HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/16/1999, C14 - OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS FOR PARKING council
j ac,Enba Report C14
CITY OF SAN LUIS O B 1 S P 0
FROM: Michael D. McCluskey, Public Works Director
PREPARED BY: Keith Opalewski,Parking Manager
SUBJECT: OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS FOR PARKING
CAO RECOMMENDATIONS:
1) Approve requests for proposals for:
Parking Lot and Garage Cleaning Services (Specification No. 90042)
Parking Meter Coin Collection Services (Specification No. 90043)
Parking Security Guard Services (Specification No. 90044)
2) Authorize Public Works to solicit proposals
3) Authorize the City Administrative Officer to award contracts where costs for the best
proposals are within the amount budgeted
4) Approve extensions of the existing contracts until February 29, 2000
DISCUSSION
The City has a long-standing policy of using contractors where appropriate for ongoing
operations and maintenance services. The Parking Program contracts for several services,
including lot and garage cleaning, meter coin collection, and security guard service. The current
multi-year contracts for these three services will expire on December 31, 1999.
Requests for Pronoials vs.Invitations for Bids
Recommendation: requests for proposals instead of invitations for bids
With operations and maintenance contracts, sometimes inviting sealed bids and awarding a
contract to the lowest responsible bidder works well. But using this approach in the past for
these parking contracts has created two major problems. First,because of inexperience or
miscalculation the low bidders have tended to underestimate the cost of service required by the
specification. To survive the term of the contract,these low bidders have either cut corners or
continually requested price adjustments. The consequences have been marginal work and
strained relations between Public Works representatives and the contractors. Second,because of
the low bids typically submitted and accepted,many large reputable companies have refrained
from bidding,knowing that their legitimate prices would probably be undercut by less
experienced firms. To remedy this situation, Public Works has drafted requests for proposals
that call for first evaluating a proposing firm's experience and capability and then negotiating
contract prices within the budget available. This approach should attract more proposals from
well-established companies and should allow Public Works more flexibility to consider
qualifications as well as reasonableness of prices.
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Council Agenda Report—Operations and Maintenance Contracts for Parking
Page 2
Longer Contract Terms
Recommendation: a five-year term for these contracts
The length of most Public Works operations and maintenance contracts has been two to four
years. A longer term has the following advantages:
• It allows contractors to recover startup and capital costs over a longer period. Consequently,
contract prices can be lower.
• It makes budgeting for contract costs more predictable because contract prices remain stable.
• It eliminates frequent and time-consuming contract solicitations.
• It reduces the inevitable disruption that occurs whenever there is a change in contractor. The
transition period for such a change usually requires temporary but intensive supervision from
Parking employees which takes them away from their regular duties.
Extension of Existing Contracts
Recommendation: extension of existing contracts until February 29, 2000
Such an extension will allow adequate time to evaluate proposals and negotiate contract prices.
FISCAL IMPACT
Current Current
Annual Annual
Contract Amount
Cost -Budgeted
Parking Lot and Garage Cleaning Services $65,000 $64,500
Parking Meter Coin Collection Services 24,000 39,000
Parking Security Guard Services 18,000 18,000
$107,000 $121,500
The following documents are available for review in the Council office:
• RFP to Furnish Parking Lot and Garage Cleaning Services (Specification No. 90042)
• RFP to Furnish Parking Meter Coin Collection Services (Specification No. 90043)
• RFP to Furnish Parking Security Guard Services (Specification No. 90044)
90042 90043 90044 O&M Contract;for Pang
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