HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2301-09134.Approval of Professional Services Agreement with Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. (C23183770) in the
Amount Not-to-Exceed $558,000 for State and Federal Legislative Advocacy Services and Grant
Consulting and Compliance Services for a Period of Three Years with the Option to Renew for Two
Periods of One Year Each; CEQA status—not a project Supplemental Report
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City Council
Supplemental Report
From: Ed Shikada, City Manager
Meeting Date: February 6, 2023
Item Number: 4
TITLE
Supplemental Report to Consent Item 4, Townsend Public Affairs Contract
ANALYSIS
Staff is providing additional information on the Request for Proposals (RFP) process for the
grants management and legislative advocacy services. In the original staff report, staff
referenced that six firms had responsive proposals to this RFP and staff listed whether the
proposal was for grant consulting services and or legislative services but did not reference
which type of legislative services task the firms bid on. This additional information is provided
below, and staff also references a brief note about each proposal for the Council.
Summary of Proposals by Proposed Service
Proposer Grant Consulting Federal Advocacy State Advocacy
Alcalde & Fay X X
California Consulting X
Darnell Shaw Environmental, SPC X X
Engineering Solutions Services X
Townsend Public Affairs X X X
Van Scoyoc Associates X
Additional information about the proposals:
•Alcalde & Fay: bid on grant consulting and federal legislative services. The proposal
demonstrated a strong understanding of the grant seeking climate as well as the
Washington DC culture but did not demonstrate a strong ability to apply those services
to Palo Alto’s needs.
•California Consulting Inc. bid on grant consulting services. This proposal was very short
and did not identify specifics on helping Palo Alto through the entire grants process
including compliance support.
•Darnell Shaw Environmental, SPC. bid on grant consulting and federal legislative
services. This proposal demonstrated competence in the environmental space but did
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not show an ability to address other Palo Alto priority areas such as housing and
economic recovery.
•Engineering Solutions Services bid on grant consulting. This proposal demonstrated an
ability to assist Palo Alto with pursuing some grants, but not for all the priority areas for
Palo Alto (such as housing and economic recovery). The proposal also spoke less to
assistance with grant compliance.
•Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. bid on grant consulting and state and federal legislative
services. As mentioned in the original staff report, this proposal demonstrated strong
relationships in the state and federal legislative advocacy realm with an ability to apply
them to Palo Alto-specific needs. For grants consulting, this bidder demonstrated an
ability to assist the City with grant searching, applications, and help on grant
compliance. This bidder was the only proposal for state legislative services. For both
state and federal legislative services, this bidder showed an ability to leverage
relationships in Sacramento and Washington, DC for Palo Alto’s needs and an ability to
easily have synergy between the teams doing state and federal advocacy.
•Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc. bid on federal legislative services. This proposal
demonstrated an ability to leverage relationships in Washington, DC for Palo Alto.
Next Steps
With the Council approval of the legislative workplan at the end of 2022, Council expressed
interest in multiple touch points throughout the year regarding legislation. The first one
planned is for the end of February/early March. This will allow the Council to discuss
performance expectations with the provider approved for state and federal legislative services.
With the state legislative session underway, this selection and follow-up is time sensitive to
allow the provider to receive guidance from Council and initiate advocacy in the current
session.
APPROVED BY:
Ed Shikada, City Manager
Item #2302-0913