Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTowing Staff Report 2011Staff Report: Background The City's current towing contract with Tom Moynahan Towing will expire on September 30, 2011. On May 3, 2011, the City Council approved the creation a tow contract committee to work on a Request for Proposals for towing and impound services (hereinafter "Committee"). The Committee was tasked with drafting the Request for Proposals, evaluating proposals, and ultimately negotiating tow contract(s) to be executed and effective by October 1, 2011. The tow contract committee is comprised of representatives from several City departments. The Committee consists of Leslie Deese — City Manager's Office, Jodi Doucette — City Attorney's Office, Jose Tellez — Police Department, Armando Vergara — Neighborhood Services, Debra Lunt — Finance, Dan Fabinski — Police Department. RFP Process The Committee worked together to prepare a Request for Proposal ("RFP") for review of companies for consideration of the future tow contract. The RFP was submitted to Council on May 3, 2011. The Council requested some changes to the submitted RFP, which were completed. On May 17, 2011, the amended RFP was submitted before City Council. Council approved issuance of the RFP #GS1011-4 for Towing and Impound Contract services for the City of National City. The RFP approved by Council on May 17, 2011, contained all the criteria to be used by the Committee to perform the evaluations (detailed below). RFP #GS1011-4 was issued May 19, 2011, to establish a new towing and impound contract. RFPs were mailed to 18 potential bidders. Responses to the RFPs were due on July 5, 2011. The City received eleven (11) responses, which included one (1) response deemed as a "no bid". When deciding to whom a contract should be awarded, the RFP clearly states that the award of a contract(s) is based on the best overall value to the City. The factors to consider in determining the best overall value include, but are not limited to: evaluation of service capabilities, experience, price, and other factors assessed in the RFP. There is no obligation to make an award based solely on financial factors. In addition, there is no obligation to make any award to any contractor. RFP Evaluations The Committee reviewed the ten written proposals. Extensive administrative review and site evaluations were conducted by pertinent members of the Committee, and proposals were evaluated according to how well they met or exceeded the RFP requirements. Of the ten written proposals, three did not meet the RFP requirements upon initial administrative review of their written proposals. (Please see the Towing Contract Administrative Evaluation checklists, attached hereto). Thereafter, site visits were conducted on the remaining seven proposals. During the site visits, it was determined that four of the proposals did not meet the RFP requirements upon verification at the site. (Please see the report prepared by Sgt. Dan Fabinski, attached hereto as Towing Contract Request for Proposal; Site Visits). The three remaining proposals that meet the RFP requirements in alphabetical order are: • Angelo's Towing, 1177 S. 26th Street, San Diego, CA., 92113 • Road One Towing, 3821 Calle Fortunada, Suite A, San Diego, CA., 92123 • Tom Moynahan Towing, 3200 National City Blvd., National City, CA. 91950 It has been determined that these three tow contractors have met and/or exceeded the RFP requirements and are suited to provide the required level of service the City expects. Pursuant to the RFP, the City Council may select either two (2) tow contractors or three (3) tow contractors who will be placed on a rotational basis for the new tow contract period beginning on October 1, 2011. The proposed rates received from the remaining three (3) tow contractors differ. Once the City Council selects whether it prefers two or three operators for the new contract period, standard, consistent tow rates will be established. Negotiations with the selected tow contractors will be conducted, including the examination of the California Highway Patrol's rate (San Diego's prevailing area tow rates), to determine fair and proper tow rates. (Please see the attached Tow Rates Chart prepared by Purchasing Agent Debra Lunt, attached hereto). It is recommended that towing contracts for the period of October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2013, be awarded after the September 6, 2011 Council Meeting where direction is provided as to the number of tow contracts to award, with options to renew for up to three (3) additional one year periods. Attached is a brief analysis of the factors to consider regarding award of the contracts as to Angelo's Towing, Road One Towing, and Tom Moynahan Towing. Additional details are provided in Sgt. Dan Fabinski's report titled "Towing Contract Request for Proposal (RFP); Site Visits." 