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HomeMy WebLinkAboutID-3093 City of Palo Alto (ID # 3093) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 9/10/2012 Summary Title: Project Sentinel Contract Extension Title: Approval of Amendment No. 1 to Contract with Project Sentinel for Mediation Services From: City Manager Lead Department: Community Services Recommendation Staff recommends that the Council approve, and authorize the City Manager to execute, an amendment number one to contract S10133562 (Attachment A), with Project Sentinel, a California Non-Profit Corporation, to extend the contract term , currently set to expire December 31, 2012, to June 30, 2013. This extension of the term will provide staff with more time to develop specifications for the next Request for Proposal cycle and to align the contract term with the City’s fiscal year, not the calendar year. Executive Summary The Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Project Sentinel to provide Mediation Services for dispute resolution was entered into on January 1, 2010. The term of this agreement, as amended, is now January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2013. The compensation to the consultant for performance of the services was $63,465.00 annually for the first and second year term. This compensation was reduced due to budget constraints by 2% to $62,197 for the third year which goes from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Staff is requesting to extend the contract six (6) months beyond its current three-year term. Background At its October 15, 2001 meeting, the Council passed the Mandatory Response Ordinance (MRO), which provides a neutral forum for discussing issues including, but not limited to, rent increases. The MRO amended the Rental Stabilization Ordinance by requiring landlords to provide written notification to tenants about their rights and responsibilities. The ordinance also requires landlords who own more than one single-family home rental to register with the City. Project Sentinel is the non-profit organization that administers the Palo Alto Mediation Program (PAMP), which facilitates the training of Palo Alto residents to provide volunteer mediation services for a broad range of community disputes, including landlord-tenant and neighbor-to-neighbor, and has successfully done so for almost thirty years. PAMP provides an essential service to the City, and that without their program, it is believed that there would be a heavier burden on Police and Code Enforcement staffs to respond to Palo Alto citizens involved in these types of disputes. During its March 20, April 12 and September 15, 2007 meetings, members of the Human Relations Commission (HRC) heard testimony from PAMP mediators and staff from Project Sentinel requesting that their services be changed from a Human Services Resource Allocation Process (HRSAP) funded service to one supported by the general fund, as they are implementing a goal embodied in the Palo Alto Municipal Code. A motion was made to recommend to the Council that Project Sentinel be removed from HSRAP along with its current funding and be funded instead through a contract with the City. The Commission’s motion of recommendation was passed unanimously. On November 14, 2007, staff forwarded the HRC request to the Policy and Services Committee for review. Policy and Services Committee concurred with this request and it was forwarded to Council on December 10, 2007. The Council approved the recommendation from Policy and Services Committee to remove funding of mediation services from HSRAP to a direct general fund contract. This motion passed the Council 9-0. Discussion The scope of the contract for Project Sentinel is designated to operate and implement Palo Alto Municipal Code Chapter 9.72, the Mandatory Response to Request for Discussion of Disputes between Landlords and Tenants Ordinance, adopted on October 15, 2001 by the Council. The request for approval of contract term extension is made in order that the contract’s expiration date will be June 30, 2013, not December 31, 2012. This would align the contract’s term with the City’s fiscal year. Resource Impact Staff will be implementing a Request for Proposals for mediation services and drafting a final contract to align with the City’s fiscal year. The total compensation for the six month extension is $31,098 of which $22,102 is encumbered from the FY 2011-12 budget of the Office of Human Services. The balance of $8,996 is available in the Office of Human Services’ FY 2012-13 budget. Attachments: Attachment A - ProjectSentinelContractnew (PDF) Prepared By: Minka VanDerZwaag, Department Head: Greg Betts, Director, Community Services City Manager Approval: ____________________________________ James Keene, City Manager 1 120829 sm 010 AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO CONTRACT NO. S10133562 BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND PROJECT SENTINEL This Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. S10133562 (“Contract”) is entered into September ______, 2012 by and between the CITY OF PALO ALTO, a charter city and a municipal corporation of the State of California (“CITY”), and PROJECT SENTINEL, a California Non-Profit Corporation, located at 298 S. Sunnyvale Avenue, Suite. 209, Sunnyvale, California 94086 Telephone: (408) 720-988-8760 (“CONTRACTOR”). R E C I T A L S: A. The Contract was entered into between the parties for the provision of Mediation Services for dispute resolution. B. The parties wish to amend the Contract. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the covenants, terms, conditions, and provisions of this Amendment, the parties agree: SECTION 1. Section 2 is hereby amended to read as follows: “SECTION 2. TERM. The term of this Agreement shall be from the date of its full execution, January 1, 2010, through June 30, 2013, unless terminated earlier pursuant to Section 19 of this Agreement.” SECTION 2. The following exhibit(s) to the Contract is/are hereby amended to read as set forth in the attachment(s) to this Amendment, which are incorporated in full by this reference: a. Exhibit “B” entitled “SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCE”. 2 120829 sm 010 SECTION 3. Except as herein modified, all other provisions of the Contract, including any exhibits and subsequent amendments thereto, shall remain in full force and effect. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have by their duly authorized representatives executed this Amendment on the date first above written. APPROVED: __________________________ City Manager APPROVED AS TO FORM: __________________________ Senior Asst. City Attorney Date: PROJECT SENTINEL By:___________________________ Name:_________________________ Title:________________________ Attachments: EXHIBIT "B": SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCE Professional Services Rev. September 2009 S:\ASD\PURCH\SOLICITATIONS\CURRENT BUYER-CM FOLDERS\OTHERS - ADRIAN\Contract Amendments\S10133562 Project Sentinel Amendment No 1\S10133562 Amendment No. 1 Exhibits; FINAL.doc EXHIBIT “B” SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCE CONSULTANT shall perform the Services so as to complete each Service as required, to the reasonable satisfaction of the City. TIME/SCHEDULE REQUIREMENTS:  Services shall commence on January 1, 2010 and shall continue through June 30, 2013, unless terminated by CITY.  Semiannual progress reports shall be completed and submitted to the CITY on the fifteenth day after each six month period.