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(1) Review and Comment on the Responses to the Requests for Proposals Published on October 1, 2015, to Plan, Organize, and Conduct the Culver City Adult Basketball Program (RFP #1575) and, to Plan, Organize, and Conduct the Culver City Adult Softball Program (RFP# 1576); and, (2) (If Desired) Consideration of a Recommendation(s) to the City Council Regarding the Approval of Professional Services Agreement(s) Appertaining Thereto.
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Contact Person/Dept: Dan Hernandez
Phone Number: 310-253-6655
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: (Email) Meetings and Agendas - Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission (11/25/15); (Email) Parks, Recreation & Community Service Department Updates (11/25/15); (Email) Individuals Submitting Public Comments on November 3, 2015, PRCS Commission Agenda Item A-3. (11/25/15).
Department Approval: Dan Hernandez, Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services (11/24/15).
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) Commission (1) review and comment on the responses to the Requests for Proposals (RFPs) published on October 1, 2015, to Plan, Organize, and Conduct the Culver City Adult Basketball Program (RFP #1575) and, to Plan, Organize, and Conduct the Culver City Adult Softball Program (RFP# 1576); and, (2) (if desired) consider making a recommendation(s) to the City Council regarding the approval of professional services agreement(s) appertaining thereto.
BACKGROUND
As part of a City-wide effort to reduce operational costs in response to the significant economic challenges faced by the City as a result of the “Great Recession,” beginning with Fiscal Year 2010/2011, the Recreation Division of the PRCS Department transitioned the Adult Sports Programs, specifically Adult Basketball and Adult Softball, from City-operated programs to contracted programs. On November 8, 2010, the City Council approved five-year professional services agreements with Major League Softball, Inc. (MLS) to plan, organize, and conduct the Culver City Adult Softball Program and with All City Athletics (ACA) to plan, organize, and conduct the Culver City Adult Basketball Program. Both agreements are currently subject to the Recreation Division’s standard 70 % (vendor) / 30% (City) revenue split. In addition, as part of the agreement, Major League Softball performs certain field maintenance tasks.
In Fiscal Year 2014/2015, Adult Sports Program Revenue (recognized in account number 10130240.365350) exceeded the initial projection of $70,800 by $4,058. In Fiscal Year 2015/2016, the projected revenue is $70,000, and the programs are currently on track to meet this goal.
Although Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) Section 3.07.085.A exempts professional services from the formal competitive bidding requirements, these programs were competitively bid in 2010 due the unique circumstance that the PRCS Department was replacing previously City-operated programs with contracted programs. With the current Adult Sports Program professional services agreements expiring on December 31, 2015, the PRCS Director recommended to the City Council that the Adult Basketball and Adult Softball Programs be subject to the formal bidding process once again.
DISCUSSION
On September 28, 2015, the City Council authorized the release of Requests for Proposals for the PRCS Department Adult Basketball and Adult Softball Programs. There was no public comment regarding the specific subject of the release of the RFP for the Adult Basketball Program nor the current operation of the Program. However, during public comment for the item, Mr. Bill Ward expressed the dissatisfaction that he said he and other participants in the Culver City Adult Softball Program feel regarding the way that the City’s current contractor, Major League Softball (MLS), is operating the program. Specifically, he mentioned the fact that MLS not a local business (MLS is headquartered in Burbank, CA) and that he hoped the City would make more of an effort to find a vendor that was local during the RFP process. He also stated he feels that there is an ongoing lack of communication between MLS and City staff regarding such issues as rain days/field closures and other scheduling changes. In addition, he indicated that the Adult Softball Programs in the neighboring cities of Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach and Los Angeles are superior to Culver City’s program. It should be noted that the Adult Softball Programs in these cities are City-operated, not contracted out. Upon hearing Mr. Ward’s comments, City Council Members asked the PRCS Director to take Mr. Ward’s comments into consideration during the RFP process and to bring the issue of the Adult Softball Program before the PRCS Commission to gather public input on the topic.
On October 1, 2015, RFP #1575: Plan, Organize, and Conduct the Culver City Adult Basketball Program (Attachment 1), and RFP #1576: Plan, Organize, and Conduct the Culver City Adult Softball Program (Attachment 2), were published in the Culver City News. As per the RFP guidelines, potential respondents were given a period of time to submit questions regarding the RFP’s and receive responses from City staff. Questions relating to RFP #1576 (Softball), only, were submitted. City staff responded to these questions and posted the questions and answers on the City’s website (Attachment 3). Proposals for Adult Basketball were submitted by two respondents: All City Athletics, Inc. (Attachment 4), and ZogSportsLA (Attachment 5). Proposals for Adult Softball were submitted by three respondents: Major League Softball (Attachment 6), ZogSportsLA (Attachment 7), and All City Athletics, Inc. (Attachment 8). On October 22, 2015, the City Clerk’s Office publically opened the proposals. The proposals were then reviewed by PRCS Director Hernandez. Summaries of some of the important points of information provided in the proposals submitted for each of these programs are provided as Attachment 9.
On November 3, 2015, the PRCS Commission discussed Agenda Item A-3, “Consideration of Supporting Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department Staff’s Proposed Recommendation to the City Council to Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Major League Softball to Operate the Culver City Adult Softball League.” During the public comment on the Item, an email received from Mr. Ken Widelitz on November 2, 2015 was read into the record. Similar points were made in an email submitted by Terry Ballentine on that same day. At the meeting, Director Hernandez and David R. Johnson, President of Major League Softball, Inc., addressed some of the issues raised in the emails. Attachment 10 provides both the content of Mr. Widelitz’ email and responses from Director Hernandez (with input from Mr. Johnson) to the issues raised.
