TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Erick Lee, Public Works Director
Nicky Petroff, Senior Management Analyst
Ernest Area, Urban Forester
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Approving a Three-Year Maintenance Services Agreement with West Coast Arborists for Tree Management Services in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $3,102,425 (No Budget Impact) (Public Works Director Lee).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 25-0038
Body
_________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt Resolution No. 25-0038 approving a Three-Year Maintenance Services Agreement with West Coast Arborists for Tree Management Services in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $3,102,425 and;
2. Authorize the City Manager and/or her designee to extend the agreements for up to two additional one-year terms.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The agreement under consideration with West Coast Arborists (WCA) is to provide tree management services for an initial three-year term and two optional one-year extensions. Staff anticipates expenditures for services should not surpass $570,485 for the initial year of the three-year agreement. The contingency is set annually at $50,000 for a total of $250,000 over the five years. The estimated cost of the initial three-year term, and two optional one-year extensions, including contingency, is for a total amount not to exceed $3,102,425.
Annual price adjustments may not exceed the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Area for the most recent 12-month period. These adjustments are limited to a maximum of three percent (3.0%) per year. Funding for such adjustments will be allocated through the annual budget process.
The proposed agreement’s effective date will be July 1, 2025. Funds in the amount of $418,860 are currently budgeted within the General, State Pier/Parking Lot, and the Building & Grounds Maintenance funds Public Works Department budget for these Tree Management services. Future years, including Fiscal Year 2025-2026 which is the first year of this new agreement, will be budgeted accordingly.
BACKGROUND:
The City routinely contracts tree management services to care for and maintain approximately 5,400 trees. The care and maintenance include an annual/biannual pruning program, inspections, a City-wide tree risk survey, and an annual GPS tree inventory.
DISCUSSION:
On November 6, 2024, staff solicited Tree Management Services Request for Proposals (RFP) #1329-25 through OpenGov, a public bid notification system. Five proposal responses were received on December 5, 2024.
The scope of work encompasses comprehensive tree management services for the City, expanding beyond the services provided under the existing contract. The updated scope introduces several key service enhancements, including but not limited to:
• Increased tree maintenance pruning services from 3,700 trees to 5,400 trees annually;
• Increased tree maintenance frequencies in the City Medians, Parks, and Facilities;
• Install 100 trees annually to increase canopy density (Urban Forest Master Plan Goal);
• Annual Plant Health Care (PHC) services for the King Palms in the Downtown & North Manhattan Beach Business Improvement Districts; and
• A sidewalk inventory will be conducted annually. The inventory will identify tree root intrusions into lifted sidewalks for repairs.
The evaluation criteria for this service contract and vendor selection are based on several factors, including but not limited to:
• Contractor’s qualifications and experience in providing services;
• Availability of trained staff in the Los Angeles area;
• References; and
• Costs, quality, the bidder's ability to deliver services, and other factors relating to the City's particular needs.
|
Contractor |
Total Annual Proposal Amount |
|
United Pacific Services Inc. |
$494,032 |
|
West Coast Arborists |
$570,485 |
|
Great Scott Tree Services, Inc. |
$593,736 |
|
SGD Enterprises |
$623,525 |
|
Mariposa Tree Management Inc. |
$125,940 (disqualified - incomplete proposal) |
The City evaluated each submitted proposal thoroughly and advanced the top three scoring vendors to the interview phase.
United Pacific Services, Inc. (UPS) submitted the lowest bid and was invited to the interview phase. However, after careful consideration, staff ultimately recommended not awarding the contract to UPS. During the interview process, staff identified several concerns regarding this contractor’s ability to effectively perform the required services. Specifically, their operational approach appeared to have certain gaps, which raised doubts about their capacity and ability to consistently meet the performance standards outlined in the RFP.
In contrast, WCA demonstrated a thorough understanding of the service requirements and presented a well-structured operational plan that gave staff greater confidence in their ability to fulfill the contract's obligations. Although UPS offered a lower price, the overall qualifications and demonstrated capabilities of WCA were determined to be a better fit for the City's needs.
Additionally, WCA has over 52 years of experience providing tree management services and is currently providing services to more than 200 municipal and county agencies across California. The WCA Manager assigned to Manhattan Beach is both a Certified Arborist and Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ)-certified, ensuring expert oversight over the City’s trees. Unlike the other proposals submitted that relied on subcontractors, WCA performs all specialized services in-house, including pest control advisory, biological assessments, and tree risk evaluations. Their highly qualified workforce includes 114 ISA Certified Arborists, over 170 ISA Certified Tree Workers, and multiple Board-Certified Master Arborists. Additionally, WCA maintains a fleet of over 1,700 pieces of equipment, ensuring reliability and efficiency for large-scale operations.
After extensive consideration, staff recommends the City enter into a three-year agreement with West Coast Arborists for tree management services not to exceed $3,102,425, including an annual contingency amount of $50,000 for unforeseen services and/or emergencies. Additionally, staff recommends that the City Manager be given the authority to administratively exercise the two, one-year options to extend the term of the agreement if deemed in the City’s best interest.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
This bid was advertised on the City’s website and OpenGov, a public bid notification board.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The agreements have been reviewed by the City Attorney and are approved as to form.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 25-0038
2. Agreement - West Coast Arborists