments worked together to begin the process to pursue outsourcing measures. Parks and Recreation held 21 full-time positions vacant to allocate funds to Street Transportation for contracted street landscape maintenance. Street Transportation developed a contract management model for staffing and equipment and worked with Parks and Recreation in identifying equipment to reallocate to the contact management staff.
Contracted maintenance would consist of continuous weed control, trash removal, pruning of trees and shrubs, and irrigation system operations. This does not include any budgeted funds for any plant, tree or granite replacements. The transition of a contracted street landscape maintenance program to Street Transportation, including initiation of contracted landscape maintenance services, would be scheduled to take place after February 2017.
Procurement Information
Parks and Recreation and Street Transportation staff developed a two-step Job Order Contracting (JOC) process based on both qualifications and price-based selection criteria, to procure a contractor to perform outsourced maintenance services. The procurement was structured to obtain competitive price proposals from vendors that incorporated three options of service level: three times per year; four times per year and 12 times per year service levels. Any of these options represent an improvement in service level.
Out of the two-step JOC procurement process, three firms were selected to submit cost proposals to the City. The firms are DLC Resources, Brightview Landscape Services, and Basin Tree Service & PEst Control, Inc. DBA United Right-of-Way. Based on the proposals received, staff is recommending Option A with award to United Right of Way, providing three times per year service.
Financial Impact
Attachment B summarizes different service level options, contract services, project administration, and total costs based on the current $1,250,832 budget of 21 vacant Parks and Recreation Department Groundskeeper positions. This funding amount was allocated to outsource street landscape maintenance as identified during the April 28, 2015 City Council presentation. Project administration will consist of one Horticulturist and one Senior Construction Inspector positions.
The four-month funding requirement to implement Option A in fiscal year 2016-17 is approximately $416,944, which has been achieved from the savings of vacant street landscape positions within the Parks and Recreation Department.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
On Jan. 28, 2015, Parks and Recreation and Street Transportation staff provided an overview of the street landscape maintenance activities to the Finance, Efficiency, Economy and Sustainability Subcommittee.
On Feb. 25, 2015, the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee unanimously recommended Council approval to consolidate street landscape design and maintenance activities into the Street Transportation Department and begin the process to pursue outsourcing measures.
On April 28, 2015, City Council unanimously approved the proposal.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Deanna Jonovich and Mario Paniagua, and the Parks and Recreation and Street Transportation departments.