To summarize the public comment heard by the PRCS Commission on November 3, 2015, with regard to staff’s recommendation that MLS be awarded the professional services agreement to operate the Adult Softball Program (Agenda Item A-3.):
In Opposition - 2 emails (Ken Widelitz and Terry Ballentine); 1 speaker (Bill Ward)
In Support - 2 speakers (Cynthia Sampson and Arturo Garcia, Jr.)
Conditional Support - 1 email (Ward Brown; he will support the new agreement with MLS if the appropriate checks and balances are put in place, including a City designate to act as an “honest broker” {i.e., liaison; mediator} between the league and MLS.)
[Note: Those who commented on this Agenda Item and provided email addresses were both noticed individually regarding tonight’s discussion and added to the City’s GovDelivery Public Notification category “(Email) Meetings and Agendas - Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission.”]
At the end of the discussion, the PRCS Commission adopted the following motion to:
Neither recommend nor not recommend Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department staff’s proposed recommendation to the City Council to approve a professional services agreement with Major League Softball (MLS) to operate the Culver City Adult Softball League due to the fact that Commission felt that they did not have all of the information necessary to make an informed decision before them.
[4 ayes and 1 absent, Commissioner Garland left the meeting before the vote.]
Staff is presenting this Agenda Item, along with additional information on the Adult Sports Programs RFP process, for further consideration by the PRCS Commission.
Staff Recommendations
Based on the PRCS Director’s review of the proposals and the information contained in Summary tables presented in Attachment 1, staff’s recommendations are as follows:
(1) All City Athletics (ACA) is recommended to continue as the operator of the Culver City Adult Basketball Program, for the following reasons:
• ACA is the only one of the two respondents which has experience operating a municipal adult basketball program as a contractor.
• Customer satisfaction surveys distributed and tabulated by City staff have shown that participants have an overall positive opinion of ACA’s performance as the current operator of the Adult Basketball Program.
• During the past five years of operation, ACA has met and exceeded the City’s revenue goals for the Adult Basketball Program.
• City staff involved in the administration of the program believes that ACA has demonstrated a high level of customer service and administrative and organizational skills during their time as the operator of the Adult Basketball Program.
(2) Major League Softball (MLS) is recommended to continue as the operator of the Culver City Adult Softball Program for the following reasons:
• MLS has extensive experience operating municipal adult softball programs in the capacity of a contractor while the other two proposers have none. ZogSportsLA rents fields from Culver City, two school districts, and the City of Los Angeles to run ZogSportsLA programs. This is not the type of direct municipal contracting experience that the City’s Adult Softball Program requires. ACA has experience operating the Culver City Adult Basketball Program as a contractor, but no experience operating a municipal softball program as a contractor.
• Proper and timely game site field preparation is essential for the successful operation of a softball program. MLS is the only respondent to include a detailed account of their field preparation schedule and procedures in their proposal. The game site field preparation presented in the MLS proposal is consistent with the tasks that they have been performing over the past five years at Culver City softball fields. Contractor performance of these procedures saves City staff time and resources. It is unclear if the other proposers offer the City these same benefits, since the information was not provided.
• To demonstrate support for their operation of the City’s Adult Softball Program over the past five years, MLS provided the City with sixty-eight (68) “Petitions of Support” (Attachments 11, 12, and, 13). Sixty-two (62) of them are from current Fall League managers (out of 75), and there are six others from teams that were either turned away because the program was sold out and/or teams that took the Fall League off.
• During the past five years of operation, MLS has met and exceeded the City’s revenue goals for the Adult Softball Program.
• City staff involved in the administration of the Program believes that MLS has demonstrated a high level of customer service, administrative and organizational skills during their time as the operator of the Culver City Adult Softball Program.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no fiscal impact associated with the discussion of this Agenda Item.
ATTACHMENTS
Due to their file size and in order to conserve natural resources, Attachments 1 - 8, and, Attachments 11 - 13, are available electronically on the Culver City website at: <http://www.culvercity.org/en/Government/PRCS/CouncilItems.aspx>.
1. RFP #1575: Plan, Organize, & Conduct the Culver City Adult Basketball Program
2. RFP #1576: Plan, Organize, & Conduct the Culver City Adult Softball Program
3. RFP #1576: Questions from Potential Respondents with Responses from City Staff
4. RFP #1575: Basketball Program Proposal from All City Athletics, Inc.
5. RFP #1575: Basketball Program Proposal from ZogSportsLA
6. RFP #1576: Softball Program Proposal from Major League Softball, Inc.
7. RFP #1576: Softball Program Proposal from ZogSportsLA
8. RFP #1576: Softball Program Proposal from All City Athletics, Inc.
9. Summary of Adult Sports Program Proposals (posted with the staff report at <http://www.culvercity.org/agenda.aspx>)
10. PRCS Director’s Responses to Concerns Expressed in 11/02/15 Emails from Ken Widelitz & Terry Ballentine Regarding Approving a New Agreement with Major League Softball (Responses are in Bold Italics; posted with the staff report at <http://www.culvercity.org/agenda.aspx>)
11. “Petitions of Support” (pages 01 - 21), Submitted by Major League Softball, Inc.
12. “Petitions of Support” (pages 22 - 45), Submitted by Major League Softball, Inc.
13. “Petitions of Support” (pages 46 - 68), Submitted by Major League Softball, Inc.
RECOMMENDED MOTION
That the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission:
1. Review and comment on the responses to the Requests for Proposals (RFPs) published on October 1, 2015, to Plan, Organize and Conduct the Culver City Adult Basketball Program (RFP #1575) and, to Plan, Organize and Conduct the Culver City Adult Softball Program (RFP #1576); and,
2. (If desired) Make a recommendation(s) to the City Council regarding the approval of professional services agreement(s) appertaining thereto.