TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
David N. Carmany, City Manager
FROM:
Jim Arndt, Public Works Director
Juan Price, Maintenance Superintendent
SUBJECT:Title
Award of Contract for Three-Year Citywide Street Tree Inventory Services and Tree Trimming to West Coast Arborists (WCA), Inc. in the Amount Not-to-Exceed $390,000 (Estimated $130,000 Annually).
APPROVE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
a) Waive formal bidding per Municipal Code Section 2.36.150 (cooperative purchasing);
b) Award a three-year contract for tree trimming and inventory services to West Coast Arborists, Inc. in the amount of $390,000
c) Authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with West Coast Arborists, Inc.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Sufficient funds are budgeted in the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Public Works budget for the remainder of current year expenses. Future annual costs will be incorporated into the annual budget development process.
BACKGROUND:
During Fiscal Year 2011-2012, funds were allocated to perform an inventory of trees located within City maintained areas. City maintained areas include City facilities, parks, and street medians. City maintained trees do not include trees adjoining private property, commonly referred to as parkway trees. Per Municipal Code Section 7.32.50, the maintenance of parkway trees is the responsibility of the adjoining property owner.
Additionally, as part of the recently adopted City Council Strategic Plan, staff was directed to develop a tree master plan. A tree inventory is first phase of a tree master plan development. Information contained in tree inventories typically includes tree height, location, species, diameter, condition, and maintenance data. When fully developed, tree master plans contain a tree inventory, guidelines for tree trimming, tree removal, and tree replacement, a tree palette, a tree planting plan and a maintenance plan which would include regular updates to the tree inventory database. If approved, staff will return to City Council in July 2013 with the tree inventory for further discussion and direction.
The Public Works Department currently maintains City trees through two existing service contracts; Merchants Landscape Services, Inc. (landscaping) and CleanStreet, Inc. (plaza maintenance). Merchants Landscape maintains the majority of trees, while CleanStreet is responsible primarily for the Metlox Plaza, City Hall Plaza, and Streetscape areas. However, neither vendor's services are tree specific nor are they tree maintenance specialists.
Within the specifications of our existing service contracts, the City may utilize Merchants Landscape and/or CleanStreet to trim trees less than 30 feet in height, once every two years. Their obligation is limited to addressing dead or damaged branches and disposal of fallen limbs within their respectively maintained areas. Neither contractor is required to provide a geocoded inventory nor do they report or track the historical condition nor maintenance history.
In addition, the City's practice of trimming trees over 30 feet in height has always been separately negotiated with incumbent contractors and billed as a contract extra, which is done every three years. Currently, the City is overdue for year three trimming.
In order to comprehensively manage City maintained trees, staff was directed to develop an inventory of our tree stock. The resulting data would then be used to create maintenance schedules and corresponding budgets based upon tree species, growth rate, and reduce liability exposure. Once completed, the inventory can be integrated within our current GIS system and base maps.
DISCUSSION:
Whenever practical, the City "piggybacks" onto contracts which are economically advantageous. Piggybacking is the extension of pricing, terms, and conditions to other governmental agencies at the mutual consent of all parties. This is permissible under the City's Municipal Code, section 2.36.150. In this case, WCA has offered the City pricing from a 2010 City of Beverly Hills contract. They had solicited proposals from 20 tree service companies for comprehensive tree care services and received two responses. Tree care services include tree trimming, tree removal, new tree planting and establishment, and an online database-driven inventory. After thorough analysis, the contract was awarded to WCA based on their competitive pricing and professional reputation in this industry. While there are many tree service companies in Southern California, very few can provide the wide range of services required in the request for proposal. The benefits include comprehensive and cost-effective professional arbor care, experienced arborists, and an internet-based tree inventory providing historical details on dates of maintenance and the health of each tree.
WCA's approach is to inventory all trees within the City's maintenance scope, and submit tree information to their clients for further analysis and direction. The proposed contract with WCA will allow the City to essentially receive the tree inventory at no additional cost and allow application of current budget allocation to trimming. WCA estimates it will take them 4-6 weeks to complete the inventory. After the inventory is complete, staff can return to the City Council with an extended tree maintenance plan based upon analysis of the provided inventory and recommendations of professional arborists versed in municipal tree maintenance.
For the current fiscal year, staff estimates that there are sufficient funds currently allocated within corresponding budgets to trim all trees in street medians, parking lots, water sites, and a portion of City parks. Once the inventory is completed, the inventory data will be updated and maintained on a continuous basis throughout the contract period. This will be used to develop future budget recommendations for tree maintenance and replacement.
CONCLUSION:
Because of the pricing and structure of the competitive bidding process and resulting contract, staff believes that the pricing from the City of Beverly Hills contract is the best attainable that meets the City's needs. Based on this available piggyback opportunity, staff recommends City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with WCA. The contract period is for three years with options for two additional one-year periods. Staff is requesting that the City Manager be given the authority to exercise the option years based upon staff's recommendation. The City may cancel the contract at any time without cause if necessary.
Attachments:
1. Agreement with West Coast Arborists, Inc.
2. Tree Trimming Contract Exhibit A attachments