To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Transportation and Public Works
Staff Name and Phone Number: Johannes J. Hoevertsz 707-565-2231
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): All
Title:
Title
Disaster Debris Removal and Disposal Services Agreements
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the Chair to execute sixteen (16) agreements for as-needed services with the following vetted contractors, facilities, and consultants for Disaster Debris Removal and Disposal Services: Ashbritt Environmental, Inc., Ceres Environmental Services, Inc., CrowderGulf, LLC, DRC Pacific, Inc., ECC Constructors, LLC, Graham County Land Company, LLC, NRC Environmental Services, Inc., Sierra Mountain Construction Inc., Sukut Construction, LLC, Brunsing Associates, Inc., Ghilotti Bros., Inc., Ghilotti Construction Company, Sonoma County Waste Solutions, LLC, Recology Sonoma Marin, Sonoma County Resource Recovery, LLC, The Professional Tree Care Company
B) Authorize the County Administrator, or designee(s), to issue and execute Task Orders pursuant to the proposed agreements, up to total amounts not to exceed $500,000 per order.
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Executive Summary:
As the County prepares to respond to future emergency scenarios, staff recommends the Board enter into As-Needed Disaster Debris Removal and Disposal Services agreements with qualified firms. The agreements would provide for various services, such as debris removal and disposal, staging areas, and household hazardous waste removal and disposal that may be needed in the event of natural disasters or other debris-generating events.
Discussion:
During the past three years, the County has experienced four federally-declared disasters, each requiring multiple services to be provided on short notice. Historically, the Department of Transportation and Public Works (TPW) has maintained emergency service contracts to be available during a declared disaster. In order to better prepare emergency response services related to debris removal and disposal, it is recommended that the County enter into agreements with qualified firms in the event of future disasters or other large debris-generating events. On December 10, 2019 TPW issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals from vendors who can provide such services on an as-needed basis for Sonoma County. The RFP requested proposals for a wide range of services that might be needed to respond to a range and size of possible disaster scenarios. Throughout this process, TPW consulted and collaborated with the Department of Emergency Services as well as County Counsel’s office to ensure that a comprehensive range of services can be available via pre-positioned contracts that comply with Federal emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regulations.
As part of the RFP process, the County solicited competitive proposals from qualified firms, businesses, and individuals to provide Disaster Debris Removal and Disposal Services. It was the specific intent of the RFP to promote a competitive selection process that would result in the establishment of multiple contracts to ensure the County’s capacity to respond efficiently to a broad range of possible needs.
The original January 17, 2020 RFP deadline was extended to January 31, 2020, in order to encourage maximum participation from interested vendors. The County took the necessary steps to assure that small and minority businesses, women’s business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms are used when possible, including soliciting proposals from these providers, dividing the work scopes into smaller tasks or quantities to encourage maximum participation in the RFP, and using the services and assistance, as appropriate, of the Small Business Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce, including posting the County’s RFP on the County’s supplier portal at:
http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Supplier-Portal.
The RFP sought services in the following key Areas:
• Debris Removal
• Staging / Processing Areas and Services
• Household Hazardous Waste Removal and Disposal
• Landfill Disposal
Proposals were reviewed by separate panels, with like services evaluated by a common panel as follows:
Panel 1: Large Scale Service Providers deemed as having a State or Federal presence relative to scale and available services.
Panel 2: Small Scale Service Providers.
Panel 3: Facility Providers.
Panel 4: Tree Service Providers.
The County received 18 proposals in response to the RFP. County staff recommends that the County enter into agreements with 16 of the proposers.
In reviewing the proposals, it was apparent that, given the type and scale of any future disaster, the rankings of proposers would change considerably based on their relative ability to perform the work, the services offered, and cost being the most heavily weighted consideration for FEMA reimbursement. Price considerations will affect how the proposed contracts will be implemented. For example, in a large-scale disaster, a contractor with the lowest prices may provide no value to the County if it cannot provide services on the scale required. Conversely, for a small local disaster, it may not be appropriate to secure services from a national construction firm that might have greater mobilization and labor costs than a smaller firm able to provide the same service at a lower cost.
