DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Homer Garcia III, Interim Director
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Council Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
SUBJECT:
Task Order for Neighborhood Tree Program Tree Installation
SUMMARY:
This ordinance authorizes a task order to a Job Order Contract for a tree installation initiative in the Denver Heights neighborhood located in Council District 2; the Highland Hills neighborhood located in Council District 3; Adams Hill neighborhood located in Council District 4; the Prospect Hills neighborhood located in Council Districts 1 and 5; and the Los Jardines neighborhood located in Council District 6 in an amount not to exceed $650,000.00 payable to Alpha Building Corporation. Funding is available in the FY 2020 Adopted Tree Canopy Preservation and Mitigation Fund Budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Through the Neighborhood Tree Program (NTP) the Parks and Recreation Department provides large native shade trees 8-12 ft. tall in size to residents of targeted neighborhoods to help provide shade and increase the City’s overall tree canopy. Under the program, residents are offered a menu of options to select a native tree species which the City will install on their property at no cost to the resident. This service includes utility locates, and installation will be scheduled at the convenience of the resident. The homeowner is responsible for watering and maintenance, which tree care information and resources are provided at the time of installation.
The NTP, which uses an equity based approach to connect residents with trees began in FY 2018 and has expanded on an annual basis. In FY18, 301 trees were planted in four different neighborhoods throughout Council Districts 2, 3, 4 and 5. In FY19, over 384 applications were received from three neighborhoods in Council Districts 1, 5 and 7. This year, five neighborhoods have been identified for the FY20 NTP using an equity-based approach that incorporates three primary factors: 1) low per capita income rates, 2) high residential poverty rates, and 3) low tree canopy statistics. These identified FY20 neighborhoods all score in the top two tiers on the City’s Equity Atlas reflecting the lowest median income areas. Targeted outreach to these neighborhoods includes door-to-door canvasing for delivery of door hangers in both English and Spanish.
As part of this initiative, trees will be provided to residents who live within the footprint of the Adams Hill, Denver Heights, Highland Hills, Los Jardines and Prospect Hill neighborhoods. Outreach for this tree canopy enhancement project is anticipated to begin the Fall of 2019 and estimated for completion by the Fall of 2020 to coincide with ideal planting seasons and to accommodate resident schedules.
This Project will utilize the Job Order Contracting (JOC), an alternative Project delivery method by which ten contractors were approved through Ordinance 2019-02-21-0134 by City Council on February 21, 2019. The use of the JOC delivery method provides the City with on-call construction, renovation and maintenance services for City projects. Assignment of JOC contractors to specific jobs is based on the contractor’s current workload, overall capacity, and familiarity with a specific facility, expertise in completing specific task and/or managing a specific trade needed to carry out the requested repair or rehabilitation. Of the ten contractors, Alpha Building Corporation was selected to submit an estimate and project schedule for this Project.
This contract will be awarded in compliance with the Small Business Economic Development Advocacy (SBEDA) Program. Alpha Building Corporation has committed to satisfying the 24% Minority and/ or Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) subcontracting goal and the 4% African American Business Enterprise (AABE) subcontracting goal.
ISSUE:
The proposed task order to a Job Order Contract is for a tree installation initiative in the Denver Heights neighborhood located in Council District 2; the Highland Hills neighborhood located in Council District 3; Adams Hill neighborhood located in Council District 4; the Prospect Hills neighborhood located in Council Districts 1 and 5; and the Los Jardines neighborhood located in Council District 6 in an amount not to exceed $650,000.00.
This action is consistent with City Council direction to increase tree canopy throughout the community.
City Council approval is required for projects utilizing Job Order Contracts over $100,000.00. The Contracts Disclosure Form required by the City’s Ethics Ordinance is attached.
ALTERNATIVES:
This project could be bid out versus utilizing the Council approved Job Order Contracting delivery method. However, this would significantly extend the timeline by approximately up to three months to complete the project and be subject to current market pricing and forego current economies of scale.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance authorizes a task order to a Job Order Contract for a tree installation initiative in the Denver Heights neighborhood located in Council District 2; the Highland Hills neighborhood located in Council District 3; Adams Hill neighborhood located in Council District 4; the Prospect Hills neighborhood located in Council Districts 1 and 5; and the Los Jardines neighborhood located in Council District 6 in an amount not to exceed $650,000.00 payable to Alpha Building Corporation. Funding is available in the FY 2020 Adopted Tree Canopy Preservation and Mitigation Fund Budget.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the task order to a Job Order Contract for a tree installation initiative in the Denver Heights neighborhood located in Council District 2; the Highland Hills neighborhood located in Council District 3; Adams Hill neighborhood located in Council District 4; the Prospect Hills neighborhood located in Council Districts 1 and 5; and the Los Jardines neighborhood located in Council District 6 in an amount not to exceed $650,000.00 payable to Alpha Building Corporation.