REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
October 26, 2021
FROM
TERRI RAHHAL, Director, Land Use Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with PlaceWorks, Inc. for the Countywide Plan
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 5 to Contract 15-248 with PlaceWorks, Inc., with no change to the total contract amount of $5,849,470, to extend the term through December 31, 2022, for a total contract period of May 20, 2015 through December 31, 2022.
(Presenter: Terri Rahhal, Land Use Services Director, 387-4431)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Ensure Development of a Well-Planned, Balanced, and Sustainable County.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the additional use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The recommended contract amendment will not modify the funding allocated to the Countywide Plan. Sufficient appropriation has been included in the Land Use Services (LUS) Department Planning Division 2021-22 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets as needed.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In 2014, San Bernardino County (County) began a program to expand on the Countywide Vision by creating a policy framework for a “Complete County” to be known as the Countywide Plan (CWP). The CWP functions as the County General Plan and also ties together additional policies to encompass all County services. The CWP has a web-based format that will link to other digital resources, such as County Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data. PlaceWorks, Inc. (Placeworks) is the lead consultant engaged to prepare the CWP and launch the CWP website.
On October 27, 2020 (Item No. 100), the Board of Supervisors (Board) adopted the CWP. However, full implementation of the CWP entails presentation through a new web site. The final tasks remaining for Placeworks to complete this project are related to launching of the CWP web site and providing user training for staff. No additional funding allocation is required for this work to be completed, but an extension of the term of the contract is necessary. Initially, it was planned for the implementation phase to be completed in one year following adoption of the CWP. Unfortunately, the work on web-based data presentation was somewhat delayed during the recent pandemic that required extensive web-based data presentation. The proposed extension of the contract term to December 31, 2022, will be sufficient to complete the CWP project, and no additional funding is requested. Following is the history of past Board actions on this contract.
On May 19, 2015 (Item No. 37), the Board approved Contract No. 15-248 with PlaceWorks, Inc. (PlaceWorks) in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000 ($4,800,000 for contracted services plus $200,000 for contingency) for the preparation of the CWP and a Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) with an original term of four years, ending May 20, 2019. A comprehensive update of the County’s General Plan was included in the scope of services for this contract.
On October 6, 2015 (Item No. 35), the Board approved Amendment No. 1 to increase the not-to-exceed amount by $410,000, from $5,000,000 to $5,410,000, expanding the Scope of Work to include public outreach and communication services and technical support for the Countywide Plan and Community Plans Continuum, with no change to the contract term.
On April 18, 2017 (Item No. 26), the Board approved Amendment No. 2 to increase the not-to-exceed amount by $230,000, from $5,410,000 to $5,640,000, expanding the Scope of Work to comply with SB 379 (Natural Hazards) and SB 1000 (Environmental Justice), with no change to the contract term.
On April 16, 2019 (Item No. 25), the Board approved Amendment No. 3 to extend the term of the contract for one year and five months, from May 20, 2019 through October 20, 2020, with no change to the contract amount. This action exceeded the standard contract term of five years stated in County Policy 11-5 by five months.
On February 11, 2020 (Item No. 46), the Board approved Amendment No. 4 to increase the not-to-exceed amount by $209,470, from $5,640,000 to $5,849,470, expanding the Scope of Work to address responses to the Program EIR and for additional work on the GIS database and related administrative tasks, and to extend the term of the contract through October 20, 2021. This final extension request exceeds the standard five-year term for a County contract by a total of one year and five months. The extensive scope of services required to complete the Countywide Plan, combined with implementation delays experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic presented extraordinary circumstances requiring a non-standard term of service.
The current extension request, if approved on October 26, 2021, requires retroactive approval to extend the contract without interruption. The up-coming expiration of the contract was overlooked due to an administrative oversight. Protocols for communication and verification of contract status have been reviewed and emphasized with staff to prevent recurrence.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jason Searles, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on October 7, 2021; Purchasing (Bruce Cole, Supervising Buyer, 387-2148) on October 7, 2021; Finance (Kathleen Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst III, 387-5412) on October 8, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on October 8, 2021.