DATE: April 17, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Plan Check and Inspection Services Consultant Agreements
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a total of four Consultant Agreements; two in the amount of $850,000 annually with JAS Pacific, Inc. and Interwest Consulting Group, Inc., and two in the amount of $100,000 annually with CSG Consultants, Inc. and West Coast Code Consultants, Inc., to perform building plan check and inspection services on an as-needed basis. Effective upon execution, each agreement not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total for the four agreements not to exceed $9,500,000 (4/5 vote).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will authorize the selection of JAS Pacific, Inc. (JAS) ($850,000 annually), Interwest Consulting Group, Inc. (Interwest) ($850,000 annually ), CSG Consultants, Inc. (CSG) ($100,000 annually), and West Coast Code Consultants, Inc. (West Coast) ($100,000 annually) to assist the Department of Public Works and Planning in providing residential, industrial and commercial building plan checking and inspection services to supplement staff as needed. Pursuant to County Charter, Section 13, four affirmative votes of the Board of Supervisors are required to contract with independent contractors for services currently being conducted by County employees. The Department currently has employees who conduct both building plan check and inspection functions. The intent of the recommended action is to supplement, not supplant, current staffing resources on an as-needed basis in order to achieve its target plan check review timelines and inspection requests. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board could determine not to approve the proposed agreements, however, that would greatly reduce the Department’s ability to provide timely plan check services and eliminate the ability to conduct certain specialty inspections.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The combined maximum compensation for the four five-year recommended agreements is $9,500,000. The maximum compensation for the five-year agreements with JAS and Interwest is $8,500,000, $1,000,000 for the agreements with CSG and West Coast. The annual maximum will be $850,000 for JAS and Interwest, $100,000 for CSG and West Coast. The amounts specified in the proposed agreements differ due to the amount and type of work anticipated. The cost associated with plan check and inspection services performed by the consultants will be funded by Plan Check and Permit Fees collected by the Department. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues included in the Department’s Org 43600200 FY 2017-18 Adopted Budget and will be included in budget requests for the duration of the terms.
DISCUSSION:
In accordance with applicable County Ordinance Code provisions and County Administrative Policy regarding competitive bids and requests for proposals, on October 12, 2017, Department staff released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to 18 firms for the purpose of obtaining up to four firms to conduct professional building plan checking and inspection services. The RFP identified specific criteria for the plan checking portion of the contract, as well as for the inspection portion of the contract.
Since February 2012, the Department has continually used consultant services to perform plan check and building inspection services to address peak demands in order to ensure timely processing for building permits and inspections. The most recent consulting contracts (Agt. Nos. 15-093, 094, 095, and 096) were executed in March 2015, with four separate contractors to assist with Department workload. These contracts expired in March of this year. In response to the current RFP, a total of 10 proposals were received and evaluated by an Evaluation Committee comprised of Department staff to determine the most qualified firms. After consideration of the submittals, consultant interviews, performance, qualifications, experience, and familiarity with County procedures and requirements, it was determined that the four firms recommended possess the expertise and experience to successfully carry out the required tasks.
The recommended firms have the capability of performing both plan checking and inspection services and possess the expertise to interpret State laws and local regulations enforced by the County. The Department has successfully negotiated the proposed consultant agreements with these firms, which provide the terms of the Department’s tasks and expectations. The consultants will be paid for actual services performed based either on mutually agreed contract deliverables or hourly and cost rates depending on the nature of the specific assignment.
The Department intends to utilize the consultants to supplement existing staff on an as-needed basis in order to achieve its target plan check review timelines and next day inspection requests. In addition, any specialized plan checking and inspection services would also be forwarded to the consultants.
The maximum amount of the recommended agreement is $850,000 each for JAS and Interwest and $100,000 each for CSG and West Coast per year, with the option to allow the Department Director, or his designee, to evaluate the services provided at the end of the three-year base term and renew the agreements annually for the two optional one-year extensions. The amounts specified in the proposed agreements differ due to the amount and type of work anticipated.
The Purchasing Division of the Internal Services Department has reviewed the selection process and concurs with the Department’s selection of the proposed consultants.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with JAS Pacific, Inc.
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Interwest Consulting Group, Inc.
On file with Clerk - Agreement with CSG Consultants, Inc.
On file with Clerk - Agreement with West Coast Consultants, Inc.
REFERENCE MATERIAL
BAI #46, March 10, 2015
BAI #47, February 21, 2012
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa