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AWARD A SERVICE CONTRACT TO PIPE AND PLANT SOLUTIONS, INC. FOR CITY OF STOCKTON FACILITIES ON-CALL PLUMBING MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR SERVICES, PROJECT NO. O&M 16-026
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve a motion authorizing the City Manager to:
1. Approve findings which support and justify an exception to the competitive bid process.
2. Approve specifications for City of Stockton Facilities On-Call Plumbing Maintenance and Repair Services, Project No. O&M 16-026.
3. Award a Service Contract in an amount not to exceed $200,000 annually to Pipe and Plant Solutions, Inc. of Berkeley, CA.
It is further recommended that the City Manager be authorized to take appropriate and necessary actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this motion.
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Summary
The City requires routine preventative maintenance and on-call emergency plumbing services for all City facilities. Past practice has been to solicit local plumbing companies for individual services on a case-by-case basis. As it would provide economies of scale and be more cost effective to utilize one vendor, the City advertised a Request for Proposal (RFP) for City of Stockton Facilities On-Call Plumbing Maintenance and Repair Services, Project No. O&M 16-026 on March 24, 2016. This contract will retain one contractor to provide plumbing services as needed with set response times and competitive pricing. Staff recommends awarding a Service Contract to the preferred vendor, Pipe and Plant Solutions, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $200,000 annually. The proposed contract is for an initial term of two years with the option of three, one-year extensions (Attachment A). The contract will be funded from various general fund department accounts.
DISCUSSION
Background
The City is responsible for maintaining plumbing systems at every City facility and park. Routine preventative and as-needed emergency services are required to keep City facilities and assets functional, and to prevent property damage.
The City does not have sufficient numbers of qualified staff or the variety of specialized equipment sometimes needed to fix or maintain City-wide plumbing systems. Presently, the City solicits services from various local plumbing contractors several times a week at variable rates. Annual expenditures for these services are approximately $200,000. The repeated process to procure emergency and as-needed repair services for each incident is inefficient. To be more cost effective and efficient, a contract was developed to retain an on-call service provider at set rates to provide City-wide plumbing services.
Present Situation
On March 24, 2016, a RFP for the City of Stockton Facilities On-Call Plumbing Maintenance and Repair Services, Project No. O&M 16-026 was advertised on the City’s Bid Flash web page and in The Record. On April 21, 2016, proposals were received from the following vendors:
• Pipe and Plant Solutions, Inc., Berkeley, CA
• Roto-Rooter, Inc., Stockton, CA
The project will comply with the requirements of the Stockton Municipal Code (SMC) section 3.68.095, Local Employment Ordinance, which requires the contractor to make a good faith effort to employ qualified individuals that have resided in Stockton for at least one yeart. The goal of the Ordinance is that 50 percent of the contractor’s total construction work force, in labor hours, be comprised of Stockton residents and/or to make a good faith effort to do so with a variety of recruiting activities.
The project will also comply with SMC section 3.68.090, Local Business Preference. Pipe and Plant Solutions, Inc. is based out of Berkeley, CA, with two business locations in Stockton that are utilized to dispatch staff and equipment. Roto-Rooter, Inc. is a local franchise business owned and operated in Stockton. Both companies qualify for the same local preference. Staff reviewed and evaluated both proposals based on each firm’s pricing, experience, quality of work, communications capabilities, and qualifications. Upon conclusion of this process, the proposal from Pipe and Plant Solutions, Inc. was preferred due to their comprehensive availability of equipment and services, and substantially lower pricing (Attachment B).
Staff recommends Council approve a motion authorizing the City Manager to execute a Service Contract with Pipe and Plant Solutions, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $200,000 annually, for City of Stockton Facilities On-Call Plumbing Maintenance and Repair Services, Project No. O&M 16-026. The proposed contract provides comprehensive on-call plumbing services for an initial term of two years with the option of three, one-year extensions.
Findings
In accordance with the Stockton Municipal Code section 3.68.070, the following findings support and justify exceptions to the competitive bidding process to utilize the RFP process for the hiring of a vendor to provide on-call plumbing services:
1. The City-wide on-call plumbing services involve specialized, variable plumbing service requests requiring an experienced, qualified contractor who has successfully provided services of similar frequency and scope.
2. The City does not have the specialized equipment or sufficient number of qualified staff available to perform the work required of this project.
3. Use of the RFP process is appropriate for this Service Contract, because, in addition to cost, it relies on the evaluation of professional qualifications and performance as the basis for selection of a vendor. Use of this criteria helps ensure selection of a vendor that will provide professional, responsive, and timely service.
Based on these findings, an exception to the competitive bidding process was justified for use of an RFP process to obtain these services as necessary.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
The contract is proposed to be funded from various department accounts with the majority of funding coming from:
• Public Works Facilities Maintenance, Crafts Not to exceed $200,000
010-3092-540
All accounts are budgeted, and funding is available within the Public Works Department. No new appropriations or additional transfers are required. There is no impact to the City’s General Fund or to any other unrestricted fund as a result of taking the recommended action.
Attachment A - Contract with Pipe and Plant Solutions, Inc.
Attachment B - Pipe and Plant Solutions, Inc.’s Cost Proposal