ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and the Director of Public Works with a Request to Approve CONTRACTS with HULSE LAWNCARE, in the Amount of $25,000.00, and WINEINGER AND SONS, in the Amount of $60,000.00, for the 2015 MOWING of CITY-MAINTAINED VACANT LOTS.
Body
BACKGROUND:
The city-maintained vacant lots which are the subject of this communication are owned by either the City of Peoria or the Peoria County Trustee. The Peoria County Trustee acquires properties through the tax deed process. The Trustee holds these properties on behalf of all taxing bodies until they are sold at auction. If the properties are not sold at auction, they remain in the possession of the Peoria County Trustee indefinitely. However, the Trustee does not maintain these properties. The responsibility to maintain properties within the corporate limits of Peoria falls to the City of Peoria.
An RFP was created by Public Works for the mowing of these vacant lots. An RFP format was used so that the City would get the best combination of price and businesses qualified to complete the work per specifications. The Purchasing Division sent out 65 proposals and on March 27, 2015, 8 responses were opened and read. The contractors were given two pricing options. Option #1 was to mow all 610 City and County Trustee owned vacant lots. Option #2A was to mow the 380 County Trustee lots and Option #2B was to mow the 230 City owned vacant lots. (These numbers as reflected in the bid documents were only approximate at the time. Since the RFQ documents were disseminated, added another 15 vacant lots have been added, and the number increases every few weeks.) The criteria used to select the contractors were a part of the Request for Proposals and are as shown in the table below:
Area |
Minimum Score |
Maximum Score |
Criteria |
Customer Service/ Approach |
0 |
20 |
Measured in terms of Respondent's plan to handle routine service needs, preventative maintenance and emergency repairs (both during working hours and after-hours). |
Pricing |
0 |
20 |
Measured based on the hourly rate(s) established for providing landscape services. |
Qualifications |
0 |
50 |
Measured in terms of the Vendor's performance on similar work, equipment on hand, current insurance coverage and licenses. |
References |
0 |
10 |
Measured by the rating given to Respondents by government units who are offered as references. |
Total |
0 |
100 |
|
A reviewing committee made up of Superintendent of Operations Sie Maroon, Purchasing Manager Chris Switzer and Public Works Planner Randy Swenson reviewed and rated the submittals. Hulse Lawncare received the highest score, however, Hulse is not a large contractor and bid only on the City-owned vacant lots. Wineinger & Sons received the second highest score and will mow the County Trustee vacant lots. Both of these contractors had the lowest bid prices. A summary is shown in the attachment.
This will be the fifth year that Hulse Lawncare has mowed the City of Peoria vacant lots. Last year, there were approximately 150 vacant lots to mow. Currently, there are approximately 230 vacant lots to mow with the number increasing continuously, as the city acquires more of these lots for various reasons. These lots generally require some cleanup and tend to have very tall weeds and grass. Hulse Lawncare has always done an excellent job with this contract.
The contract amounts are based on the vacant lots being mowed 11 times. The final number of vacant lots that we will have to mow is unknown at this time.
Last year, Wineinger & Sons was selected to mow vacant city lots owned by the Peoria County Trustee, and they performed well. There are approximately 500 vacant lots, but only about 400 of them require mowing, since some are wooded and some are maintained by neighboring owners. Last year, Wineinger & Sons mowed all of these vacant lots twice, and then the City hired a non-profit group, METEC, to mow 360 of the vacant lots. This left Wineinger with only 40 lots to mow. Wineinger understands, as stated in the bid documents, that the City may again award some of the mowing to a non-profit organization. Public Works Staff has prepared an RFP for mowing by non-profit groups.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The City lots mowed by Hulse will be paid from the Public Works account 101-3124-542-36.04 and the County Trustee lots mowed by Wineinger and Sons will be paid from Community Development account 101-1916-507.36-14.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: Tall grass and weeds are a blighting influence to neighborhoods and can cause health concerns.
IMPACT IF APPROVED: Blight will be reduced in the neighborhoods.
IMPACT IF DENIED: Lots will be cut much less frequently through a work order system requiring more Staff time. The city's appearance will suffer and neighborhood blight will increase.
ALTERNATIVES: Cut lots less frequently.
EEO CERTIFICATION NUMBER: Hulse Lawncare has current EEO #01799-150630 and Wineinger & Sons has current EEO #03034-160630.
WHICH OF THE GOALS IDENTIFIED IN THE COUNCIL'S 2014 - 2029 STRATEGIC PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION ADVANCE?
1. Financially Sound City Government, Effective City Organization
2. Attractive Neighborhoods with Character: Safe and Livable
WHICH CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S) FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENT?
1. Support sustainability.
2. Reinvest in neighborhoods.
3. Have an efficient government.
DEPARTMENT: Public Works