CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the Award of Option Year One to Contract 17-044, Brush Collection Program to Steve Piper and Sons for an amount not to exceed $81,080 and to Trees “R” Us, Inc. for an amount not to exceed $94,250, for a total award of $175,330.
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DEPARTMENT: Department of Public Works
SUBMITTED BY: Richard Dublinski, Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
Each May, the Department of Public Works (DPW) collects branches placed along the curbsides in bulk as part of the City’s annual Brush Collection Program. In years past, DPW’s employees administered the program and performed brush pick-up with assistance from one contractor for the entire City. As part of the CY2017 budget process, City Council approved contracting the curbside brush program in its entirety. This allows DPW employees to refocus on other necessary service areas such as tree trimming and sign maintenance, which are of great importance to residents.
City Council approved the original award to both companies on March 21, 2017. Brush collection is performed by work crews of two to three workers using a chipping device towed behind a truck with an enclosed chip box or grapple equipment capable of loading brush. The work performed under this contract includes all necessary equipment and all personnel required to perform brush collection.
Requirements of the program will remain consistent with past years. Beginning in 2017, the program was extended from four to five weeks. Under the new schedule, each garbage collection day is assigned a separate week for brush collection. DPW is working closely with Communications to communicate the schedule with residents and an interactive map will be updated daily during the program. The schedule for 2018 is as follows:
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Homes with garbage collection on this day |
Must place brush on the parkway by |
For collection one time during the week of |
|
Monday |
May 13 |
May 14-18 |
|
Tuesday |
May 20 |
May 21-25 |
|
Wednesday |
May 28 |
May 29 - June 1 |
|
Thursday |
June 3 |
June 4-8 |
|
Friday |
June 10 |
June 11-15 |
DISCUSSION:
Despite Steve Piper & Sons being the low bidder for all sections, staff recommended the contract be given to two vendors so that each vendor would have appropriate resources available to ensure the work was completed on schedule. Steve Piper & Sons was given six of the ten sections. As the second low bidder, Trees “R” Us was given four of the ten sections. Both vendors performed well during the initial term of the contract. The vendors also provided pricing for optional extra work needed during the brush collection program. If additional work is needed, a change order will be recommended for approval.
The total cost to outsource the brush collection services to the two vendors is $175,330. The cost to outsource is generally in line with the City’s cost to perform the services in-house. Outsourcing brush in 2017 resulted in a 67% increase in the number of work orders completed during that time period. Spring is an important time for repairing streets that have deteriorated over the winter. Having a full crew during brush collection allowed for an increase in street repairs and the response time for pothole repairs improved from 3 days to 1.5 days during this period. In addition, the forestry team used their additional crew staffing during brush collection to complete 150 tree trimming requests, 100 stump restorations, and 50 tree removals.
The term of this extension is May 1, 2018 through April 30, 2019, with one, one-year option remaining.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP #: N/A
Contracted brush collection service is expensed to the operational service account below. A total of $175,500 is budgeted for this service in CY2018. The total requested award of 175,330 is within the budgeted amount for this expense.
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Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
|
31251100-531308 |
General Fund |
$1,388,045 |