HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 - Citywide Tree Maintenance Services with Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. (C-5648)PORT CITY OF
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_ i NEWPORT BEACH
City Council Staff Report
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March 12, 2019
Agenda Item No. 9
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: David A. Webb, Public Works Director - 949-644-3311,
dawebb@newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY: Dan Sereno, Landscape Manager
dsereno(cjrOewportbeachca.gov
PHONE: 949-644-3069
TITLE: Amendment No. Two for Citywide Tree Maintenance Services with
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. (C-5648)
ABSTRACT:
The City utilizes a contractor to perform tree planting, trimming and inspection, root
pruning and removal services to keep City trees in good condition. In an effort to improve
the City s level of service and to maintain our quality urban forest, staff requests an
increase to the not -to -exceed amount on the Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. contract.
RECOMMENDATION:
a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because
this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly;
and
b) Approve Amendment No. Two with Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. for Citywide Tree
Maintenance Services to increase the contract amount by $636,298.81, for a new
multi-year not -to -exceed total of $16,960,000; and change the contract expiration date
to June 30, 2024 to align the term with the City's fiscal year, and authorize the Mayor
and City Clerk to sign the amendment.
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
The current adopted budget includes sufficient funding for this contract through June 30,
2019. Upon Council approval of this contract amendment, a budget increase of $121,000
will need to be added to Account 0109032-811017 beginning with the proposed operating
budget for FY 2019/20 to accommodate the increased service level cost.
9-1
Amendment No. Two for Citywide Tree Maintenance Services with
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. (C-5648)
March 12, 2019
Page 2
DISCUSSION:
The City's current urban forest is comprised of over 35,000 public trees spread across
26 square miles. These trees serve to enhance the quality of life in Newport Beach,
provide beautiful backdrops to the City's public streets and 68 parks, provide
environmental and habitat benefits (such as cleaner air, more oxygen, cooler streets,
conservation of energy and water, prevention of soil erosion), and serves as one of the
main reasons why Newport Beach continues to be named "Tree City USA" for the last 29
years. In an effort to maintain and preserve this substantial urban forest, the City has
2-1/2 full-time employees assigned to management and care of the urban forest, as well
as a service contract with Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. (GSTS) to perform the necessary
citywide tree maintenance services.
Current Services Contract and Conditions:
The current multi-year GSTS contract was executed on November 13, 2013 for a not -to -
exceed amount of $1,300,000 per year plus cost of living increases and is set to expire
November 30, 2023. The original overall projected not -to -exceed amount of the contract
is $16,323,701.19, including Amendment No. One (1), which increased the contract cap
by $500,000, and potential options to extend the contract through 2029. The work scope
covers essential services including tree trimming and inspection, root pruning, tree
removal, tree planting, and emergency services.
In recent years, the City experienced extremely strong storm events and Santa Ana wind
conditions resulting in a large number of tree removals and clean-up activities. Last year
this included approximately 30 additional tree removals, dozens of significant branch /
limb removals, and a substantial amount of clean-up of downed branches and palm
fronds. Additionally, last summer the City experienced periods of unprecedented heat
and wind which contributed to the branch fragility of the Coral trees. This necessitated
extensive trimming earlier in the season than normal. Ultimately, many unplanned
trimming requests were directed to GSTS to safeguard the health of the trees, reduce
potential liability, and to keep the City looking its best year round. Staff was able to absorb
much of these unanticipated work demands and related costs by re -prioritization of
contract workload, flexibility of its resources, and consistent teamwork with GSTS.
Proposed Service Changes:
With the goals of maintaining and slightly increasing the level of service to care for our
urban forest and decreasing the potential for damage, staff is recommending a few
modifications to the current contract with GSTS.
First, the City's current grid tree pruning cycle ranges from between two and three years,
depending on species and location. Staff recommends modifying this to a complete two-
year grid pruning cycle. This effort improves overall tree cleanliness and appearance,
provides more frequent tree inspections for diseased or compromised trees, reduces
potential storm damage and trim requests, and helps to maintain publically desired scenic
and pristine views. Moving to a two-year pruning cycle costs approximately $91,000 per
year (plus future CPI adjustments), which is included in the proposed amendment.
9-2
Amendment No. Two for Citywide Tree Maintenance Services with
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. (C-5648)
March 12, 2019
Page 3
Second, the current not -to -exceed contract amount does not contain contingency funding
for necessary, as -needed storm response work. Since spending on storm response
detracts from the amount needed to maintain trees on a regular schedule, an increase to
the not -to -exceed amount ensures continuous service coverage and funding stream. This
proposed amendment includes $30,000 per year for contingency to address as -needed
storm response services.
