DEPARTMENT: Finance
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Troy Elliott
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Annual Contract for Poured in Place Rubber Playground Safety Surfacing Application
SUMMARY:
This ordinance authorizes acceptance of a contract with The Playwell Group to provide labor and materials for Poured in Place Rubber Playground Safety Surfacing Applications at various City Park locations for an estimated cost of $137,000 annually. Funding for this contract is available through the FY2018 Parks and Recreation General Fund Operating Budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Submitted for Council consideration and action is the proposal submitted by The Playwell Group to provide labor and materials for Poured in Place Rubber Playground Safety Surfacing Applications at various city park locations. Poured in Place safety surfacing is a protective surfacing that will enable city parks to be in compliance with Critical Fall Height safety requirements for playground surfaces which is required in order to reduce the risk of severe head injury from falls. The critical fall height of a playground surface is determined by the height of the highest piece of playground equipment that a child can stand on and the play surface underneath the equipment. This height will determine the thickness of the safety surfacing required.
The City issued a Request for Competitive Sealed Proposals for “Annual Contract for Poured in Place (PIP) Rubber Playground Safety Surfacing Application” on December 15, 2017, with a submission deadline of February 7, 2018. Three proposals were received and two proposals were deemed non-responsive. One proposal was deemed non-responsive by the Economic Development Department due to respondent’s failure to meet the Small Business Economic Development Advocacy subcontracting requirement. The other proposal was deemed non-responsive for failure to submit any of the RFCSP proposal requirements and attachments that were established as part of the Request for Competitive Sealed Proposals. The proposal submitted by The Playwell Group was deemed eligible for evaluation.
The evaluation committee met on March 29, 2018 to evaluate the one responsive proposal received. The evaluation committee consisted of representatives from the Parks and Recreation Department, Transportation and Capital Improvements Department and the Northeast Independent School District. The Finance Department, Purchasing Division, facilitated by ensuring compliance with City procurement policies and procedures. The proposal was evaluated based on the firms’ qualifications, experience, service quality, previous performance, proposed plan and price schedule. Additional categories of consideration included references and financial qualifications. After committee review and discussion, The Playwell Group was recommended for award based upon consensus scoring.
The initial term of the agreement shall be upon award through June 30, 2020. An additional one year renewal at the City’s option shall also be authorized by this ordinance.
ISSUE:
This contract will provide Poured in Place Rubber Playground Safety Surfacing Applications at various city park locations. The contractor will provide all labor, materials and equipment necessary to perform the applications. The poured in place safety rubber surfacing provides a seamless, accessible play surface that consists of two main layers providing a soft, cushioned feel designed to meet safety standards for public playgrounds.
This contract 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 Business Enterprise Prime Contract Program with ten (10) evaluation preference points.
Additionally, Goal Setting Committee also set a 4% Small Business Enterprise (SBE) subcontracting goal. The Small Business Office, Economic Development Department approved a Subcontracting-Goal waiver submitted by The Playwell Group as the contractor demonstrated a good faith effort to fulfill the 4% Small Business Enterprise (SBE) subcontracting goal.
This contract is an exception to the Local Preference Program.
The Veteran-Owned Small Business Preference Program does not apply to non-professional service contracts, so no preference was applied to this contract.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should this contract not be approved, the Parks and Recreation Department would be required to procure these services on an as needed basis. Non-contract rates may result in increased costs and adversely affect the timeliness of playground rubber safety surfacing project completion timelines. The department does not have the staff to perform these services in-house.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance authorizes a contract with The Playwell Group to provide the Poured in Place Rubber Playground Safety Surfacing Application for the Parks and Recreation Department for an estimated cost of $137,000 annually. Funding for this contract is available through the FY2018 Parks and Recreation General Fund Operating Budget.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the contract with The Playwell Group to provide Poured in Place Rubber Playground Safety Surfacing Application services for the Parks and Recreation Department for an estimated cost of $137,000 annually.
This contract is procured by means of Request for Competitive Sealed Proposals and a Contract Disclosure Form is required.