To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Regional Parks
Staff Name and Phone Number: Ken Tam, 707-565-3348
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Regional Parks As-Needed Professional Services Agreements
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors to execute twelve (12), new multi-year, As-Needed Professional Service Agreements totaling an estimated $300,000 annually. The individual consultants fall within two (2) different professional service disciplines, each with its own “not to exceed” amount listed in the Discussion section of the item.
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Executive Summary:
The adopted Five Year Capital Project Plan 2022-2026 for Regional Parks identifies 103 projects including regional trails, river and coastal access parks, community parks, and regional open space parks and preserves. The diverse and extensive list of projects recommended in the plan require a range of professional services. In order to expedite contracting for these services over the next three to five years, the Regional Parks Department proposes that multi-year as-needed agreements with several firms for each professional services discipline be utilized. The Purchasing Agent and County Counsel support this approach.
Regional Parks is requesting that the Board approve multi-year as-needed professional service agreements for two (2) types of frequently used professional services: landscape architectural and planning services and backcountry trail design.
Discussion:
In June 16, 2009, the Board approved the department’s first use of multi-year as-needed service agreements which resulted in improved efficiency in Regional Parks, County Counsel, and the Purchasing departments by significantly reducing processing overhead of Professional Service Agreements. A single agreement was used to perform multiple services for a variety of projects. By eliminating the need to prepare separate request for proposals, contracts, and board reports for numerous contracts, staff costs were reduced by an estimated 4,330 hours, a department savings of $143,570 over four years. In addition, work load efficiencies were realized, and project schedules were shortened by two to six months.
The notification of the Request for Proposals RFP was released to the general public on June 8, 2022 and emailed to every registrant on the County’s Purchasing Division Portal totaling more than nine hundred (900) firms or entities. The contracts have been reviewed by the Purchasing Department and County Counsel to develop the overall approach to setting up these agreements.
Following the execution of these as-needed agreements, staff will obtain proposals from multiple firms for each project, thus ensuring the County is receiving the best price and product. As is standard with County as-needed agreements, there is no guarantee of any minimum amount of work for any consultant. The agreements' maximum not-to-exceed amounts are based upon projects that are identified in the Department's approved Five Year Capital Project Plan. All the funds expended will be consistent with the amounts appropriated for each project by the Board of Supervisors. The contract amounts also include contracting capacity for unforeseen projects that arise over the course of a three to five year period.
Regional Parks evaluated and selected the consultants based upon an RFP and analysis of numerous criteria, including quality and scope of related work experience, ability to perform tasks, competence, references, past work performance with the Department, willingness to agree to County's contract language, cost efficiency, and responsiveness to the RFP. The twelve (12) consultants recommended for as-needed agreements were selected from nineteen (19) individual proposals received across the two (2) different service areas. Eight (8) of the recommended consultants meet the County’s Local Vendor Preference Policy, and the remaining three (3) hail from outside the County. A summary of the recommended contracts by professional service type is provided below:
1) Landscape Architectural and Planning Services ($300,000):
Proposals received, eight (8), Recommended contracts:
1. Environmental Science Associates
2. GHD
3. Prunuske Chatham, Inc.
4. Quadriga Landscape Architecture and Planning, Inc.
5. Questa Engineering Corp.
6. Restoration Design Group, Inc.
7. Wallace Roberts and Todd, Inc.
8. WRA, Inc.
2) Backcountry Trail Design Services ($300,000):
Proposals received, four (4), Recommended contracts:
1. Cal Engineering and Geology
2. Pacific Watershed Associates
3. Redwood Trails Alliance
4. Restoration Design Group
Pursuant to articles 5.2 and 10.3 of the existing Memorandum of Understanding(s) (MOU) between the County and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1021; the County is required to meet and discuss contracting out bargaining unit work represented by the unions. In July 2022, Regional Parks notified and offered to meet with SEIU 1021 to discuss the services to be contracted out. The contracting would not result in the lay off or reduction in work hours for employees represented by the Union. Thus, there was no objection from SEIU 1021.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Prior Board Actions:
March 25, 2014, Board approved twenty-four (24) Regional Parks As-Needed Professional Service Agreements.
April 22, 2014, Board approved twenty-one (21) Regional Parks As-Needed Professional Service Agreements.
June 21, 2016, Board approved an amendment to extend the term of eight (8) existing Regional Parks As-Needed Agreements for Civil & Bio Engineering Services.
June 6, 2017, Board approved an amendment to extend the terms of forty-two (42) existing Regional Parks As-Needed Professional Service Agreements that Regional Parks maintains with ten (10) different professional service disciplines, and increased the not to exceed amounts in seven (7) of those agreements.
July 11, 2017, Board approved a Regional Parks As-Needed Professional Services Agreement for Landscape Architectural Services.
Jun 13, 2022, Board accepted the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan for the period Fiscal Year 2021-2022 through Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
July 12, 2022, Board approved amendments to extend the term of 49 (forty nine) existing As-Needed Professional Service Agreements.
Fiscal Summary
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FY 22-23 Adopted |
FY 23-24 Projected |
FY 24-25 Projected |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
No funds are specifically committed to these as-needed contracts. When work is required under these contracts it will be paid for from funds already budgeted to the particular project for which the contract is being utilized. Given past and projected workload over the three-year contract period, we estimate the usage of these agreements will be between $50,000 and $100,000 annually.
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
None
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
1.As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, Environmental Science Associates
2. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, GHD
3. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, Prunuske Chatham
4. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, Quadriga Landscape Architecture and Planning
5. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, Questa Engineering Corpl
6. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, Restoration Design Group
7. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, Wallace Roberts and Todd
8. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, WRA
9. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, Cal Engineering and Geology
10. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, Pacific Watershed Associates
11. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, Redwood Trails Alliance
12. As-Needed Professional Service Agreement, Restoration Design Group