Therefore, when a disaster occurs, or is imminent, the following three-point selection process will be performed for any contractor or facility:
1) Evaluate the initial scale and diversity of the services needed to address the disaster;
2) Based upon the scale and diversity of needed services, evaluate only those contractors and facilities able to provide the work at the least cost to the County, based on the competitively-procured price structures that are fixed by the County’s pre-positioned agreements, and;
3) Contact one or more of the contractors holding Debris Removal and Disposal Services contracts, notifying them of the County’s intent to activate their contracts. Work will be authorized only pursuant to a mutually-executed task order that establishes a specific scope of work, a not-to-exceed budget, and clear oversight measures from the County directly or by a contracted consultant.
It should be noted that there are some services, such as disposal facilities or transfer stations that, due to the uniqueness of their location and services relative to the disaster, might narrow the field of selected contractors. For example, a proposed processing facility in the middle of a disaster zone may be preferable over a less expensive one further away, as it could affect the overall cost structure of a given project with all services involved. Also, and particular to this RFP, only one contractor tendered a proposal for each of the following services: Household Hazardous Waste services (NRC) and tree cutting and removal services (The Professional Tree Care Company). To support disaster preparedness goals, County staff recommend that the County enter into agreements with these two companies. However, the County will be issuing another RFP to try to enlarge the pool of available contractors in these two areas. In the interim, should an event occur before the pool is expanded, staff will compare pricing as between all existing FEMA-compliant contracts maintained by County departments, such as County Purchasing, prior to activating either of these two agreements. If an existing BPO is less expensive, the County will utilize the BPO instead.
Recommended Contract Firms:
• AshBritt Environmental, Inc.
• Ceres Environmental Services, Inc.
• CrowderGulf, LLC
• DRC Pacific, Inc.
• ECC Constructors, LLC
• Graham County Land Company, LLC
• NRC Environmental Services, Inc.
• Sierra Mountain Construction INC
• Sukut Construction, LLC
• Brunsing Associates, Inc.
• Ghilotti Bros., Inc.
• Ghilotti Construction Company
• Sonoma County Waste Solutions, LLC.
• Recology Sonoma Marin
• Sonoma County Resource Recovery, LLC
• The Professional Tree Care Company
The above firms are all qualified to execute the work contemplated by the contracts they are proposed to receive. Proposals from Nielsen/Aire Corporation and Ancon were deemed to be non-responsive to the RFP’s requirements and, as a result, staff cannot recommend entering into a service agreement with either of them. On May 19, 2020 the County issued a notice of intent to award the proposed contracts to selected proposers. No protests were received before the expiration of the protest period.
The total estimated cost of these services will depend on the scope and nature of future disasters and is difficult to predict. As such, staff recommend that no monetary limit be placed on these master agreements. Instead, costs are proposed to be managed through project-specific, written task orders that will be executed by the Department Head, under the direction of the County Administrator. As noted above, no work will be authorized without a written Task Order that specifically describes the scope of services and the agreed-upon price for those services. During a major disaster, an initial funding commitment is required in order to perform work necessary for public safety. TPW has and may pay for initial costs when feasible; however, this has proved challenging due to TPW funds being restricted for specific purposes. The Department will work with Auditor-Controller, Disaster Finance staff on an as needed basis, if these contracts are used in the event of a disaster. Each of the contracts have a 3-year term and fixed rates for the duration of the term, except as modest adjustments are allowed by established formulas. This action is consistent with the Board approved on December 11, 2018 Recovery and Resiliency Framework goal C4, “Identify essential infrastructure, services and resources necessary during a disaster and, to the extent possible, have contracts and/or Memorandum of Understandings in place.”
The Board may elect not to award these contracts. However, doing so would leave the County vulnerable in the event of another disaster.
Prior Board Actions:
None
Fiscal Summary
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FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
At this time appropriations are not being requested, since the proposed agreements will be utilized only in the event of a disaster. As with past disasters, TPW would coordinate funding in consort with the Auditor’s Office and CAO.
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
None
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
Agreements for Processional Services for Disaster Debris Removal and Disposal:
1. AshBritt Environmental, Inc.
2. Ceres Environmental Services, Inc.
3. CrowderGulf, LLC
4. DRC Pacific, Inc.
5. ECC Constructors, LLC
6. Graham County Land Company, LLC
7. NRC Environmental Services, Inc.
8. Sierra Mountain Construction INC
9. Sukut Construction, LLC
10. Brunsing Associates, Inc.
11. Ghilotti Bros., Inc.
12. Ghilotti Construction Company
13. Sonoma County Waste Solutions, LLC
14. Recology Sonoma Marin
15. Sonoma County Resource Recovery, LLC
16. The Professional Tree Care Company