Additionally, the current contract does not include a provision for prevailing wage. To bring
this contract into compliance with State wage requirements, language has been added to
the amendment to update the contract in order to maintain compliance with the
Department of Industrial Relations. This was discussed with GSTS and as they are
already paying its workers prevailing wage, no change to the existing billing rates is
needed to maintain compliance. An attached Exhibit B is included in the amendment to
reflect only the current rates as they are being paid including all annual cost of living
increases.
Finally, staff believes it would be beneficial to amend the contract from the current
November 30 - November 29 cycle to a July 1 - June 30 cycle to align the contract term
with the fiscal year. This will assist with budget funding and tree maintenance records.
The contract amendment would revised the contract end date to June 30, 2024 in addition
to keeping the three (3) optional two (2) year term extensions that are currently included
in the contract.
A similar request to increase the contract's not -to -exceed amount to address service level
concerns was brought before the City Council for consideration on February 28, 2017.
Although this request received unanimous approval from Council, concerns were
subsequently raised regarding how new prevailing, wage requirements would affect the
current contract and eventually no action was taken on the amendment. Since GSTS is
currently paying employees prevailing wage rates, this issue has been resolved and staff
now requests City Council approval of this amendment.
Amendment Summary:
To address and accommodate the above modifications and increase the level of service,
staff recommends City Council approve Amendment No. Two for the Great Scott Tree
Service, Inc. contract and increase the total not -to -exceed amount by $636,298.81
(3.9%), for a new multi-year, not -to -exceed total of $16,960,000. In addition, staff
recommends that the initial contract termination date be extended from November 30,
2023 to June 30, 2024 (as well as retaining the three (3) optional 2 year term extensions)
to align the termination date with the end of the City's fiscal year. It should also be noted
that no changes are being made to the contracted billing rates, only to the amount of work
(trimming, storm clean-up) that can be processed within the total not -to -exceed limit.
With the approval of the requested contract amendment, the table on the next page
displays the approximate cost per year that can be expended to maintain and preserve
the City's urban forest. The annual costs include a fixed 2.5% CPI adjustment as called
for in the contract.
9-3
Amendment No. Two for Citywide Tree Maintenance Services with
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. (C-5648)
March 12, 2019
Page 4
Contract 5648 Cost Summary
Fiscal Year
Approximate Cost
13/14 through 18/19
$8,638,184
19/20
$1,583,200
20/21
$1,622,780
21/22
$1,663,349
22/23
$1,704,932
23/24
$1,747,555
Proposed Contract NTE
$16,960,000
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not
result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment)
and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA
Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no
potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of
the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
ATTACHMENT:
Attachment A — Amendment No. Two with Great Scott Tree Service, Inc.
Attachment A
AMENDMENT NO. TWO TO
MAINTENANCE SERVICES AGREEMENT
WITH GREAT SCOTT TREE SERVICE, INC. FOR
TREE MAINTENANCE SERVICES
THIS AMENDMENT NO. TWO TO MAINTENANCE SERVICES AGREEMENT
("Amendment No. Two") is made and entered into as of this 1st day of July, 2019
("Effective Date"), by and between the CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, a California
municipal corporation and charter city ("City"), and GREAT SCOTT TREE SERVICE, a
California corporation ("Contractor"), whose address is 10761 Court Ave. Stanton, CA
90680, and is made with reference to the following:
RECITALS
A. On November 13, 2013, City and Contractor entered into a Maintenance Services
Agreement for tree maintenance services for City -maintained trees ("Project").
B. On November 13, 2014, City and Contractor entered into Amendment No. One to
the Agreement ("Amendment No. One") to reflect Extra Work performed under the
Agreement, and to increase the total compensation for Work performed in 2014.
C. Since entering into the Agreement, the volume of work needed by the City covered
by the Agreement, as amended, is higher than originally anticipated. Such work
includes providing additional tree maintenance services for City -maintained trees
than originally anticipated.
D. City desires to enter into this Amendment No. Two to extend the term of the
Agreement, to increase the total compensation limit, as amended, over the term of
the Agreement to account for the anticipated increase in volume of work, revise
annual billing rate increases, update the Schedule of Billing Rates, update the
project manager information, update the City's administrator information, update
the notices section, update the claims section, and incorporate language pertaining
to prevailing wage requirements.
NOW, THEREFORE, it is mutually agreed by and between the undersigned parties
as follows:
1. TERM
Section 1 of the Agreement is amended in its entirety and replaced with the
following: "The term of this Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date, and shall
terminate on June 30, 2024, unless terminated earlier as set forth herein. At the City's
sole discretion, the term of the Agreement may be extended up to three (3) times for an
additional two (2) years per extension by written amendment to the Agreement."
