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CC - CONSENT ITEM: 1) Approval of a Five-Year General Services Agreement with Multi W Systems, Inc. as the Primary Company Selected to Perform Emergency Repairs to the City's Wastewater Pumping Equipment in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $100,000 Annually for an Aggregate Amount Not-to-Exceed $500,000 Over the Five-Year Term of the Agreement; and 2) Approval of a Five-Year General Services Agreement with Powers Brothers Machines, Inc. as the Secondary Company Selected to Perform Emergency Repairs to the City's Wastewater Pumping Equipment in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $55,000 Annually for an Aggregate Amount Not-to-Exceed $275,000 Over the Five-Year Term.
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Meeting Date: October 27, 2025
Contact Person/Dept: Gary Wansley/Public Works - Maintenance Operations
Joe Susca/Public Works - Administration
Phone Number: 310-253-6444/5636
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [ ] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [ ] No [X]
Public Notification: E-Mail: Meetings and Agendas - City Council (10/22/2025); Multi W Systems (10/01/2025); Powers Brothers Machine (10/01//2025); ACCO Engineered Systems (10/06/2025); Xylem (10/06/2025); Brax (10/06/2025)
Department Approval: Yanni Demitri, Public Works Director/City Engineer (10/08/2025)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council 1) approve a five-year general services agreement with Multi W Systems, Inc. as the primary company selected to perform emergency repairs to the City's wastewater pumping equipment in an amount not-to-exceed $100,000 annually for an aggregate amount not-to-exceed $500,000 over the five-year term of the agreement; and 2) approve a five-year general services agreement with Powers Brothers Machines, Inc. as the secondary company selected to perform emergency repairs to the City's wastewater pumping equipment in an amount not-to-exceed $55,000 annually for an aggregate amount not-to-exceed $275,000 over the five-year term of the agreement.
BACKGROUND
The City currently oversees the operation of various pumping equipment that ensure wastewater continues to flow. The City’s wastewater pumping equipment are located at six sites and are manufactured by Wemco, Fairbanks Morse, Reliance, and Hidrostal.
Each of the City’s wastewater pumping stations is equipped with two pumps that alternate the duty of lifting and then pumping wastewater through sewer mains that travel to the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant (Hyperion) in Playa del Rey for treatment. The City’s sewage pumping stations are also equipped with alarm notification systems that monitor station operations and alert City crews when failures or other concerns arise. If one of the two pumps fail, the remaining pump automatically takes over full-time duty and notifies the City’s in-house crew to repair the failed pump. The City crew treats pump failures as an emergency, prompting their immediate repair on a 24/7 basis to prevent sewage spills. When sewer main blockages or pump failures occur, the City’s crew may use a wastewater truck to extract untreated sewage into its tank and then transport it for discharge into an unblocked sewer main where it continues its journey to Hyperion.
DISCUSSION
On June 19, 2025, staff released Request for Proposals No. 2627 (RFP) to hire a firm to work in partnership with City crews to perform emergency wastewater pump repairs over a five-year term. Proposals were due on July 24, 2025. The City received a total of five proposals. The proposals were evaluated using the criteria contained in the RFP. The billing rates for each company are summarized below:
Name Regular Labor Parts Mark Up
Multi W Systems $105/hour 25%
Powers Brothers Machine $160/hour 30%
Xylem $175/hour 20%
ACCO Engineered Systems $185/hour 15%
Brax $280/hour 35%
Multi W Systems and Powers Brothers Machine have experience working on all the City’s pumping equipment. Although staff anticipates it will rarely occur, there may be times when the Multi W Systems crew is unable to immediately respond to an emergency repair. As a result, staff recommends awarding a primary agreement to Multi W Systems and a secondary agreement to Powers Brothers as a backup. As the primary contractor with the lowest hourly rate, staff will always contact Multi W Systems first to perform repairs. However, if they are unable to respond immediately, then staff will contact Powers Brothers Machine.
Multi W Systems, Inc. has extensive experience repairing and maintaining pumping equipment. The company is located in El Monte, and they have been in business for nearly 40 years. They have 20 technicians available to respond to emergency pumping repairs to serve their Southern California customers. Their references are excellent, and staff recommends selecting Multi W systems as the primary company to enter into a five-year agreement.
Powers Brothers Machine, Inc. has extensive experience repairing and maintaining pumping equipment. The company is located in Montebello, and they have been in business for nearly 50 years. They have five technicians available to respond to emergency pumping repairs to serve their Southern California customers. Staff has had prior, favorable experience working with them and recommends selecting them as the secondary company to enter into a five-year agreement.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 includes sufficient funding to cover the first year of both five-year agreements in Account No. 20460300.619800 (Wastewater Maintenance - Other Contractual Services) which can be found in the Public Works Department section on page 524. If approved, staff will include funding for the future years for both agreements in future fiscal year budgets.
MOTIONS
That the City Council:
1. Approve a five-year general services agreement with Multi W Systems, Inc. in an amount not-to-exceed $100,000 annually for an aggregate amount not-to-exceed $500,000 for the five-year term as the primary contractor to perform emergency repairs to wastewater pumping equipment located at various City-owned facilities; and
2. Approve a five-year general services agreement with Powers Brothers Machines, Inc. in an amount not-to-exceed $55,000 annually for an aggregate amount not-to-exceed $275,000 for the five-year term as the secondary contractor to perform emergency repairs to wastewater pumping equipment located at various City-owned facilities; 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.