DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Xavier D. Urrutia
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Professional Services Agreement for the development of the Parks and Recreation System Strategic Plan
SUMMARY:
This Ordinance authorizes a professional services agreement in the amount of $343,345.00 with Bender, Inc. dba Bender Wells Clark Design for the development of the Parks and Recreation System Strategic Plan.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The proposed Parks System Strategic Plan will continue to provide a foundation to guide future planning decisions impacting service delivery to the citizens of San Antonio concerning capital improvement needs, operations and recreation programs. The proposed system plan will also include an assessment of the Parks and Recreation Department’s Urban Forestry Program which will establish goals and objectives, policies, and best practices that will serve as a guideline for the program. The Plan will also demonstrate consistency and implementation of the City’s SA Tomorrow Plan: Comprehensive, Sustainability and Multimodal Transportation Plans. Particular attention will be given to the Comprehensive Plan’s goals, policies, implementation strategy and place types as they pertain to issues affecting parks and recreation services.
The San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department operates the City's recreational and cultural programs and maintains more than 240 City-owned parks including swimming pools, gymnasiums, historic cemeteries, sports facilities, recreation centers and the Botanical Garden and Conservatory. The department is responsible for the maintenance of more than 15,000 acres of park land, including more than 180 miles of walking, hiking, and biking trails. The mission of the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department is to provide exceptional parks, facilities, programs and services to improve the quality of life for all. In an effort to anticipate the community’s short and long term service needs, the Parks and Recreation Department first adopted a comprehensive system strategic plan in 1999. In 2006, the plan was updated with the adoption of the current 2006-2016 System Strategic Plan. This plan has played an integral role in shaping the Parks and Recreation System over the last ten years providing programmatic, operational and capital improvement guidelines and strategies, as well as growth strategies.
The Department of Planning & Community Development (DPCD) will begin the implementation process for the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan in 2017. Five Regional Center Plans and one Community Plan will commence development this year. In an effort to leverage and maximize community engagement; the Parks and Recreation Department has coordinated with the Department of Planning & Community Development to ensure timelines for plan development are consistent. Opportunities for additional public input for the System Strategic Plan will be utilized as a result of the coordinated timelines.
A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was released on May 18, 2016. The qualified individuals or firms were asked to submit their experience, qualifications and a proposal of services for the development of a comprehensive ten (10) year Parks and Recreation System Strategic Plan related to the future delivery of Parks and Recreation services, including an assessment of this Department’s existing Urban Forestry programs. The RFQ was advertised in the San Antonio Hart Beat, on the City’s website and the Texas Electronic State Business Daily. Five (5) firms responded to the RFQ on June 17, 2016. A selection committee, consisting of representatives from the Parks and Recreation, the Planning & Community Development and the Transportation and Capital Improvements Departments evaluated, scored and ranked the submissions. Scoring was based on the published evaluation criteria which included Evaluation of Background, Experience and Qualifications, Key Personnel and Key Sub-Consultants, including Co-Respondent, Joint Venture or Partner, Proposed Project Delivery Plan and participation in SBEDA Prime Contract Program.
This professional services agreement will be awarded in compliance with the Small Business Economic Development Advocacy (SBEDA) Program, which requires contracts be reviewed by a Goal Setting Committee to establish a requirement and/or incentive unique to the particular contract in an effort to maximize the amount of small, minority, and women-owned business participation on the contract. The Goal Setting Committee applied the Small and Minority/ Women-Owned Business Enterprise Prime Contract Program with twenty (20) evaluation preference points awarded to Bender, Inc. dba Bender Wells Clark Design as they are a certified SBE and M/WBE firm located within the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.
ISSUE:
The execution of the professional services agreement will enable the Parks and Recreation Department to begin the process of updating the current System Strategic Plan. The System Strategic Plan is necessary to guide how the Parks and Recreation Department will provide services to the City of San Antonio for the next ten years. Completion of the Plan will ensure eligibility for priority scoring consideration as outlined in Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Local Park Grants Program and will ensure consistency with the City’s SA Tomorrow Plans: Comprehensive, Sustainability and Multimodal Transportation Plans.
ALTERNATIVES:
As an alternative, City Council could choose not to award this professional services agreement and require staff to re-advertise this project. Considering the additional time required for another solicitation process, this would adversely affect the timely completion of the project, and could affect future grant requests to TPWD.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funds are available in the FY 2017 Parks and Recreation General Fund operating budget in the amount of $250,645.00 and in the FY 2017 Tree Canopy Preservation Fund operating budget in the amount of $100,000.00. Funds are authorized to be paid to Bender, Inc. dba Bender Wells Clark Design for the development of the Parks and Recreation System Strategic Plan as follow:
Project Contract = $343,345.00
Contingency = $7,300.00
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of a professional services agreement with Bender, Inc. dba Bender Wells Clark Design, for the development of the Parks and Recreation System Strategic Plan.
The Contracts Disclosure Form required by the Ethics ordinance is attached.