2. COMPENSATION TO CONTRACTOR
Exhibit B to the Agreement shall be amended in its entirety and replaced with the
Schedule of Billing Rates, attached hereto as Exhibit B and incorporated herein by
reference ("Services" or "Work").
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. Page 1 9.5
Section 4.1 of the Agreement is amended in its entirety and replaced with the
following: "City shall pay Contractor for the Services on a time and expense not -to -exceed
basis in accordance with the provisions of this Section and the Schedule of Billing Rates
attached hereto as Exhibit B and incorporated herein by reference. Except as otherwise
provided, herein, no rate changes shall be made during the term of this Agreement without
the prior written approval of City. Contractor's compensation for all Services performed in
accordance with this Agreement, including all reimbursable items, shall not exceed
Sixteen Million Nine Hundred Sixty Thousand Dollars and 00/100 ($16,960,000.00),
without prior written amendment to the Agreement."
The total amended compensation reflects a change from a not to exceed
compensation amount of One Million Three Hundred Thousand Dollars and 00/100
($1,300,000.00) per contract year plus annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases,
resulting in a projected overall cumulative not -to -exceed amount of Sixteen Million Three
Hundred Twenty Three Thousand Seven Hundred One Dollars and 19/100
($16,323,701.19), which includes all prior CPI adjustments, an additional Five Hundred
Thousand Dollars and 00/100 ($500,000.00) pursuant to Amendment No. 1 of this
Agreement, and a fixed maximum annual compensation increase of two and one half
percent (2.5%) for the Fiscal Years 2019/2020 through the remainder of the contract term.
The total amended compensation reflects Contractor's additional compensation for
additional services to be performed in accordance with this Amendment No. Two,
including all reimbursable items and subconsultant fees, in an amount not to exceed Six
Hundred Thirty Six Thousand Two Hundred Ninety Eight Dollars and 81/100
($636,298.81).
Section 4.2 of the Agreement is amended in its entirety and replaced with the
following: "Upon the first anniversary of July 1, 2019, and upon each July 1 of the
subsequent years thereafter, the billing rates set forth in Exhibit B ("Billing Rates") shall
be increased by two and one half percent (2.5%) of the Billing Rates in effect immediately
preceding such adjustment."
3. PROJECT MANAGER
Section 5.1 of the Agreement is amended in its entirety and replaced with the
following: "Contractor shall designate a Project Manager, who shall coordinate all phases
of the Project. This Project Manager shall be available to City at all reasonable times
during the Agreement term. Contractor has designated Scott Griffiths to be its Project
Manager. Contractor shall not remove or reassign the Project Manager or any personnel
listed in Exhibit A or assign any new or replacement personnel to the Project without the
prior written consent of City. City's approval shall not be unreasonably withheld with
respect to the removal or assignment of non -key personnel."
4. ADMINISTRATION
Section 6 of the Agreement is amended in its entirety and replaced with the
following: "This Agreement will be administered by the Public Works Department. City's
Deputy Public Works Director — Municipal Operations or designee shall be the Project
Administrator and shall have the authority to act for City under this Agreement. The
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. Page 2 9-6
Project Administrator shall represent City in all matters pertaining to the Services to be
rendered pursuant to this Agreement."
5. NOTICES
Section 23.2 is amended in its entirety and replaced with the following:
"All notices, demands, requests or approvals from Contractor to City shall be
addressed to City at:
Attn: Deputy Public Works Director — Municipal Operations
Public Works Department
City of Newport Beach
100 Civic Center Drive
PO Box 1768
Newport Beach, CA 92658"
Section 23.3 is amended in its entirety and replaced with the following:
"All notices, demands, requests or approvals from City to Contractor shall be
addressed to Contractor at:
Attn: Scott Griffiths
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc.
10761 Court Ave.
Stanton, CA 90680"
6. CLAIMS
Section 24 of the Agreement shall become 24.1 and Section 24.2 shall be added
to the agreement to read: "To the extent that Contractor's claim is a "Claim" as defined in
Public Contract Code section 9204 or any successor statute thereto, the Parties agree to
follow the dispute resolution process set forth therein. Any part of such "Claim" remaining
in dispute after completion of the dispute resolution process provided for in Public
Contract Code section 9204 or any successor statute thereto shall be subject to the
Government Claims Act requirements requiring Contractor to file a claim in strict
conformance with the Government Claims Act. To the extent that Contractor's claim is
not a "Claim" as defined in Public Contract Code section 9204 or any successor statute
thereto, Contractor shall be required to file such claim with the City in strict conformance
with the Government Claims Act (Government Code sections 900 et seq.)."
