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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 25-000275 |
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MEETING
DATE: |
05/20/25 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board
of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors district(s): |
3 |
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SUBMITTING Agency/Department: |
OC
Community Resources (Approved) |
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Department contact person(s): |
Dylan
Wright (714) 480-2788 |
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Pam
Passow (714) 973-6650 |
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Subject: Approve Contract for Irvine Ranch
Open Space Land Management Services
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ceo CONCUR |
County Counsel Review |
Clerk of the Board |
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Concur |
Approved
Agreement to Form |
Discussion |
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3
Votes Board Majority |
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Budgeted: N/A |
Current Year
Cost: N/A |
Annual Cost: FY 2025–26 $4,913,853 |
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Staffing Impact: |
No |
# of Positions: |
Sole Source: No |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: 11/18/2014 #9, 6/29/2010 #1 |
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RECOMMENDED
ACTION(S):
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1. |
Find that the
project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA), Class 1 (Existing Facilities) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section
15301. |
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2. |
Authorize the
County Procurement Officer or Deputized designee to execute Contract with
Irvine Ranch Conservancy, effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028, for
maintenance and administrative services for the Irvine Ranch Open Space in an
amount not to exceed $4,913,853 annually, for a cumulative contract amount
not to exceed $14,741,559, with the option to renew for one additional
two-year term. |
SUMMARY:
Approval of the Contract with
Irvine Ranch Conservancy will provide maintenance and administrative services
for the undeveloped open space County lands in east Orange County and a
management system for all OC Parks volunteers.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:
On June 29, 2010, the Board of Supervisors
(Board) approved the acceptance of approximately 20,000 acres of protected open
space land from the Irvine Company (2010 Donation Lands), subject to the
requirements of the Orange County Central and Coastal Subregion Natural
Community Conservation Plan (NCCP)/Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and
conservation easements held by The Nature Conservancy.
On November 18, 2014, the Board approved
the acceptance of approximately 2,500 acres of donated open space land from the
Irvine Company in Gypsum Canyon and East Orange adjacent to the 2010 Donation
Lands, of which approximately 2,000 acres are encumbered with conservation
easements held by the Orange County Parks Foundation.
As stipulated by the NCCP/HCP and as
required in the conservation easements, the County of Orange (County) must
implement policies and procedures for activities on the land based on an
“adaptive management” approach to balance habitat conservation with public
access. Critical to the adaptive management of the donated lands is performing
wildlife and vegetation monitoring, meeting annual reporting obligations and
continuously evaluating the impacts of public access and infrastructure on the
viability of target protected species to minimize adverse impacts to the
ecosystem. Information about the land and the County’s management practices
must be submitted annually to the conservation easement holders, as well as the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish
and Wildlife, which oversee NCCP/HCP-protected lands.
In order to effectively and responsibly
manage the land to protect natural and developed resources while preserving
exceptional park experiences, it was determined that contracting maintenance
and administrative services (Services) for the Irvine Ranch Open Space was
necessary due to the extensive scope and required level of expertise. Services
include, but are not limited to, habitat restoration and enhancement,
monitoring and research, invasive weed and pest survey and control, volunteer
program management and providing public access and programming. Many of the
natural resource management activities necessary to meet the County’s
obligations under the NCCP/HCP and conservation easements require specialized training
and education. Services provided by the Contractor will supplement the work
done by existing staff in the Irvine Ranch Open Space, such as providing park
ranger patrol, emergency response coverage, operations support and specialized
maintenance. An analysis was completed to determine that the Contract provides
the County with persons specially trained, experienced and competent to perform
the special services in accordance with the law.
On August 7, 2024, a Request for Proposal
for Services was posted on OpenGov, the County’s bidding system. One responsive
written proposal was received by the solicitation deadline of October 3, 2024.
The written proposal was evaluated by a panel of five subject matter experts
with experience in environmental monitoring and compliance, park operations and
maintenance, and volunteer and public programming management.
The written proposal was rated based on
predetermined criteria with a maximum score of 700 points. During the oral
interview, the respondent was asked predetermined questions and rated based on
predetermined criteria with a maximum score of 300 points. The respondent’s
final score is summarized below. Attachment A includes the individual evaluator
scores for the respondent:
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Respondent |
Final
Score (Max Score 1000) |
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Irvine Ranch Conservancy |
818 |
Based on the total scores, the evaluation
panel recommended award of the contract to the Irvine Ranch Conservancy (IRC).
IRC is an organization based in Southern California with over 40 years of
experience related to the Services under the Contract. They are well qualified
to provide Services to the area, having managed and stewarded the donated lands
on behalf of the Irvine Company prior to transfer of ownership to the County
and as the incumbent of the prior contract.
OC Community Resources/OC Parks (OCCR/OC
Parks) is now requesting Board approval of Contract MA-012-25011158 (Contract)
with IRC, effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028, in an amount not to
exceed $4,913,853 annually, for a cumulative contract amount not to exceed
$14,741,559, with the option to renew for one additional two-year term.
This Contract includes subcontractors. See
Attachment C for the Contract Summary Form. OCCR/OC Parks has verified there
are no concerns that must be addressed with respect to the vendor’s
ownership/name, litigation status or conflicts with County interests. The
non-profit has been verified to be in good standing. The Orange County
Preference Policy is not applicable to this Contract. No protests were
received. Reference checks have been conducted with The City of Irvine, City of
Newport Beach and the Orange County Transportation Authority and were
satisfactory.
Compliance
with CEQA: The
proposed project is Categorically Exempt (Class 1) from the provisions of CEQA
pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 because it provides for the
maintenance and operation of existing public facilities involving negligible or
no expansion of existing use.
FINANCIAL
IMPACT:
Appropriations for this contract
will be included in the OC Parks Fund 405 FY 2025–26 Budget and will be
included in the budgeting process for future years.
The proposed Contract includes a provision
stating the Contract is subject to, and contingent upon, applicable budgetary
appropriations approved by the Board for each fiscal year during the term of
this Contract. If such appropriations are not approved, this Contract may be
terminated with 30 days' notice without penalty to the County.
STAFFING
IMPACT:
N/A
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment
A – Evaluator Score Summary
Attachment B – Contract MA-012-25011158 with Irvine Ranch Conservancy
Attachment C – Contract Summary Form