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Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report 3338 City of Palo Alto (ID # 3338) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 12/17/2012 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: Downtown Streets, Inc. Contract Title: Approval of Amendment No. One to Contract With the Downtown Streets, Inc. To Consolidate Various Contracts Under One Umbrella Contract in the Amount of $156,868 for the Second Year of a Three-Year Contract for Trash and Litter Clean up in Areas of the Downtown Corridor, Various City Parks and Facilities, and Outreach to Homeless Individuals in the Downtown Area. From: City Manager Lead Department: Community Services Recommendation Staff recommends that the Council approve, and authorize the City Manager or his designee to execute, the attached Amendment No. 1 to Contract with Downtown Streets, Inc. (DST) (Attachment A) in order to consolidate three contracts with DST under one master contract, as amended, for the second year of a three-year contract in the amount of $156,868 for trash and litter clean up in areas of the downtown Palo Alto corridor, various City parks and facilities, and for outreach services to homeless individuals in the downtown area. Background DST was founded by the Palo Alto Business Improvement District (BID) in the hopes of reducing panhandling, to provide re-entry skills to the homeless and to clean downtown’s streets. DST is the face of a program, aimed at reducing homelessness by modeling positive behavior among the homeless population. By participating in the program the homeless individuals are able to get housing and other life support credits. Additionally, participants are in a unique position to provide personal outreach and discourage inappropriate behaviors amongst other homeless individuals, particularly in the City’s parking garages. Each member of the DST is evaluated on their individual performance and is recognized for their accomplishments. The skills learned through this program can then be used by the individuals to seek further employment. The City has been using the DST since 2006 and because of the increased DST presence in the City of Palo Alto Page 2 downtown public parking garages, the homeless problem in the downtown area has been somewhat reduced. The downtown business district should be maintained in a safe, clean and appealing manner. Downtown Palo Alto attracts visitors, shoppers, diners, employees and local residents who expect a positive experience when using downtown services. Not only is a clean shopping environment an important civic priority, it is essential to maintaining a healthy and vital economic environment which continues to generate healthy tax revenues. Previously, the Public Works Department and two Divisions within the Community Services Department had issued separate contracts with Downtown Streets, Inc. for various services. These services included 1) Litter removal and outreach in the City’s five downtown parking garages, removal of overflowing debris from receptacles along University Avenue and litter removal from sidewalks and alleys (Public Works Department); 2) Removal of trash, litter and debris at various City parks and facilities (Open Space, Parks and Golf Division, Community Services Department); and 3) Outreach to homeless individuals in the downtown area (Office of Human Services – Community Services Department.) It is the intent of this contract amendment to consolidate the three contracts with one contract for all the services mentioned above. Discussion Under the direction of the Purchasing Division, Administrative Services Department (“Purchasing”), three separate contracts’ scopes of work with DST will be consolidated. Consolidation of contracts is required whenever services, which are deemed by Purchasing to be similar, will be awarded to the same contractor consistent with the requirements of the Palo Alto Municipal Code. DST provides specialized client-based outreach, litter removal and landscape services, which is a unique combination of services received from one provider. The combination of all three scopes of services enables DST to interact directly with homeless individuals, which invariably will reduce homeless populations in public areas and can assist in maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness. To staff’s knowledge, there is no other social service agency which provides all three services. Resource Impact The Public Works’ scope of services and the Human Services’ outreach services will not require the use of General Fund resources. These services are reimbursable through the downtown parking assessment district which are held within the Special Revenue, Special Districts Fund, whereby cleaning and maintenance services are reimbursable through permit fees charged in the downtown parking assessment district area. City of Palo Alto Page 3 The Open Space and Parks Division will use general fund resources to fund the portion of services that relate to park maintenance. Policy Implications Approval of the consolidated agreements in one contract amendment is consistent with existing City policies, including Policy C-20 of the Community Services Element of the Comprehensive Plan: ”Support and promote County, City and non-profit services addressing the needs of the low income and unhoused community especially in the areas of temporary housing, food, clothing health care, mental health and transportation;” and Program C-19: “Develop improvement plans for the maintenance, restoration and enhancement of community facilities, and keep these facilities viable community assets by investing the necessary resources.” Environmental Review These services do not constitute a project for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act. Attachments: Attachment A - Amend_No1 vendor signed copy 12 11 12 (PDF)