1. Angelo's Towing Advantages • Met RFP requirements • Located close to National City (within 2 miles) • CHP certified trucks — all sizes required in RFP, high quality equipment • Business office/dispatch staffed 24/7 • Paved storage yard, alarmed, video surveillance, well lit • Tow contract with City of Coronado, CHP rotation • Largest AAA provider in area (6000 AAA calls per month) • Close to public transportation • Positive references Factors to Consider • No prior experience as a National City tow provider • Limited experience as a municipal tow provider • Small storage lot — approximately 17,000 square feet. May have difficulty storing all of NCPD's tows, especially if a high tow volume operation such as a DUI/DL checkpoint is conducted • No secure evidence storage facility; one would have to be constructed which would further decrease storage lot size • No current process in place to collected fees due the City; the contractor would have to create an administrative process and train employees • Concerns of fulfilling response time requirement and tow priorities due to being such a large AAA provider 2. Tom Movnahan Towing Advantages • Met RFP requirements • Located in National City, a local business • Current National City contractor (since 1968) • Long history of municipal tow service • CHP certified trucks — all sizes required in RFP, high quality equipment • Business office/dispatch staffed 24/7 • Large storage lot (large enough to meet all City needs), alarmed, video surveillance, well lit • Has a secure storage area for evidentiary vehicles • Has always provided good problem free service to the City • Process already in place to collect fees due the City • Tow contract with San Diego Sheriffs Department, CHP rotation • Close to public transportation • Positive references Factors to Consider • No areas of concern known, nor any negative history reported or experienced 3. Road One Towing Advantages • Met RFP requirements • Located close to National City (1.6 miles) • Past National City tow contractor (1989-2006), provided good service to the City other than response time concerns in general • Long history of municipal tow service • CHP certified trucks — all sizes required in RFP, high quality equipment, largest fleet • Main business office/dispatch staffed 24/7 (*see concerns) • Large storage lot (large enough to meet all City needs), alarmed, video surveillance, well lit • Has a secure storage area for evidentiary vehicles • Will require minimal effort to restart prior process to collect fees due the City • Tow contract with San Diego Police Department, Chula Vista Police Department and many other law enforcement departments in San Diego County • Close to public transportation • Positive references Factors to Consider • As a former City tow contractor, the contractor had reoccurring issues with meeting response times. Contractor states they have a new Teletrack GPS system in all tow vehicles which will shorten response times • Storage lot used for City will only be staffed during business hours. For after hours release, a customer must phone the dispatch center and then they will immediately send an employee to the storage lot to assist customer; thus there is waiting time. Staff Recommendation After five months of preparing and reviewing regarding the RFP by the committee, the following are staffs recommendations for Council consideration. 1. The Police Department recommends that two (2) towing and impound contractors only be considered. It is much easier to manage two tow contractors in terms of scheduling, preparing two monthly reports of each, and tracking all contract obligations and requirements. However, if we are asked to select three tow contractors, we would recommend the top three contractors listed on the report. I would not select any of the tow contractors that were unable to meet the RFP requirements. The Committee has identified the top three proposals based on the evaluations conducted through administrative review and site visits. The three proposals that meet all the RFP requirements could perform under the RFP and provide the overall best value to the City are in alphabetical order: Angelo's Towing, Moynahan Towing, and Road One Towing. These proposals have not been ranked amongst each other. As described below, if Council prefers to award two contracts, then a subsequent ranking will occur. The City has historically awarded towing and impound contracts to two operators. While this has been the historical practice, it is not the only option. The Police Department can manage three tow contracts, if the Council so directs. Next Steps. 1. Council provides direction to staff on whether to return with two or three tow operator contracts. a. If Council prefers two operators, then staff will return with a recommendation of the top two operators (based on the overall value to the City), and contracts that include negotiated prices with two operators. b. If Council prefers three operators, then staff will return with three contracts, including negotiated prices with all three operators. 2. Staff returns on September 20, 2011 with contracts for Council consideration.