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): Countywide
Title:
Title
On Call Traffic Control Services for Transportation and Public Works Operations
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Approve and authorize the Chair to execute on-call services agreements with two traffic control services contractors, with a not-to-exceed amount of $700,000 per agreement and a combined not-to-exceed amount of $1,400,000, with terms of three years each.
B) Delegate to the Director of Transportation & Public Works Department the authority to execute time extensions of up to two years to the agreements with no change to the not-to-exceed amount of any agreement.
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Executive Summary:
The Department of Transportation and Public Works (TPW) requests that the Board of Supervisors approve agreements with two contractors who are specialists in providing traffic control services. The not-to-exceed value of each agreement is $700,000, with a term of three years. These services will primarily be used to augment the work of TPW’s Road Maintenance Division. They may also be used to support disaster response and recovery activities.
Discussion:
In response to ongoing difficulty recruiting and retaining entry level and extra-help employees, the Roads Maintenance Division of Transportation and Public Works (TPW) is requesting the Board’s approval of two contracts for traffic control services. Each contract has a not-to-exceed value of a $700,000 ($1,400,000 total) and a three-year term. In addition, TPW is requesting the Board delegate authority to the Director of TPW to execute up to two (2) one-year time only extensions for each contract.
Traffic control is essential for the safety of County work crews and the general public when performing a wide variety of road maintenance activities. Two (2) of the primary reasons for pursuing on-call traffic control services are:
1. Increasing the capacity to deliver road maintenance projects. Traffic control requires a minimum of two (2) flaggers and may involve as many as eight (8), depending on road configuration and the presence intersections in the work zone. Utilizing contracted flagger services will allow permanent Road Maintenance staff to focus on more complex road maintenance activities including; equipment operation, construction related activities, and project management in order to increase delivery of road network improvements such as culvert replacements, guardrail repair, and repaving.
2. During the multiple natural disasters from 2017 to 2020, Road Maintenance staff were at the forefront of TPW’s response and recovery efforts, from supporting firefighting efforts, to clearing landslides and keeping roads open for emergency vehicles. Road safety through traffic control was a key part of that mission. Having competitively procured contracts in-place, will improve TPW’s capacity to provide critical services in the event of a disaster.
Historically, employees in the Maintenance Worker I classification and Extra Help employees have performed these critical tasks. However, due to COVID-19 and a general labor shortage, TPW has struggled to recruit and retain employees to perform this work. In response to this staffing challenge, TPW began small scale contracting out for traffic management services in July 2021. Based on the success of these initial efforts, TPW is now requesting Board’s approval for two (2) long-term contracts.
On January 21, 2022, TPW issued a Request or Qualifications to provide on-call traffic control services. The goal was to have these services available in May this year as annual road improvement operations ramp up for the summer season. TPW received three (3) proposals and after careful review is recommending the Board enter into agreements with two (2) firms. The two (2) firms are, in alphabetical order:
• Intersafe Traffic Services, Inc.
• Traffic Management, Inc.
The primary selection criteria was hourly rate for a two-person flagging crew. The top two (2) proposers’ rates were almost identical and TPW is recommending approval of contracts for both firms. These contracts offer no guaranteed minimum quantity of work and TPW may not need to use the full $1,400,000 not-to-exceed total. The requested contracts will provide critical flexibility and capacity to TPW.
In accordance with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Memorandum of Understanding approved by your Board on May 7, 2019, Section 5.2, TPW notified the Union on January 3, 2022 of their efforts to contract out for this work.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Resilient Infrastructure
Goal: Goal 3: Continue to invest in critical road, bridge, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure.
Objective: Objective 2: Increase investment by 5% annually on preventive maintenance on all road infrastructure/facilities.
Prior Board Actions:
N/A
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 21-22 Adopted |
FY22-23 Projected |
FY 23-24 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$50,000 |
$250,000 |
$300,000 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$50,000 |
$250,000 |
$300,000 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$50,000 |
$250,000 |
$300,000 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$50,000 |
$250,000 |
$300,000 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Costs for services under the proposed Agreements are estimated at $50,000 for FY 2021-22. Funding for expenditures are available in the FY 2021-22 Roads Maintenance (11051-34010102) adopted budget, and appropriations for ongoing costs will be included in future budget requests. Roads Maintenance funding sources include allocations from the State Highway Users Tax (HUTA), the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program (SB1), Measure M, contributions from the General Fund, as well as State and Federal grants associated with disaster recovery.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
1. PSA with Intersafe Traffic Services, Inc.
2. PSA with Traffic Management, Inc.
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
RFQ for On Call Traffic Control Services