DATE: February 5, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Fire Department
TITLE: AMENDMENT 3 TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH BUREAU VERITAS NORTH AMERICA, INC. FOR LIFE SAFETY PLAN REVIEW SERVICES
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends that the City Council approve Amendment 3 to the Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with Bureau Veritas North America, Inc., in the amount of $62,915, for a new agreement total of $272,475 for consultant Fire and Life Safety Plan Review Services; and authorize the City Manager to execute the amendment.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
On September 9, 2020, the City Council approved a two-year PSA with Bureau Veritas in the amount of $567,840, for plan review services. Prior to this approval, staff conducted a Request for Proposal and selected Bureau Veritas as the most qualified firm to provide the consultant services.
On September 14, 2022, the City Council approved Amendment 1 to the PSA, increasing the contract by $122,200. Additionally, on April 5, 2023, the City Council approved an additional $15,750 to cover extra plan review hours.
On June 26, 2024, the City Council approved Amendment 2 to the PSA, extending the PSA for an additional two years, amounting to $209,560, for additional hours of plan review services.
Since Amendment 2 was approved in 2024, one of the two authorized Fire Plans Examiner positions in the Fire Department has remained unfilled. Despite an open recruitment process, no qualified candidates were found, which has led to the need for continued and increased contract work for plan review services not contemplated at the time of Amendment 2.
Amendment 3 outlines the scope of work and compensation adjustment for professional fire plan review services. Beginning January 1, 2026, the pay rate for the current contract employee will increase, resulting in a higher hourly cost under the PSA. The Bureau Veritas contract employee is scheduled to work 30 hours per week for the remaining six months of FY 2024-25. Once the recruitment and hiring of a new full-time city employee to perform the required work is completed, this amendment ensures the continuation of the contract employee’s 10-hour per week workload for the remainder of the two-year PSA.
The contract employee, in combination with two existing full-time Fire Plans Examiners, primarily performs plan reviews for the Fire Department. Under normal circumstances, the quantity and tempo of required plan reviews for new projects within the city does not necessitate three full-time Fire Plans Examiners; however, the workload is currently beyond what two full-time employees can effectively complete. A continuance of the Bureau Veritas contract employee on a part-time basis ensures the Fire Department's ability to maintain 100% compliance with established project review timelines.
Specific duties performed by the contract employee include, but are not limited to, providing comprehensive and accurate fire and life safety plan review services to ensure compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local safety laws, ordinances, and codes; reviewing site plans for access and water supply; fire protection systems, including fire sprinkler, fire alarm, and kitchen hood extinguishing systems; and conducting other types of plan reviews as part of various fire code permitted activities.
Bureau Veritas has been providing plan review services for several years, and the staff is satisfied with its performance and responsiveness. This amendment ensures the continuation of Bureau Veritas’ services.
FISCAL IMPACT
The total cost of Amendment 3 is $62,915, bringing the total contract amount to $272,475. The cost for FY 2024-25 is $201,755, while the cost for FY 2025-26 is $70,720, which will be funded through the normal budget process. To cover the shortfall in FY 2024-25 a transfer of $53,555 from account 550551101.5306 to account 550551101.5305 is required, ensuring that sufficient funds will be available.
|
Description |
Amount |
Account |
Funding Source |
Available Balance |
|
FY2024/25 |
$53,555 |
Community Risk Reduction 550551101.5305 |
Community Risk Reduction 550551101.5306 |
$64,079 |
|
FY2025/26 |
$9,360 |
Community Risk Reduction 550551101.5305 |
|
Will be funded during the budget process |
|
Total |
$62,915 |
|
|
|
COMMISSION OR COMMITTEE REPORT
This item will be presented to the Police and Fire Commission at its regular meeting on March 20, 2025.
CITY ATTORNEY’S ANALYSIS
The referenced documents have been reviewed by the City Attorney and approved as to form.
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Prepared by: Alicia Mendoza, Management Analyst
Reviewed by: David Parsons, Fire Chief
Submitted by: Jonathan Borrego, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Staff Report
2. Fee Proposal
3. Amendment 3