TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Steve S. Charelian, Interim Finance Director
Derrick Abell, Police Chief
Andrew Harrod, Police Lieutenant
Gwen Eng, Purchasing Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Resolution No. 18-0130 Approving a Three-Year Agreement with Van Lingen Towing, Inc. to Provide Towing Services (Interim Finance Director Charelian).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 18-0130
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council:
a) Adopt Resolution No. 18-0130 approving a three-year agreement with Van Lingen Towing, Inc. to provide towing services;
b) Waive formal bidding per Municipal Code Section 2.36.140 (waivers); and
c) Authorize the City Manager to extend the terms of the agreement for up to two additional one-year periods, if deemed in the City’s best interest.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The City expects to receive approximately $80,000 in Fiscal Year 2018-2019 as a result of the vehicle release fee, which is imposed for all vehicles towed under this contract, as set forth in the City’s Resolution of Fees. The vehicle release fee recovers the cost of providing service. The tow service operator submits this fee monthly. In addition, the City spends approximately $3,200 annually on City vehicle towing.
BACKGROUND:
The City currently contracts with Van Lingen Towing, Inc. to provide towing and storage for vehicles impounded due to illegal parking, traffic accidents, arrests, crime scene investigations, and other assorted reasons (the fees are paid by the vehicle owners directly to Van Lingen). The City typically orders 100 tows per month. For Fiscal Year 2018-2019, this will result in approximately $80,000 in revenue from the vehicle release fee that the tow operator collects from the vehicle owner at the time of vehicle release. As part of this contract, this vendor also tows non-operational City vehicles to various repair facilities including the City Yard.
DISCUSSION:
The current contract has expired and based on previous bids, staff deemed it more advantageous to perform surprise site visits to evaluate the various local tow operators. The operators were evaluated upon the following criteria: contractor’s experience, facilities, use of technology, equipment condition and appearance, fleet size and diversity, and number of drivers. The cost of towing and storage was not a primary consideration in the evaluation process because the rates are similar among all contractors, which are based on the Los Angeles Police Department Towing Commission’s rate schedule (Van Lingen charges 4% less than the schedule).
Staff focused on factors which are considered critical in selecting service providers who will represent the City well throughout the towing process, from proper damage-free vehicle handling to customer service at the time of vehicle pickup. The evaluation team comprised of the Traffic Lieutenant, Traffic Sergeant and General Services Coordinator toured four facilities and interviewed the owner/manager of each.
After completion of the evaluation, staff recommends awarding a contract to Van Lingen Towing, Inc Van Lingen’s ability to service the City with an existing fleet, clean and professional facilities (located near the Torrance airport and Little Company of Mary), an organized retrieval system, secure facilities for crime scene investigations and tow vehicle tracking, were all factors that weighed into the selection. Van Lingen will continue to provide a quick response time by stationing multiple trucks within the City during peak towing times (6:00 -8:00 a.m. and 3:00 -7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday), and one truck within the City at all other times. This vendor also accommodates special events coverage with access to four facilities, and an adequate supply of tow vehicles. This vendor has consistently provided excellent service to the City for the last decade.
The contract period is for three years with options for two additional one-year extensions. The City may cancel the contract at any time without cause if necessary.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
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 City Attorney has reviewed this report and approved as to form the agreement.
Attachments:
1. Resolution No. 18-0130
2. Agreement - Van Lingen Towing, Inc.
3. Bid Comparison