City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council approve a professional services agreement with
Badali Design Communications for the design of bus schedules, marketing materials
and printing services for the Transit Operations Division of the Culver City
Transportation Department in an amount not to exceed $41,305.10, and authorize the
Transportation Director to approve change orders in an aggregate amount not to
exceed $4,130.51 (total not to exceed amount of $45,435.61).
BACKGROUND:
In order to inform the public of upcoming service changes, the Transportation
Department is in need of design of bus schedules, marketing materials and printing
services. These services shall include both the existing local service and a marketing
campaign to notify the public of service changes, and to introduce the upcoming rapid
service.
The layout and design for the current individual Line 1 – 7 schedules and the Culver
CityBus system map have remained primarily the same, with only minor upgrades,
since the mid-1980s. In addition to the current schedule design being basic and
outdated, these materials contain a large amount of white space which many
Meeting Date: 11/10/08 Item Number: C-6
AGENDA ITEM: Approval of a Professional Services Agreement with Badali
Design Communications for the Design of Bus Schedules, Marketing Materials
and Printing Services for the Transportation Department in an Amount not-to-
Exceed $45,435.61.
Contact Person/Dept.: Samantha
Blackshire/Transportation
Phone Number: 310-253-6535
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: []
Public Notification: Master E-Mail Notification List (11/5/2008); Proposers
(11/5/2008): RKR Media Associates; Badali Design Communications; Industrial
Strength; Moore & Associates; Red Rocket L.A.; Ilium; Strausberg; Wire Media;
Nostrum.
Department Approval:
Art Ida (10/30/08)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (11/05/08)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (11/03/08)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry B. Fulwood (11/05/08) City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
passengers use as note paper, then dispose of, only to take another upon reboarding
the bus.
The Transportation Department is also looking to brand a look for the unveiling of the
new Line 6 Rapid Transit service and to promote the extension of the Line 7 service
that would enhance the overall image of the City. In doing so, we would need to draw
upon the expertise of a marketing firm. Due to several factors, including staff’s
existing workload, staff shortages, and lack of experience and knowledge about
marketing, design and promotion, the Department must look to an outside source for
assistance. Successful marketing of our service is imperative, and an upgraded look
for the schedules and system map will assist in the promotion of Culver CityBus in
order to attract riders. In order to enhance transit service, numerous public hearings
and associated materials are needed which necessitate specialized design, printing
and display.
Request for Proposals No. 1397 (Design of Bus Schedules & Marketing Materials and
Printing Services) was published on July 24, 2008 and advertised on the City’s
website and in the Culver City News. A mandatory pre-proposal conference was held
on August 12, 2008, and was attended by ten (10) potential proposers. On September
4, 2008, nine (9) proposals were received. After staff’s initial review of these
proposals, additional pricing and content clarification was requested of various
proposers. The due date for the proposers’ responses to final pricing and content
clarification was Thursday, October 9, 2008. Only one (1) of the proposers that was
asked for clarification did not respond to the Department’s request. The tasks for this
project included:
1) Creation of marketing materials to effectively notify the public via the Public
Hearing process (including materials distributed at the Hearing, inside buses, in
print and on-line) and promotion of the new Line 6 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
service as well as, modification of the local Line 6 & 7.
2) Development of bus schedules for Culver CityBus’ new Line 6 Bus Rapid
Transit service, local Line 6 service, Line 7 service extension and all remaining
pre-existing lines.
3) Development of a new Culver CityBus system map, including text.
4) Identification of the initial printer that would be used to print all of the marketing
materials outlined in items 1 – 3 above.
5) Provision of electronic copies of all marketing materials to allow for easy
storage by Culver CityBus, subsequent reprinting, and posting to City webpage.
City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
DISCUSSION:
The following proposals were received and evaluated by Transportation Department’s
evaluation panel:
Firm Bid Amount
RKR Media Associates $ 27,836.00
Badali Design Communications $ 41,305.10
Industrial Strength $ 54,412.00
Moore & Associates $ 78,101.00
Red Rocket L.A. $ 92,906.00
Ilium $ 95,209.00
Strausberg $103,713.00
Wire Media $114,165.00
Nostrum $174,416.00
The evaluation panel, consisting of the Transit Operations Manager, the Management
Analyst, the Training & Safety Instructor and a Transit Operations Supervisor,
reviewed all of the proposals. Each firm was evaluated based on the following six
criteria:
Proposed Scope of Work/Responsiveness 30%
Functionality and Ease of Use 20%
Experience of Firm and Personnel 15%
Samples 15%
References 10%
Project costs 10%
After carefully reviewing each of the proposals, the evaluation panel concluded, based
on the overall rank from the scoring system, that Badali Design Communications
(BDC) submitted the most qualified and responsive bid for this project. The project
costs are as follows:
$12,000.00 graphic design
$29,305.10 printing
$41,305.10
The Department plans to hold a public hearing regarding the upcoming service
changes in March 2009 due to the service implementation date scheduled for June
2009. Therefore, the branding for the Line 6 Rapid Transit service would be
introduced at that time along with the design for the individual schedules for the Local City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
6 and 7 individual schedules. The new schedules for the remaining lines will be
introduced when quantities or service changes are needed, whichever comes first.
Staff believes BDC’s knowledge and experience has prepared them to perform similar
tasks on behalf of Culver CityBus. BDC has provided graphic support design services
for Orange County Transit Authority for their bus schedules, system maps, brochures,
flyers, and advertisements etc. They also provided bus schedule design for Norwalk
Transit. Finally, they produce the Metrolink newsletter and public safety awareness
brochure. BDC’s proposal shows a great deal of variety in the samples they provided,
with a good use of color and style.
The evaluation panel did not select the lowest bidder (RKR Media Associates) for the
following reasons: minimal detail was provided in the scope of work; therefore, staff
questioned whether or not the proposer fully understood the tasks. Also, the proposer
did not have any experience related to designing and producing transit information.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
The Transportation Department will fund this project using Transportation
Development Act (TDA) Article IV funds. These funds were included in the Adopted
Budget for Fiscal Year 2008-2009. No general funds will be used for this project.
ATTACHMENTS:
None.
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Badali Design Communications
for the design of bus schedules, marketing materials and printing services in an
amount not to exceed $41,305.10;
2. Authorize the Transportation Director to approve change orders in an aggregate
amount not to exceed $4,130.51 (10%); 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.