Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Steve Monowitz, Community Development Director
Subject: Agreement with 4LEAF INC., CSG Consultants, and TRB + Associates to Provide Plan Check Building Inspection Services
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Adopt a resolution authorizing:
A) The President of the Board of Supervisors to execute agreements for Plan Check and Building Inspection Services with:
1. 4LEAF INC., for services beginning July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025, in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000; and
2. CSG Consultants for services beginning July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025, in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000, and
3. TRB + Associates for services beginning July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025, in an amount not to exceed $800,000; and
B) The Community Development Director, or the Director’s designee, to execute amendments to the agreements to modify the maximum fiscal obligation by no more than $25,000 (in aggregate per agreement), and/or modify the agreements’ terms and/or services, so long as the modified term(s) and/or services is/are within the current or revised fiscal provisions.
body
BACKGROUND:
In 2012, the Planning and Building Department entered into a contract with CSG Consultants (“CSG”) for the provision of building plan review services, with an original term of August 27, 2012 through August 30, 2014, and total contract amount of $50,000. Since the initial contract execution, the Department has renewed or amended the contract several times and has a current agreement through June 30, 2022.
In 2020, the Planning and Building Department entered into a contract with 4LEAF INC., (“4LEAF”) for the provision of building plan review services, with an original term of February 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, and total contract amount of $200,000. Since the initial contract execution, the Department has amended the contract several times, including adding building permit technician and inspection services, and has a current agreement through June 30, 2022.
In 2022, the Planning and Building Department entered into a contract with TRB + Associates (“TRB”) for the provision of building plan review, inspection, and permit technician services with an original term of March 21, 2022 through August 30, 2022, and total contract amount of $200,000.
DISCUSSION:
The Department recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for plan review, building inspection, and permitting services and is now in the process of ratifying the proposals received from the selected vendors. After careful consideration, it was determined that each of the selected firms support the County Shared Vision 2025 goal of livable communities by facilitating the processing of building permits in a timely manner for applicants, and by bolstering inspection and permitting staff levels, when necessary, to better accommodate historically heavy workloads coupled with County staff shortages.
Three firms were selected based on their proven abilities to provide the necessary and desired services and to offer the County better coverage overlap than utilizing only one or two firms (as is currently the case) due to the skilled labor shortages currently affecting the Greater Bay Area at this time. The firms selected each offer the same services yet will also provide key strengths in differing areas, including:
4 Leaf: This firm has proven to be highly flexible and has the largest pool of available building inspectors, which allows supervisory staff a more choices to better meet the needs of our customers. It also has been able to fill various other staffing needs from time to time, such as permit technicians and managerial staff.
CSG: This firm processes most of our plan reviews and has demonstrated that it can meet deadlines, work well with our customers and staff, and that it reliably performs quality plan reviews.
TRB + Associates: The smaller of the three firms, TRB has demonstrated in just a short period of time its ability to provide highly skilled individuals on short notice to quickly backfill or bolster some of our key positions, such as permit technicians and building inspectors. Having them onboard affords the County more options for providing its services within a quickly evolving operational environment.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Sufficient appropriations have been included in the FY 2021-22 Adopted Budget so there is no Net County Cost associated with this contract.