TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Steve Lederer - Director of Public Works
REPORT BY: Jeff Sharp - Supervising Planner
SUBJECT: On-Call Arborist Services Professional Service Agreements
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize three (3) agreements for a maximum of $250,000 each per fiscal year for the term July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, with automatic one-year renewal option for up to four (4) additional years to provide on-call arborist services to support disaster response and construction projects for Napa County. (Fiscal impact: $750,000 Expense; Various Capital Improvement Projects; Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
After a disaster, the County is expected to respond quickly, evaluating hazards, restoring services, and making necessary repairs to County roads and facilities, while adhering to local, state, and federal guidelines. Following a disaster, the hazard evaluation process needs to start within days if not immediately. The only way to be able to provide such a response is to have pre-positioned contracts in place before the disaster occurs.
On March 14, 2024, the Department of Public Works issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeking qualified firms to provide certified arborist services. The services requested includes the assessment of sites damaged following a disaster event, such as a fire, flood, or earthquake, as well as support of various County construction projects. The primary services requested relate to the risk assessment of debris in the public right of way, or damaged trees that are standing but are in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) categories of safety hazards (emergency) work. The scope of services includes, but may not be limited to: marking and categorizing trees and debris on or overhanging County facilities and public right of ways that present a safety hazard, preparing maps and inventories of trees, assisting with bid documents for separate contractor work for the mitigation or removal of hazardous trees, supervision during tree mitigation or removal as needed, and assisting with documentation for reimbursement by FEMA, California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), and other applicable agencies for disaster recovery efforts, and other arborist related tasks as requested.
Twelve (12) Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) were received on April 19, 2024. After staff review of the SOQs, the top five (5) ranked firms were interviewed on May 9, 2024. Staff is recommending the top three (3) firms from the interview process to enter into professional service agreements with the County for future arborist services. The top three (3) firms in ranked order are:
1. American Tree Medics Inc.,
2. North Fork Enterprises LLC.; and
3. Butler Enterprises Inc.
As tasks arise, staff will first negotiate work and pricing with the first (1st) ranked firm. As tasks arise, if an agreement cannot be reached, staff will begin negotiations with the second (2nd) ranked firm and so on.
Requested action:
Approve and authorize the following three (3) Professional Services Agreements with a maximum compensation of $250,000 each per fiscal year for on-call arborist services:
1. Agreement No. 250048B with American Tree Medics, Inc.;
2. Agreement No. 250049B with North Fork Enterprises, LLC. and;
3. Agreement No. 250047B with Butler Enterprises, Inc.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Various Capital Improvement Projects |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
The proposed Professional Service Agreements (PSAs) will pre-position qualified arborist to provide technical services immediately following a disaster and will provide on-call support for various County construction projects as needed. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
Appropriations will be budgeted accordingly in future years. Depending on County needs there will be future fiscal impacts however the Board must approve these before they incur. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
The County will not be able to respond quickly following a disaster to provide a safe environment for the public and help assure that funding will be received. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The actions proposed herein is statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21080(b)(4) as they are " necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency." The proposed action is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections: 15301, as the maintenance of existing public facilities involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use; 15269 for specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency; . It has been determined that this type of project does not have a significant effect on the environment and is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. The project will not impact an environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern, has no cumulative impact, there is no reasonable possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances, will not result in damage to scenic resources, is not located on a list of hazardous waste sites, cause substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource or extract groundwater in excess of the Phase 1 groundwater extraction standards as set by the Department of Public Works. [See Class 4 (“Minor Alterations to Land”) which may be found in the guidelines for the implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act at 14 CCR §15304; see also Napa County’s Local Procedures for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act, Appendix B.]