City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 04/13/2015 Item Number: C-6
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: FOUR-FIFTHS VOTE REQUIREMENT - (1) Approval
of an Agreement with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps in an Amount Not-to-
Exceed $150,000 to Purchase and Plant 300 Trees in the City’s Parkways; and (2)
Approval of a Budget Amendment in the Amount of $150,000.
Contact Person/Dept.:
Joe Susca
Phone Number:
(310) 253-5636
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-mail) Agenda and Meetings – City Council (04/08/15); TreePeople
(03/30/15); The Los Angeles Conservation Corps (03/25/15)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (04/02/15)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (04/06/15)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (04/07/15)
City Manager Approval:
John M. Nachbar (04/08/15)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council (1) approve an agreement with the Los
Angeles Conservation Corps in an amount not-to-exceed $150,000 for the
purchase, planting, and first-year watering of 300 trees in the City’s parkways;
and (2) approve a budget amendment in the amount of $150,000.|1010|
A budget amendment requires a 4/5ths affirmative vote.
BACKGROUND:
Over the years, the City has lost a number of trees due to age, disease, storm
damage, and other factors. Recognizing the importance of maintaining a vibrant
urban forest, the City has been dedicating funds from its General Fund to replace
trees on an ongoing basis. On average, the City loses 120 trees and plants 180
new trees annually. This represents a significant investment of City resources;
however, even with these investments, the City still has a significant backlog of
vacant tree planting sites remaining.
According to the City’s tree inventory, there are over 1,300 vacant tree locations
in the City’s parkways. Additionally, the City has conducted a review of the City’s
parks and identified twenty locations that are suitable for tree plantings.
Given the age of the City’s urban forest and the likelihood that additional trees
will reach the end of their lifecycles in the next few years, based upon City
Council approval provided at the December 10, 2012 Regular Meeting, the City
applied for and was awarded a $150,000 grant through Supervisor Mark Ridley- City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Thomas’ 2012 Competitive Tree Planting Grant Program to cover the cost to
plant 300 new trees. The grant requires the City to hire at-risk youths to assist
with planting the trees
The 300 tree species were initially selected using the City’s existing Street Tree
Master Plan. Artecho, the City’s Urban Forest Plan consultant, visited the
parkway locations and, where necessary, identified alternative tree species to
plant in order to adhere to the specifications being developed in the Urban
Forest Plan. All tree and site selections are designed to have minimal impacts
to public and private infrastructure such as sidewalks, sewers, storm drains, and
other utilities.
DISCUSSION:
Pursuant to the City Council’s direction provided at the August 25, 2014 Regular
Meeting, in January 2015, staff released a Request for Proposals for the
purchase, planting, and watering of 300 24” box trees and received the following
two responses:
Firm Name Cost Schedule
TreePeople $150,000 16 weeks
Los Angeles Conservation Corps $150,000 10 weeks
TreePeople’s mission is to promote sustainability and to inspire, engage, and
support people to take personal responsibility for their urban environment. In
addition to educating members of the public on how to plant and care for trees,
their crew primarily consists of volunteers who perform tree plantings on
weekends.
The Los Angeles Conservation Corps’ (Corps) mission is to provide at-risk
young adults and school-aged youth with opportunities for success through job
skills training, education, and work experience with an emphasis on
conservation and service projects that benefit the community. The Corps is
better equipped to plant 24” box trees, and their proposal reflects hiring more at-
risk youth crewmembers than TreePeople’s. As the Corps’ proposal more
closely adheres to the requirements of the grant, staff recommends selecting the
Corps to complete the project.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
The grant award is $150,000 and will cover the $150,000 cost to purchase,
plant, and water the newly planted trees once per week for the first year. The
grant requires an additional $5,000 City match, which is in the form of in-kind
services to manage the project. City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
A Budget Amendment requires a 4/5ths vote.
MOTIONS:
That the City Council:
1. Approve a budget amendment in the amount of $150,000 (this action
requires a four-fifths vote); and,
2. Approve an Agreement with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps for the
purchase, planting and watering of 300 trees in an amount not-to-exceed
$150,000; and,
3. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents;
and,
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the
City.
|1010|Typically, residential parkways with irrigation systems are operated in a manner that serves the needs of
shallow rooted plants and grass. Newly planted trees however, require deeper watering to reach their roots
to establish their roots and to promote growth. For the first year, a watering tank truck will drive along the
parkway of the newly planted trees and use a spout to pour 15 gallons of water onto each tree well every
week. When a vehicle is parked along the curb adjacent to a newly planted tree, the truck driver will manually
water the tree using a 5-gallon bucket. During or after heavier rainstorms however, the weekly watering
activity will be suspended.