Title
AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH
CHRISTY WEBBER & COMPANY FOR GRANT PARK AND MUSEUM CAMPUS LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE SERVICES
SPECIFICATION P-16019
Body
To the Honorable Board of Commissioners of the Chicago Park District
I. Recommendation
It is recommended that the General Superintendent and CEO or his designee enter into a contract with Christy Webber & Company for the purpose of providing landscape maintenance services in Grant Park and Museum Campus. The contractor was selected pursuant to a publicly advertised Request for Proposals (“RFP”). No work may commence and no payment shall be made to vendor prior to the execution of a written agreement
II. Award Information
Company: Christy Webber & Company
2900 W. Ferdinand St.
Chicago, IL 60612
Company Type: Business Corporation
Majority Interest: Christy Webber 100%
Contract Term: Two (2) years, with three (3) additional one (1) year extension options.
Contract Amount: $2,400,000.00 for the initial 2-year term, not to exceed $1,200,000.00 annually for standard on-going landscape maintenance services as defined in the RFP. As discussed in the RFP, miscellaneous landscape maintenance services will be requested on an as needed basis. Accordingly, the amount expended annually for these services will depend upon requirements and if requested will be in addition to the amount for standard on-going landscape maintenance services. If extension options are exercised, funding shall be based upon available annual appropriations.
Scope of Services: To maintain the landscape in Grant Park and Museum Campus in a consistently well-groomed, aesthetically pleasing state with healthy, vigorous, thriving plantings. The responsibilities of Christy Webber & Company include standard landscape maintenance operations, and miscellaneous landscape services.
Standard landscape maintenance operations will be performed on a regular or consistent basis and include seasonal and ongoing maintenance of landscape elements, including planting beds and plant material, trees, shrubs, groundcover, vines, perennials, ornamental grasses, and turf; seasonal and ongoing landscape maintenance generally includes weeding, watering, mulching, pruning, pest and disease management, etc. Landscape maintenance operations also include specialized maintenance of the Rose Garden in Grant Park, planting and maintenance of the floral urns in Museum Campus, and irrigation systems maintenance.
Miscellaneous landscape services will be performed on an as-needed basis, and may include turf repair; installation of turf seed and/or sod; planting; supplying and installing landscape materials and soil amendments; irrigation systems; repair; installation of temporary landscape protection fencing, pavers, and aggregate bike trail surfacing; soil testing, evaluation and remediation; and organic turf and landscape management.
Affirmative
Action Goals: The Minority- and Women-Owned Participation for this contract include: 26% Minority-Owned and 74% Women-Owned.
Authorization: Authorize the General Counsel to include other relevant terms and conditions in the written Agreement. Authorize the General Superintendent to execute the Agreement and the Secretary to attest as to the signing of the Agreement and keep an original copy of the Agreement on file.
III. Budget and Financial Information
Budget Classification: Operating
Fiscal Year: 2017
Source of Funds: 001.8450.8450.626025.01.01.01.00001
IV. Procurement Information
Specification Number: P-16019
Date Issued: November 29, 2016
Date of Pre-Submittal Meeting: December 13, 2016
Date Proposals Due: December 27, 2016
Number of Proposals Received: Five (5)
This contract was publicly advertised as a Request for Proposals (“RFP”).
Five (5) proposals were received on the due date and one (1) proposal was found by the Department of Purchasing (“Purchasing”) to be non-responsive with the requirements specified in the RFP and removed from consideration
Accordingly, four (4) proposals were found by Purchasing to be both responsive and compliant.
The Evaluation Committee (“EC”) was comprised of five (5) voting members, all CPD staff. The EC began their evaluation of the proposals at their first meeting on February 6, 2017. They met again on February 10, 2017 and decided at the conclusion of their meeting to invite all four (4) proposers to oral presentations. Oral presentations were held on February 15 - 17, and each session lasted approximately one hour. The EC met once following oral presentations, and at the end of their meeting on February 22, 2017 they decided to send a request for Best and Final Offers to all proposers on February 17, 2017. Purchasing received the Best and Final Offers on February 22, 2017, and the EC met on February 22 to continue their evaluation and review of the Best and Final Offers. The EC concluded their evaluation and unanimously scored Christy Webber the highest.
V. Explanation
Proudly referred to as Chicago’s “front yard,” Grant Park is among the city’s most beautiful and historically significant parks. Just south of Grant Park, the Museum Campus is a pedestrian-friendly, lavishly planted landscape which links the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium. Each year these sites host millions of visitors who come to experience the gardens, fountains and breathtaking lakefront views and to enjoy the many festivals, events, and world-class museums.
The complexity and extent of the plantings, combined with the intensive public use, have resulted in rigorous landscape maintenance requirements for both sites; experience has shown that the sites require a very high standard of maintenance that can best be accomplished through contract. Therefore, the Chicago Park District requires the services of a firm to keep Grant Park and the Museum Campus in a clean, well groomed, well maintained, safe condition at all times.
Christy Webber & Company has many years’ experience providing excellent landscape maintenance services in both Grant Park and Museum Campus. They have the demonstrated capacity and the qualified and experienced personnel necessary to meet the Chicago Park District’s stringent requirements to maintain these high-profile landscapes. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the CPD to recommend Christy Webber & Company for award for the Grant Park and Museum Campus Landscape Maintenance Services contract.