The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutC31550 - Landscape Maintenance Area 16 - Month to MonthContract No. C31550 REQUEST SUBMITTED BY CONTRACTOR DATE: CONTENTS Recommendation CITY OF PALM DESERT PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT STAFF REPORT ACCEPT, WITH CONSEQUENCES, TRUGREEN LANDCARE'S ELECTION TO NOT ACCEPT THE AWARD C31550 FOR LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE 16, AUTHORIZE THE NEGOTIATION OF LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE SERVICE ASSOCIATES, INC., REJECT ALL PREVIOU OF CONTRACT NO. SERVICES IN LMA MONTH -TO -MONTH WITH VINTAGE S BIDS FOR LMA 16 THAT WERE CONSIDERED AT THE MAY 24, COUNCIL MEETING AND AUTHORIZE RESTRUCTURE AND REBID THE CONTRACT (PROJECT NO. 916-12) Mark Greenwood, P.E., Director of Public Works TruGreen LandCare 1616 Marlborough Ave, Bldg S Riverside, CA 92507 June 28, 2012 Notification Letter of Rejection of Contract Vicinity Map By Minute Motion: 2012, CITY STAFF TO FOR LMA 16 1. Accept, with consequences, the election of TruGreen LandCare (TruGreen) of Riverside, California, to not accept Contract No. C31550 for landscape maintenance services for LMA 16 (Project No. 916-12); 2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate with Vintage Associates, Inc., of Bermuda Dunes, California, for month -to -month landscape maintenance services for LMA 16 for a period of time not to exceed 120 days and at a cost not to exceed $18,000 per month; 3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate with Vintage Associates, Inc., of Bermuda Dunes, California, for the overseeding of turf areas in LMA 16 at a cost not to exceed $5,000; and 4. Reject all previous bids for LMA 16 that were considered at the May 24, 2012, City Council meeting and direct staff to restructure and rebid the contract for landscape maintenance services for LMA 16. Staff Report TruGreen LandCare Election to Not Accept Contract No. C31550 June 28, 2012 Page 2of3 Funds are available in the General Fund Account No. 110-4611-453-3320, R/M Landscaping Services. Background On March 28, 2012, the City Clerk advertised and called for bids for LMA 16 for Fiscal Years 2012/2013 and 2013/2014, and on April 25, 2012, bids were opened and read aloud. The successful low bidder was TruGreen LandCare of Riverside, California, and Contract No. C31550 was awarded to them by the City Council on May 24, 2012. On June 14, 2012, TruGreen tendered a letter to the City indicating that they had elected to not accept the award of contract. The letter implied that TruGreen had significantly underbid the work. Staff contacted the City Attorney and at his request the bid bond documents were forwarded to him for action. The City Attorney has indicated that he will pursue TruGreen's bid bond to recover incurred costs due to their decision not to accept the award of contract. Landscape maintenance contracts have traditionally been bid as a public works project, making them subject to the low bidder requirement. This process has resulted in a chronic problem of underbidding. The result of these underbid contracts is increased staff time to oversee the maintenance contracts in order to bring the contractor into compliance with contract specifications, poor quality workmanship, and at times early termination of contract thus requiring additional staff time to re -bid the contracts. Staff would like to take this unfortunate event and use it as an opportunity to re -address the process of bidding landscape maintenance work by using a service based contract. This type of contract will allow the selection process to be based on price as well as other factors (i.e. man hours, equipment, and experience) rather than price alone. Staff expects to have this contract developed, bid, awarded, and executed within 120 days. In order to provide interim landscape maintenance services for LMA 16, staff has contacted Vintage Associates, Inc., who has successfully worked for the City as a landscape maintenance vendor in the past and has prior experience with and/or knowledge of this LMA. The time period for this interim landscape maintenance will extend into overseeding season and, as a result, a proposal has been requested and received for general landscape maintenance services and for overseeding. The proposed cost is $18,000 per month for general landscape maintenance services, and $5,000 for overseeding. The work requested is based on the current contract specifications, but is not all inclusive because the time period is substantially less than a full year. The intent of the scope of work is to maintain the LMA in good, functional, and safe condition until a new contract can be developed, bid, awarded, and executed. Staff Report TruGreen LandCare Election to Not Accept Contract No. C31550 June 28, 2012 Page 3 of 3 Fiscal Analysis This is an on -going maintenance activity with no fiscal impact beyond the contract amount. The City Attorney is pursuing TruGreen's bid bond, which will offset the additional expenses incurred as a result of the non -acceptance of the contract. Prepared By: H. penc r Kn Landscape Manager S. Gibson, Director of Finance Approval: uth, City Manager Depa Mark qrefnwood, P. Direct r I Public W< CITY COUNCIL. AC�iON APPROVED,..�,.......,.._ DrMM RECEIVED OTHER NOES: AIMP ABSENT: 6-? ABSTAIN: VERIFIED BY: Original on File with City Office 1YuGreen LandCare San Diego Branch 6372 5248 Governor Drive San Diego, CA 92122 Office: 858-453-1755 Fax:858-453-7197 Mailing Address P.O. Box 22207 San Diego, CA 92192-2207 June 14, 2012 H. Spencer Knight Landscape Manager City of Palm Desert 73510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Dear Spencer: As per our phone conversation we are going to elect to not accept the award for LMA 1, 16, 17, and 18. At the time of submission we had, in our employ, two individuals that were soon to depart the company. After our internal approval process, numbers were altered, and an "unresponsive" bid was submitted to the City of Palm Desert. For this, on behalf of our team, I apologize. Following the notice of award, these red flags were noticed. We put together a team to look over the numbers and scope to ensure that we, in good faith, could perform the work at the submitted price. After a week of due diligence, our team has decided that it is not in the best interest of all parties involved, for us to move forward with this book of work. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience. Our team takes great pride in our work, and we are taking all action required to ensure that this does not happen in the future. We look forward to participating in future RFP processes. Sincerely �-- Jared ice Branch Manager IOUNTRYCLUB Hovley Soccer Park +/- 659,133 Sq Ft Joe Mann Park +/- 30,555 Sq Ft LN E U � - $ Uj y. V M� - HOVLEYLN E ;. ; - .,� HOVLEYLN Oti W �'9y 42ND AVER s sT '9s CALIFOR AbR '.:MERLEDR Y O O U J W 2 3 !. CALIFORNIA AVE FRED WARING DR y sW FRED WAR?fIG D