CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM

Department:	Municipal Services & Operations		Commission Meeting Date:  March 5, 2019
Staff Contact:	Jason Stowe, Facility Manager
Recommendations/Options/Action Requested:
Award Bid No. B1903 for Custodial Services, and authorize the City Manager to execute a custodial services agreement with Service Systems, Inc., in the amount of $177,192.00.
Executive Summary:		This item was presented on the February 19, 2019 City Commission meeting. Action was deferred to the March 5, 2019 meeting for the Commission to consider additional information related to the custodial services contract. Custodial services for many of the city’s administrative office and operational facilities are procured through a private service provider. The current custodial services contract which was last bid in 2012, expires at the end of March 2019. The 2018 custodial services cost with the current vendor, ISS Facility Services, was $133,926. Staff recommends awarding the new contract to the lowest, responsive bidder, Service Systems, Inc., in an annual amount of $177,192. City staff solicited sealed bids for this service. The solicitation was advertised through DemandStar and the Lawrence Journal World, consistent with the city’s purchasing policy. Mandatory facility walkthroughs were conducted with interested contractors. Four bids were submitted and opened February 5, 2019. Consistent with the city’s purchasing policy and procedures, the bids were evaluated by professional staff to determine the lowest cost, responsive bidder.      Summary of Commissioner Questions at Feb 19, 2019 Meeting At the February 19, 2019 Commission meeting, commissioners expressed interest in a living wage requirement for this contract. The bid solicitation did not include this requirement. The city engages numerous contractors to perform a broad range of services for an on behalf of the city. The city typically does not require, or budget for contractors or their subcontractors to provide living wages. Federally funded projects that require Davis-Bacon wages are an occasional exception to this practice. As an additional consideration, the city employs hundreds of seasonal and part-time employees in a variety of positions that are not compensated at a living wage. Although it is desirable to compensate all city employees and contractors’ employees at a living wage, resource constraints prohibit this practice. The Commission questioned why no local vendors bid on this contract. Staff cannot explain vendors’ reasoning to bid or not bid a project. The contract includes a variety of commercial administrative and industrial facilities which tends to attract larger vendors in this market. The solicitation for bids was advertised through the city’s standard methods, including DemandStar and the Lawrence Journal World. Commissioners noted the difference in pricing between the different bids and questioned whether the low bid is truly a responsive bid considering how much less the cost is compared to the other bids. Staff reviewed the recommended contractor’s bid and finds it to be responsive. The city’s service agreement protects the city in the event that a contractor is unable to meet the performance expectations of a contract (please see attached Custodial Services Agreement Section 4). After review of the commissioner’s questions, staff recommends awarding the service agreement to Service Systems, Inc.
Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor		Asset Management Core Services
Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source):		The fiscal impact to the City is $177,192.00.  This item is funded in the 2019 budget for each of the departments served by the contract.
Attachments:		Bid Tab Memo Request for Bid & Exhibit Custodial Services Agreement
Prior Agenda Items:		February 19, 2018 Consent Agenda Item No. 5(b) (deferred) Award Bid No. B1903 for janitorial services for several divisions throughout the City of Lawrence, to Services Systems, in the amount of $177,192.00.   Bid Memo & Attachments

Reviewed By: (for CMO use only)

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