Agenda - Council Work Session - 01/14/2014

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CC Work Session 2. 1. Meeting Date: 01/14/2014 Information Title: Review Request for Proposal Requirements for Building Inspection, Electrical Inspection, and Land Use Planning Division Professional Services Purpose /Background: The purpose of this case is to seek City Council feedback on extending the requirement to request new proposals for professional services within the Community Development to the end of 2015, rather than within 2014. The Community Development Department currently has three (3) contracts for professional services to balance staff and service level. These professional services are intended to supplement City Staff without the need to add an additional full -time employee, based on service levels. Each of these services provided ensure adequate service delivery by supplementing Staff on an as- needed basis. The City's Professional Services Policy states that the City shall issue Requests for Proposals every three (3) years, with the ability of the City Council to extend that to a total of five (5) years. To the extent possible for consistency purposes, Staff would like to discuss extending the request for proposal process to the full five (5) years allowed under the policy. There is a cost in Staff time to prepare, review, and implement requests for proposals. There is also the potential for minor disruptions in service delivery if a new firm is selected during a transition period. This topic report is intended to introduce the topic of requests for proposals within the Community Development for professional services to frame future cases for consideration. Building Code Administration The City contracts with Inspectron, Inc. for building inspections and plan review services. The current contract was executed in 2011. Inspectron charges a flat -rate of $50 per hour for these services. There is no request by Inspectron to amend these rates. For all of 2012 and a portion of 2013, Inspectron additionally provided the State- required Building Official for the City. Inspectron has successfully completed the obligations of the contract, and is able to provide twenty -four (24) hours of service per week at the request of the City. Per the approved contract, the City is not obligated to provide a minimum amount of hours. In other words, if there is not the demand for the service, the City does not have to schedule hours and can maintain the existing contract. The contract is auto - renewing, with cancelation provisions included within the contract (45 days), with no minimum hours guaranteed by the City. In a cursory review this summer, there were multiple firms providing similar services that would be interested in submitting a proposal for future consideration, but did not currently have the capacity to take on additional obligations unless a long -term contract were provided. If the City Council desired to request new proposals, Staff would anticipate multiple proposals. The 2014 Budget includes a full -time Building Inspector. At that time, the Inspectron contract could be used on an as- needed basis in the event that service levels demands exceed available staffing. Alternatives related to this contract include: 1. Continue the contract in its current form and request new proposals at the end of 2015 (extended professional services policy) 1. Staff suggests the end of 2015 in order to be ready for the 2016 building season rather than making a