HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 1f - Reject Landscape Maintenance ContractDATE: November 4, 2014
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
STAFF REPORT
Public Works Services Department
FROM: Tom Tait, Public Works Services Director
By: Jacquelyn Mercado, Public Works Office Coordinator
SUBJECT: REJECT ALL BIDS RECEIVED FOR LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE
SERVICES, DIRECT STAFF TO RE -BID THE CONTRACT WITH
REVISED SPECIFICATIONS FOR THESE SERVICES, AND AWARD A
TWO MONTH CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH CLS LANDSCAPE
MANAGEMENT, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $70,760
Recommendation: Reject Bids, Direct Staff to Re -bid, and Approve
an Extension with CLS
SUMMARY
The Public Works Services Department ( "PWSD ") is responsible for the landscape
maintenance of all City -owned landscaped areas. In order to ensure that exceptional
landscape services are provided, a formal Request for Qualifications and bid were
conducted for these services. As a result, two bids were received;, subsequently, one
bidder requested to withdraw their bid due to an error and the second bid was
significantly higher than the approved budget. It was determined that modifying the bid
schedules and re- bidding the project will allow the City to receive more competitive bids
within the approved budget amount. It is recommended that the City Council reject all
bids received for landscape maintenance services and direct staff to re -bid the contract
with revised specifications and award a two month contract extension with CLS
Landscape Management, Inc in the amount of $70,760.
DISCUSSION
PWSD is responsible for the maintenance of all City -owned landscaped areas, which
includes medians, parkways, parks, water facility sites, parking districts, and City -owned
facilities. Due to the complexity of the specifications, high standards required for
landscaping throughout the City, and the possibility of getting a low bid from a
contractor who could not meet the specifications of the contract, a Request for
Qualifications was advertised in the City's adjudicated paper on July 7, 2014. As a
result, four contractors submitted their qualifications for review and all four were pre-
Contract for Landscape Maintenance Services
November 4, 2014
Page 2 of 3
qualified to submit a bid. To further communicate the City's required landscaping
needs, all four pre - qualified contractors attended an extensive site walk, which allowed
them to view first hand landscaped areas that would be covered under the contract.
On September 30, 2014, the City Clerk publicly opened two sealed bids with the
following results:
FIRM LOCATION BASE BID BID ALTERNATE
CLS Landscape Management, Inc. Chino, CA $ 477,371.16 $ 24,940.80
Mariposa Horticultural Irwindale, CA $ 665,700.16 $ 4,800.00
The base bid included all work specified in the current contract, with some additional
clarifications for trouble spots and emerging issues throughout the City. The bid
alternate was for the addition of landscaping maintenance on the freeway on /off ramps.
The prices submitted above are annualized costs.
Following the bid opening, CLS Landscape Management, Inc. ( "CLS ") requested to
withdraw their bid on their own accord due to errors in their bid. Additionally, PWSD
contacted the two additional pre - qualified contractors who did not submit a bid to
determine the reasons why. One contractor stated that after attending the site walk and
careful review of the City's specifications, it was determined that they could not provide
the required labor necessary to perform the City's required landscaping needs. A
second non - responsive contractor stated that they internally did not have enough
dedicated sales personnel to complete a bid of this size. The one remaining bid
received by Mariposa Horticultural was significantly higher than the approved budget.
In follow -up conversations with Mariposa, it became clear that the personnel "man
counts" identified in the specifications were unnecessarily pushing the costs higher; the
same high quality work could be accomplished with fewer personnel.
In order to stay within the approved budget, the scope of work from the original bid
specifications will need to be revised to allow bidders to determine the labor
requirements necessary to perform the City's required landscaping needs. All other
quality standards will remain in place; it will simply be left to the contractor to decide the
right number of people for the job. It is anticipated that revising the labor requirements
in the bid specifications and re- bidding this project will enable the City to receive more
competitive bids within the approved budget amount and to provide landscape
maintenance levels that are acceptable to the City of Arcadia.
The existing landscape maintenance contract with CLS, the City's current landscape
contractor, is set to expire on December 4, 2014. To allow for rebidding of the contract
without interruption of service, it is recommended that the City Council also approve a
two month contract extension with CLS for landscaping services through the end of
January 2015. This extension will allow for continued landscaping services, while
PWSD modifies the bid specifications and re -bids the project to receive more
competitive bids within the approved budget amount.
Contract for Landscape Maintenance Services
November 4, 2014
Page 3 of 3
FISCAL IMPACT
Sufficient funds are budgeted in each Department's Contract Services accounts for
landscape maintenance services in the Fiscal Year 2014 -15 Operating Budget.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council reject all bids received for landscape
maintenance services, direct staff to re -bid the contract with revised specifications, and
award a two month contract extension with CLS Landscape Management, Inc in the
amount of $70,760.
Approved.
Dominic Lazza
City Manager