SR 10-23-2018 3B
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: October 23, 2018
Agenda Item: 3.B
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Susan Cline, Director, Public Works, Architecture Services
Subject: Award of Furniture Agreement for City Services Building Project
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award RFP# SP2250 to ARCHI.TXTURE (DBA: Catalyst Office), a California-
based company, to provide Steelcase furniture systems and related services
including design, delivery and installation for the City Services Building Project
and on an as-needed basis for other City staff offices;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Catalyst
Office, for a total amount not to exceed $3,000,000 (including an $85,220
contingency) for five years, with future funding contingent on Council budget
approval.
Summary
The City is constructing a new City Services Building (CSB) to centralize many key City
services and realize savings by eliminating leased office space. The CSB will open in
spring 2020 and set the standard for the new City staff’s workspace. This new buildi ng
and the open office design require a furniture system. Staff recommends awarding a
contractual services agreement with ARCHI.TXTURE (DBA: Catalyst Office) to provide
Steelcase furniture systems and related services. This new furniture system would
establish new workspace including public reception areas in the CSB.
Discussion
To support the City’s vision of being a 21st Century City, the CSB was designed based
on Total Workplace Initiative ideals to provide a working environment that is flexible,
efficient, and highly responsive by making the best use of an open work plan and
integrating City services in ways that better serve the community. In addition, the CSB is
being built to obtain a full Living Building Certification (LBC), a green building
certification that will provide a more environmentally conscious workplace with access to
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daylight, improved airflow, reduced noise pollution, and enhanced Indoor Air Quality
(IAQ). Also, the interior space will not have materials that contain large amounts of
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or other harmful chemicals.
This new workspace differs from the traditional City office space in many practical ways
that requires a new furniture design to support it. The new office space is open with low
partitions between work areas. This not only promotes light and air circulation but also
fosters teaming among colleagues. The workspace features more shared spaces
designed to promote collaboration and information sharing. In addition, there is less
paper file storage since more information is and will be stored digitally. Therefore, a
new furniture system is needed to realize the CSB’s sustainable open work plan. This
need was accounted for in the overall project budget and the bids received fall below
the anticipated budget for furniture.
Staff anticipates approximately 50% of office chairs will be moved into the new
workspace in the CSB. The existing furniture components will be reused where
possible to reconfigure existing furniture in other City offices, stored for future use,
auctioned off, recycled, or otherwise discarded per the City’s procurement policies for
surplus equipment.
Since the CSB will be the first City building to use the open work plan, the furniture
system will set a work space standard for other City office spaces as well. A single
furniture system manufacturer is recommended to provide consistency for future City
furniture procurement. The Request for Proposal (RFP) specified two scopes of work:
Scope A (RFP# SP2250) is to provide a furniture system and related services,
which include design, delivery, installation, and user acclimatization, for the CSB.
Scope B (RFP# SP2250) is to provide a new blanket contract for citywide
furniture systems procurement to align with the new work space standard.
Vendor Selection
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RFP Data
RFP Posting
Date
RFP Posted
On
RFP Advertised
In
(City Charter &
Municipal Code)
# of Vendors
Downloaded
# of Submittals
Received
Date Publicly
Opened
06/29/2018 City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica
Daily Press 41 3 08/02/2018
RFPs Received Selection Criteria
Catalyst Office
(Manufacturer:
Steelcase)
Municipal
Code SMMC 2.24.072
Pacific Office Interiors
(Manufacturer: Haworth)
Evaluation
Criteria
Experience and technical competence,
ability to meet 21st Century City experience
for furniture, ability to meet work plan and
timelines, preferred local business, cost of
services, stability and references, value-
added – breath of services, installations in
Living Building, WELL and LEED v4
Platinum project, compliance with City
specifications, and showroom tours and
interviews.
Western Office
(Manufacturer: Knoll)
Justification to Award
Catalyst Office provided quality examples of previous projects, including projects
seeking sustainability certifications and featuring enhanced Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
strategies like J Craig Venter Institute (LEED Platinum) and UCSD Health Sciences
Biomedical Research Facility (LEED Platinum). References confirmed their satisfaction
working with the vendor. This vendor assigned a large team to service the City of Santa
Monica (CSB and Citywide Furniture Blanket Contract). Catalyst Office has technology
such as design software that shows real-time updates and pricing, and inventory
tracking of furniture products frequently procured to expedite delivery. Lastly, the vendor
provides robust material disclosures which will assist in achieving the LBC certification
and passing the IAQ performance testing. Based on the above, Catalyst Office is
recommended as the best bidder.
Past Council Actions
10/24/2017
(Attachment A)
Appropriation of $2 Million in FY 17-18 Budget for the Total
Workplace Initiative
8/8/2017
(Attachment B)
Award of Guaranteed Maximum Price for construction services on the
City Services Building project
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
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Staff seeks authority to award a contractual services agreement with Catalyst Office to
provide Steelcase furniture systems and related services for the City Services Building.
Contract Request (Scope A)
Request Amount
FY 2018-19 Budget
CIP Account #
Total Contract Amount
$1,500,000
C0105540.689000
$1,500,000
Contract Request (Scope B)
Request Amount
FY 2018-19 Budget
Department Account #
Total Contract Amount
$1,500,000 Various accounts $1,500,000
Total $3,000,000
Furniture systems procurement and related services for Scope B are funded from
Council approved budgets in various departments. Funding for other existing projects
requiring new furniture was approved by Council in the FY 2018 -19 Adopted Budget.
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Amber Richane, Architectural Associate
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. October 24, 2017 Staff Report (Weblink)
B. August 8, 2017 Staff Report (Weblink)
C. Catalyst Oaks Form
REFERENCE:
Agreement No. 10771
(CCS)