Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Second Amendment to the Agreement with Rojas Flores Landscaping, Inc. to Include Additional Services for Landscaped Areas for an Additional Amount Not-To-Exceed $959,665 for a Total Five-Year Compensation Not-to-Exceed Amount of $2,237,391.
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this action is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (Maintenance of Existing Facilities). (Public Works 26941570)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Alameda (City) Public Works Department manages more than sixty acres of landscaped areas including open spaces, medians, parking lots, and facility grounds. Public Works uses contract services to maintain these landscaped areas and the supporting irrigation systems. A five-year agreement was entered into with Rojas Flores Landscaping, Inc (Rojas) on January 3, 2023 (Exhibit 1). A First Amendment to that Agreement (Exhibit 2) was approved by City Council on September 17, 2024 to add additional areas. A Second Amendment to the Agreement (Exhibit 3) is now needed for additional new areas which include three new sites: Fire Station 4, Mabuhay Street, and areas for the Marina Village Landscape and Lighting District near the Extended Stay Hotel. In addition, a separate agreement with Rojas for landscape services of Median Strips and Special Areas expired on March 31, 2025. Staff recommends amending the Agreement with Rojas to add the facilities now needing landscape maintenance services as well as the areas from the recently expired agreement. The Second Amendment not-to-exceed amount is $959,665 for an amended not-to-exceed five-year total of $2,237,391. This action will bring all contracted landscape maintenance services under one agreement, which will allow for streamlined administrative functions and service delivery.
BACKGROUND
The City’s Public Works Department manages more than sixty acres of landscaped areas including open spaces, medians, parking lots, and facility grounds. Public Works uses contract services to maintain these landscaped areas and the supporting irrigation systems. Staff completed a Request for Bid process and on January 3, 2023, City Council awarded a five-year Agreement to Rojas for landscape services for a total not-to-exceed $825,369. Since award of that Agreement, a First Amendment was approved by City Council on September 17, 2024 to add new landscaped areas in Alameda Point’s Adaptive Reuse Area, along Clement Avenue, in Alameda Landing and other locations requiring ongoing landscape services.
DISCUSSION
Rojas’s quality of work and responsiveness to issues that arise meets and/or exceeds the standards in their existing agreement. New landscape areas for Mabuhay Street and Fire Station 4 have come online and require ongoing landscape services. There are also landscape areas within the Marina Village Zone of the City’s Landscape and Lighting District which need routine landscape maintenance; these are the public landscape areas near the Extended Stay Hotel on Marina Village Parkway. In addition, the term expired on a separate Rojas agreement related to the landscaping of Median Strips and Special Areas. Staff recommends amending the existing five-year agreement with Rojas, awarded January 3, 2023, and amended on September 17, 2024, to add the new sites and sites under the expired contract. This action will bring all contracted landscape maintenance services under one agreement, which will allow for streamlined administrative functions and service delivery. At the time this one agreement expires, the City anticipates going out to bid for the entirety of contracted landscape works.
Exhibit 3 includes the Second Amendment to the Agreement, which details the added sites and unit costs. The amended not-to-exceed five-year total is $2,237,391.
ALTERNATIVES
• Authorize the City Manager to execute the five-year agreement with Rojas to include the additional landscape maintenance services.
• Do not authorize the amendment and direct staff to conduct a solicitation for the additional areas.
• Have this work performed in-house by Public Works personnel. The Public Works Department does not currently have staff to provide this service so hiring additional full-time staff would be necessary to fulfill the scope of work.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Landscape maintenance services for the proposed amended contract are budgeted in the Urban Forest (26941570), Marina Village Landscape and Lighting District (27341530) and Facilities Maintenance (60341590) operating budgets. The original yearly authorized amount added cost and total amended authorized amount are noted below. Fiscal Year 2024-25 appropriations were approved in the respective operating budgets. Future budget years are pending City Council approval.
The total annual cost presented for the Second Amendment includes a 10% contingency for use at City direction. Each year, an annual cost-of-living inflator of 2% is applied to the total.
|
Agreement Year |
Original Authorized |
1st Amendment |
2nd Amendment |
Total |
|
FY22-23 (6 months) |
$97,185 |
N/A |
N/A |
$97,185 |
|
FY23-24 |
$200,201 |
N/A |
N/A |
$200,201 |
|
FY24-25 |
$206,207 |
$156,870 |
$119,872* |
$482,949 |
|
FY25-26 |
$212,393 |
$195,041 |
$537,984 |
$945,418 |
|
FY26-27 (6 months) |
$109,383 |
$100,446 |
$301,809 |
$511,638 |
|
5 Year Total |
$825,369 |
$452,357 |
$959,665 |
$2,237,391 |
*The 2nd Amendment amount for FY 2024-25 reflects 3 months of service costs for the remainder of the Fiscal Year.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action is consistent with the Alameda Municipal Code.
This action is subject to the Levine Act.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with CEQA, this project is exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301 (Maintenance of Existing Facilities).
CLIMATE IMPACT
The continued and prompt maintenance of landscaped areas and irrigation systems can prevent unnecessary water usage and support City and State water conservation and drought response goals. The removal and prevention of landscaping debris from public areas will assist in maintenance of the municipal storm drainage system by providing better storm drainage and decreasing the risk of local flooding, results that improve local resiliency to potential climate change.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager to execute a Second Amendment to the agreement with Rojas Flores Landscaping, Inc. to include additional services for newly landscaped areas for a total five-year compensation not-to-exceed amount of $2,237,391.
Respectfully submitted,
Erin Smith, Public Works Director
By,
Jesse Barajas, Project Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Ross McCarthy, Acting Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Agreement
2. First Amendment
3. Second Amendment