SR-10-23-2012-3HID®
City of City Council Report
Santa Monica'
City Council Meeting: October 23, 2012
Agenda Item: N
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Edward F. King, Director of Transit Services
Subject: Reject Bid No. 3083 to Provide Bus Detailing Services
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that City Council:
1. Reject all bids received for bus detailing services at the Big Blue Bus.
2. Direct staff to issue a new Notice Inviting Bids with an addition to a job walk to
clarify expectations in order to obtain the best bidder for this project.
Executive Summary
Transit buses require routine detail cleaning to keep buses at a high level of cleanliness.
A bus detailing service would enable BBB to achieve this standard. Staff recommends
that City Council reject all bid responses to Bid No. 3083 to provide bus detailing
services due to submittal of a "Notice of Cancelation" by the awarded vendor, Uniserve
Facilities Services, Inc., and their defaulting on Purchase Order 20977 OF and direct
staff to issue a new bid notice.
Discussion
In February 2012, the City published Notices Inviting Bids to provide bus detailing
services as required by the Big Blue Bus in accordance with City specifications. The bid
was posted on the City's on -line bidding site, and notices were advertised in the Santa
Monica Daily Press in accordance with City Charter and Municipal Code provisions.
Two bids were received and publicly opened on February 28, 2012. Bids were
evaluated based on complete bid response and positive history with the vendor. Staff
recommended Uniserve Facilities Services, Inc., as the best bidder based on current
pricing, anticipated percentage increases per year, and compliance with City
specifications. Council awarded the bid to Uniserve Facilities Services, Inc. on April 24,
2012. On July 1, 2012, Purchasing staff issued Purchase Order 20977 -OF to Uniserve
Facilities Services, Inc. in the amount of $145,400.
1
On August 3, 2012, BBB and Purchasing staff received an E -mail from Uniserve
Facilities Services, Inc. stating that " Uniserve Facilities Services, Inc. hereby submits
our Notice of Cancelation of Purchase Order 20977 OF." The company stated that they
could not deliver two cleaned /detailed buses per day without a significant financial loss.
Universal Facilities Services' representatives claim that a job walk should have been
conducted during the bidding process and that the company was not aware of the level
of cleaning necessary to meet the specifications. A "job walk" is essentially a site visit
whereby potential bidders could see the work area and, in this case, a fully detailed bus
illustrating the cleaning standards enumerated in the bid document.
On August 23, 2012, the City's Purchasing Division issued a "Notice of Default" letter to
Uniserve Facilities Services, Inc. stating that they had ten days from the date of the
Notice to cure the default. Failure to cure the default would lead to termination of
Purchase Order 20977 -OF and that legal action could be taken against Uniserve
Facilities Services, Inc. for damages arising from the default and termination. The
purchase order was terminated because the default was not remedied.
Staff recommends that Council reject the remaining bids associated with Bid No. 3083
and direct staff to issue a new Notice Inviting Bids, with the addition of a job walk to
clarify expectations and to provide an opportunity for bidders to inspect the buses.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
There are no budget or financial impacts associated with the recommendation made in
this report.
Prepared by: Getty Modica, Transit Maintenance Officer
Forwarded to Council:
'r
Edward F. King Rod Gould
Director of Transit Se ices City Manager
N