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CC - CONSENT: (1) Rejection of Protest Received on Request for Proposals #2352 Transportation Facility Vehicle Lift Replacement Project; and (2) Approval of an Agreement with Southwest Lift & Equipment, Inc. in an Amount Not-To-Exceed $889,113 ($776,850 Base and $112,263 Contingency) for the Replacement of Vehicle Lifts at the Transportation Facility.
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Meeting Date: October 23, 2023
Contact Person/Dept: Allison Cohen/Transportation
Phone Number: (310) 253-6543
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date:
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (10/17/23);
Department Approval: Diana Chang, Chief Transportation Officer (10/2/23)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) reject a protest received on Request for Proposals (RFP) #2352 Transportation Facility Vehicle Lift Replacement Project; and (2) approve an agreement with Southwest Lift & Equipment, Inc. for the purchase and installation of vehicle lifts located at the Culver City Transportation Facility in an amount not to exceed $889,113 ($776,850 base and $112,263 contingency).
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
The Transportation Department’s Fleet Services Division utilizes seven (7) hydraulic vehicle lifts for equipment maintenance purposes. These lifts are installed above ground or below ground and employ one or more hydraulic pistons depending on the type of vehicle and how much weight is to be lifted. Light-duty lifts use one post or two posts while heavy-duty in-ground lifts feature two or three posts. The City’s vehicle lifts are vital to the daily operations of the Fleet Services Division, and the purchase and installation of new heavy-duty vehicle lifts is required to provide uninterrupted maintenance services for a variety of City vehicles. Originally installed when the Transportation Facility was constructed in 1997, three of the facility’s lifts have reached the end of their useful lives and must be replaced.
Approval of Agreement
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was released on July 6, 2023 and closed on August 31, 2023. A mandatory job walk was held on July 17, 2023 and was attended by six (6) prospective proposers. Proposals were later received from two (2) contractors:
1) Autolift Services
2) Southwest Lift & Equipment, Inc.
Each proposal was carefully reviewed to ensure project compliance with City and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements. Proposals were then reviewed for their responsiveness to the scope of work identified in the RFP and evaluated based on several factors including qualifications, experience, responsiveness to the scope of work, fees, and proposed schedule. After carefully reviewing and scoring each proposal, the evaluation team’s rankings were compiled, and Southwest Lift & Equipment, Inc. was found to be the highest-ranking proposer. Staff found the proposal submitted by Southwest Lift & Equipment, Inc. to be responsive and complete, and determined that the outlined products and services best meet the operational requirements of the Division. The total proposal cost for the project is $776,850, and a contingency amount of $112,263 is recommended to ensure that any unforeseen issues during the construction process is covered.
Southwest Lift & Equipment, Inc. is the exclusive dealer of Stertil-Koni products in Southern California. Stertil-Koni is a leading provider of heavy-duty vehicle lifts to the vehicle maintenance industry, and the Diamond lifts have the capacity to lift even the largest City vehicles in a safe and efficient manner. Consistent with the requirements set forth in the request for proposals, each vehicle lift will recess flush to the floor to safely and efficiently allow for lifting low-clearance, heavy-duty vehicles. The structure of the lifts also reduces tripping hazards while the lifts are not in use. Southwest Lift & Equipment, Inc. is based locally in San Bernardino, California and specializes in the sales, installation, and service of vehicle lifts and related equipment. Their team of installers brings nearly 70 years of combined experience and has recently completed similar projects for the United States Postal Service (USPS), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and the cities of Bakersfield, Monterey Park, and Lancaster.
RFP Protest
Subsequent to the announcement of the City’s notice of intent to award, on October 12, 2023 Autolift Services (“Autolift”) submitted a protest (Attachment 1). Staff reviewed the protest document in consultation with the City Attorney and addresses each of the points below:
• Autolift Services, Inc. (Autolift) is formally protesting the Notice of Award for the Vehicle Lift Replacement via RFP #2352 per violations of the California Public Contract Codes 10344 on the following basis:
A. The state agency failed to follow the procedures specified in either subdivision (b) and (c) of section 10344.
i. The District did not publicly open and read the sealed envelopes containing the bid price and cost information for the RFP.
B. The state agency failed to follow the procedures specified in either subdivision (b) and (c) of section 10344.
i. All proposals and all evaluation and scoring sheets were not made available for public inspection at the conclusion of the committee scoring process.
Response: This section of the California Public Contract Code is applicable only to state agencies and not charter cities including the City of Culver City.
• Autolift Services, Inc. (Autolift) is also formally protesting RFP #2352 in regard to the official responses to questions that were answered by the City in a way that would mislead bidders.
Per an email from Heather Baker (City Attorney) on 10/11/2023, Heather states the following, "pursuant to Culver City Municipal Code section 3.07.065.D.4, RFPs for Professional and General Services, such as this one, are not subject to a protest. The sections of the Public Contract Code you cited are applicable only to State agencies, and do not apply to charter cities such as the City of Culver City (see Public Contract Code section 10335 "This article shall apply to all contracts, including amendments, entered into by any state agency for services to be rendered to the state"). As such, no protest will be accepted for RFP #2352.
However, in the questions and answers released by the City on 7/27/2023, the City states:
Answer 1.4 - Yes the project follows the California Public Contract Code
Answer 1.5 - The City states the official protest procedures and lists the Culver City Municipal Code: G: Protest Procedures.
Response: Responses to questions were not answered in a way that would intentionally mislead bidders. Regarding the City’s answer to 1.4, the City of Culver City follows those sections of the California Public Contract code that apply to charter cities. As stated above, the California Public Contract Code section referenced in Autolift’s protest apply solely to state agencies. Regarding the City’s answer to 1.5, the City inadvertently included protest procedures despite their inapplicability to the RFP process. Because the RFP included such procedures and also responded in the affirmative to question 1.5, the City has accepted receipt of Autolift’s protest and evaluated the protest on its merits.
As discussed above, there is no merit to the protest and staff recommends the City Council reject the protest and approve the contract with Southwest Lift & Equipment.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Sufficient funding for this project has been allocated from a number of grant sources, including Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) Section 5307 transit capital funds and local Prop C Discretionary funds. The Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 includes funding for the project in Transportation capital account 20380000.732120.PB018 (Municipal Bus Fund - Shop Lifts).
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2023-10-23 ATT Autolift Services Protest
MOTION
That the City Council:
1. Reject Autolift Services’ protest; and
2. Approve an agreement with Southwest Lift & Equipment, Inc. for the Replacement of Vehicle Lifts at the Transportation Facility in an amount not-to-exceed $889,113 ($776,850 Base and $112,263 Contingency); 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.