May 23, 2006
SUBJECT: Approval to Issue SMaRT Station® Operations Request for Proposal (deferred from Council meeting of May 16, 2006)
REPORT IN BRIEF
The existing contract for operation of the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer (SMaRT®) Station, currently held by GreenTeam/Zanker, will expire on December 31, 2007. Staff is requesting that the City Council approve the attached Request for Proposals for Operation of the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer Station and direct staff to distribute the Request for Proposals (RFP) to potential proposers. The staff evaluation of the proposals received in response to the RFP will result in a recommendation to the Council for the award of a multi-year (2008 through 2014) contract to operate the SMaRT Station®.
BACKGROUND
The SMaRT Station serves five main purposes:
1. Receive and recover recyclable materials from garbage collected in the cities of Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale
2. Transfer the unrecycled portion of the garbage to the Kirby Canyon Landfill for disposal
3. Receive, process, and ship to composting facilities the yard trimmings collected by the cities
4. Receive, sort and prepare for market recyclables collected at curbside
5. Provide a recycling center where residents can drop off a number of recyclable materials and receive cash for bottles and cans covered by California’s “Bottle Bill” system.
GreenTeam/Zanker currently operates the SMaRT Station under a contract that expires December 31, 2007. The selection of the current operator of the SMaRT Station was the outcome of a request for proposals issued in 1999 that resulted in four proposals being received. That RFP offered a seven-year contract that required the contractor to meet a minimum diversion level and featured sharing of recycling revenues between the cities and the contractor. Current annual refuse transfer and material recovery expenses of the “SMaRT Cities” participating agencies (Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale) are approximately $6,000,000. In addition to that income, the operator retains recycling revenues totaling roughly $3,000,000 annually based on the achievement of higher materials recovery diversion levels and about $100,000 per year as its share of fees paid for loads delivered by members of the public.
EXISTING POLICY
Solid Waste Sub-Element, Policy 3.2D.2 – Reduce the amount of refuse being disposed, generate recycling revenues, and minimize truck travel to the disposal site through use of the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer (SMaRT) Station.
DISCUSSION
In preparation for the expiration of the current agreement on December 31, 2007, staff has prepared the Request for Proposals for the Operation of the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer Station (RFP). City Staff has worked with the staffs of the other SMaRT Cities to gain their perspectives on the content of the RFP and the new contract and has, to the extent possible, incorporated that input into the RFP.
A study session was held on March 21, 2006 to provide the City Council with an update on the RFP, outline key contract provisions and receive input from the Council on the RFP content and process.
Key provisions of the RFP, shown as Attachment A, are summarized below.
1. fixed annual payment for handling amounts of municipal solid waste and yard trimmings under anticipated tonnage ceiling, with a payment per ton if amounts go above ceiling (CPI adjusted)
2. diversion-based share of material sales revenues
– minimum diversion 17.5%
– 25% diversion earns 75% of revenues
3. per cubic yard charge for public haul wastes (CPI adjusted)
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Employee wages are required to be, at minimum, those shown in a determination of prevailing wages issued by the Department of Industrial Relations on February 28, 2006. Contract language defines & quantifies the risk to a contractor if prevailing wages increase during the contract term
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Includes Communications Guidelines for Proposers and Council during the procurement process
The RFP is in draft form at this time, and is subject to minor changes between now and the date it is issued as contract language is finalized and the document is compiled.
The proposed schedule for this procurement is shown below. Dates shown are approximate and subject to change based on a number of factors. However, the staff has built into the schedule sufficient extra time that a minor delay in any one step of the process should not hinder the implementation of the new contract by January 1, 2008.
Staff anticipates that various addenda to the RFP will be issued prior to the proposals due date. The addenda will provide proposers with updated information on the materials recovery equipment replacement project currently being designed, address questions posed by proposers and provide other process or content updates that may become necessary.
|
Action |
Date |
|
RFP Issued to Proposers |
June 1, 2006 |
|
Proposals Due |
August 1, 2006 |
|
Proposal Evaluations Begin |
August 2, 2006 |
|
City Council Awards Contract |
February 6, 2007 |
|
New Contract Begins |
January 1, 2008 |
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact for approval to distribute the Request for Proposals for Operation of the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer Station. The use of a competitive process to award the next contract will either reduce the cost of SMaRT Station operation or, at a minimum, provide the City and its partners, Mountain View and Palo Alto, with a market-based price for operation of the SMaRT Station in compliance with the service standards in the contract.
Conclusion
The current agreement for the operation of the SMaRT Station expires on December 31, 2007. A Request for Proposals process will allow the City to use a competitive process to receive and evaluate proposals, prepare analysis for Council award and execute a contract to begin services on January 1, 2008.
PUBLIC CONTACT
This report was included in the publication and posting of the Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board and the City’s web page. This report is also available at the Sunnyvale Public Library and the City Clerk’s Office.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve the Request for Proposals for the Operation of the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer Station and direct staff to distribute the Request for Proposals to potential proposers
2. Direct staff to make changes to the RFP
3. Other action as determined by Council
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Alternative 1, that the Council approve the Request for Proposals for the Operation of the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer Station and direct staff to distribute the Request for Proposals to potential proposers.
A Request for Proposals process will allow the City to use a competitive process to receive and evaluate proposals, prepare analysis for Council award and execute a contract to begin services on January 1, 2008.
Reviewed by:
Marvin Rose, Director, Public Works
Prepared by: Mark Bowers, Solid Waste Program Manager
Approved by:
Amy Chan
City Manager
Attachment
Request for Proposals for the Operation of the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer Station, June 1, 2006.
Part 1 (.pdf 3.94mb)
Part 2 (appendix c - part1) (.pdf 3.09mb)
Part 2 (appendix c - part2) (.pdf 2.94mb) |