7. LABOR AND PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENT
The title of Section 26 shall be amended and read as follows: "Labor and Prevailing
Wage."
Section 26.5 shall be added to the agreement to read: "Pursuant to the applicable
provisions of the Labor Code of the State of California, not less than the general prevailing
rate of per diem wages including legal holidays and overtime Work for each craft or type
of workman needed to execute the Work or Services contemplated under the Agreement
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. Page 3 9.7
shall be paid to all workmen employed on the Work or Services to be done according to
the Agreement by the Contractor and any subcontractor. In accordance with the
California Labor Code (Sections 1770 et seq.), the Director of Industrial Relations has
ascertained the general prevailing rate of per diem wages in the locality in which the Work
or Services is to be performed for each craft, classification, or type of workman or
mechanic needed to execute the Agreement. A copy of said determination is available
by calling the prevailing wage hotline number (415) 703-4774, and requesting one from
the Department of Industrial Relations. The Contractor is required to obtain the wage
determinations from the Department of Industrial Relations and post at the job site the
prevailing rate or per diem wages. It shall be the obligation of the Contractor or any
subcontractor under him/her to comply with all State of California labor laws, rules and
regulations and the parties agree that the City shall not be liable for any violation thereof."
Section 26.6 shall be added to the agreement to read: "Contractor warrants that it
is currently registered and qualified to perform "public work" pursuant to California Labor
Code section 1725.5 or any successor statute thereto and that no contractor or
subcontractor will engage in the performance of the Services unless currently registered
and qualified to perform public work."
8. INTEGRATED CONTRACT
Except as expressly modified herein, all other provisions, terms, and covenants
set forth in the Agreement shall remain unchanged and shall be in full force and effect.
[SIGNATURES ON NEXT PAGE]
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. Page 4 9.8
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Amendment No. Two to be
executed on the dates written below.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Date: Rf (31�(q
By: dc— —
Aaron C. Harp 02.12.1q
City Attorney QkM*
ATTEST:
Date:
AM-
Leilani I. Brown
City Clerk
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH,
a California municipal corporation
Date:
By:
Diane B
Mayor
Dixon
CONTRACTOR: Great Scott Tree
Service, a California corporation
Date:
By:
Scott P. Griffiths
President
Date:
By:
Steve Guzowski
Chief Financial Officer
[END OF SIGNATURES]
Attachment: Exhibit B: Schedule of Billing Rates
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. Page 5 g_g
EXHIBIT B
SCHEDULE OF BILLING RATES
Great Scott Tree Service, Inc. Page B-1 9-10
2019 UPDATED SCHEDULE OF BILLING RATES
Description
Grid Pricing
Unit
Each
2018
$ 53.85
Annual Pruning
Each
$ 53.85
Service Request Pruning
Each
$ 65.06
Palm Skinning
Per foot
$ 13.46
Tree and Stump Removal
DSH per inch
$ 24.68
Tree Only Removal
DSH per inch
$ 15.71
Stump Only Removal
DSH per inch
$ 10.10
Inspection Reports
Per Tree
$ 50.48
Certified Arborist Inspection
Common variety Trees
Per Hour
$ 72.92
15 gallon w/o rb
Each
$ 100.96
15 gallon wl rb
Each
$ 123.40
24 in box w/o rb
Each
$ 252.41
24 in box wl rb
Each
$ 286.06
36 in box w/o rb
Each
$ 779.66
36 in box w/ rb
Each
$ 835.75
48 in box w/o rb
Each
$ 1,677.11
48 in box w/ rb
Each
$ 1,789.29
60 in box w/o rb
Each
$ 2,798.92
60 in box wl rb
Each
$ 2,911.10
Special Variety
15 gallon w/o rb
Each
$ 162.66
15 gallon w/ rb
Each
$ 185.10
24 in box w/o rb
Each
$ 364.59
24 in box wl rb
Each
$ 398.24
36 in box w/o rb
Each
$ 1,004.02
36 in box wl rb
Each
$ 1,060.11
9-11
48 in box w/o rb Each $ 2,013.65
48 in box wl rb
Each
$ 2,125.83
60 in box w/o rb
Each
$ 3,247.64
60 in box wl rb
GPS Inventory
Each
Per tree site
$ 3,359.82
$ 3.37
Root prune with 12 in barrier
foot
$ 10.10
Root prune with 18 in barrier
foot
$ 15.71
Tree injection
Per tree site
$ 43.75
Watering
Crew Rental( men)
day
per hour
$ 330.93
$ 201.93
Emergency Crew rental (3 men)
per hour
$ 235.58
9-12