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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 21-001158 |
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MEETING DATE: |
02/08/22 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors
district(s): |
All Districts |
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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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Tom Starnes (949) 585-6432 |
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Subject: Approve OC Parks Public
Relations Services Contract
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ceo CONCUR |
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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: Yes |
Current Year Cost:
$75,000 |
Annual Cost:
FY 2022–23 $301,125 |
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Staffing Impact: |
No |
# of Positions:
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Sole Source:
No |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: 2/9/2021
#4, 2/11/2020 #14, 2/26/2019 #24, 1/23/2018 #13, 1/24/2017 #11 |
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RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Authorize the County Procurement Officer or authorized Deputy to execute the contract with The ACE Agency, Inc. for Public Relations Services from April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2025, in an amount not to exceed $300,000, for the first year, to be contractually increased by 1.5 percent of the then-current not to exceed amount, for a cumulative total contract amount of $913,568, for three years, with the option to renew for two additional one-year terms.
SUMMARY:
Approval of the contract with The ACE Agency, Inc. will provide Public Relations Services that will produce a comprehensive public communications and outreach program for OC Parks facilities.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Public relations and media management services (Services) are utilized by OC Community Resources/OC Parks (OCCR/OC Parks) to promote and provide outreach and information to the public for the many varied facilities and recreational opportunities at various OCCR/OC Parks facilities. OC Parks has a small staff that oversee public relations and media management, including the Public Information Officer, but they have a high volume of communications responsibilities such as managing the website, brochures and maps, social media, print media and press releases, interfacing with local media outlets, and marketing for public events and activities. After an evaluation of internal resources, it was determined that it would be more cost-effective to use a contractor to augment in-house Services.
On March 29, 2016, after a competitive procurement process, OCCR/OC Parks entered into Contract MA-012-16011797 (Prior Contract) with The ACE Agency, Inc. (ACE) for Services, effective from April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2017. On August 9, 2016, Amendment One to the Prior Contract was administratively issued for a non-material change to specify the Prior Contract not-to-exceed amount of $95,000. On January 24, 2017, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Amendment Two to the Prior Contract to expand services. Amendment Two increased the Prior Contract’s not-to-exceed amount to $300,000 annually and renewed the Prior Contract through March 31, 2018. On January 23, 2018, the Board approved Amendment Three to the Prior Contract to renew the Prior Contract for a term through March 31, 2019, with no change to the Prior Contract’s not-to-exceed amount of $300,000. Amendment Four to the Prior Contract was approved by the Board on February 26, 2019, to renew the Prior Contract for a term through March 31, 2020, with no change to the Prior Contract’s not-to-exceed amount of $300,000 annually. Amendment Five to the Prior Contract was approved by the Board on February 11, 2020, to renew the Prior Contract for a term through March 31, 2021, with no change to the Prior Contract’s not-to-exceed amount of $300,000 annually. On February 9, 2021, the Prior Contract’s term was extended by the Board through March 31, 2022, for the sixth year in an amount not to exceed $300,000. Prior to the expiration of the current Contract, OCCR/OC Parks issued a Request for Proposals.
On September 16, 2021, a Request for Proposal was posted on Periscope Source for Services and two proposals were received by the bid end date of October 7, 2021. The proposals were evaluated by a five-member panel comprised of two OC Parks staff members involved with communications, one OC Parks staff member involved with public relations and marketing, one OCCR staff member involved with public relations and marketing and one public information officer involved in public relations and marketing from a municipality in Northern California. The Orange County Preference Policy (OCPP) was applicable and incorporated into this solicitation. One proposal submitted qualified for OCPP. Based on final scoring, the contract was awarded to an OCPP qualified vendor under the Orange County Local Small Business preference policy receiving a five-percentage point advantage. The written proposals were rated based on the following predetermined criteria with an overall weight of 75 percent:
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Criteria |
Weight |
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Approach and Understanding of Scope of Work |
30% |
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Experience, Technical Expertise and Qualifications |
30% |
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References |
20% |
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Cost of Proposal |
20% |
The respondents were also rated during an oral interview based on the following predetermined criteria with an overall weight of 25 percent:
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Criteria |
Weight |
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Qualifications/Experience/Technical Expertise |
20% |
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Understanding/Deliverables |
20% |
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Implementation/Plan/Schedule |
30% |
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Control of Cost |
30% |
The weighted scores for the firms are summarized below. Attachment A includes the individual evaluator scores and scores for the firms.
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Firm |
Written (75%) |
Oral (25%) |
OCPP (5%) |
Total |
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ACE |
66 |
21 |
5 |
92 |
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S Groner Associates, Inc. |
57 |
22 |
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79 |
ACE received the highest score and is a qualified Orange County firm with 12 years of experience related to the Services under the proposed contract. OCCR/OC Parks staff have conducted due diligence on the contractor. Reference checks were satisfactory and completed with Dana Point Harbor/Burnham-Ward Properties, Irvine Ranch Conservatory and Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.
The recommended Contract MA-012-22010856 (Contract) with ACE is for an initial term of three years, with two additional one-year renewal terms. If approved, Services will begin on April 1, 2022, continuing through March 31, 2025, in an amount not to exceed $300,000 annually for the first year, to be contractually increased by 1.5 percent of the then-current not-to-exceed amount, for a cumulative total Contract amount of $913,568, for three years, with the option to renew for two one-year terms. This contract includes subcontractors. See Attachment C for Contract Summary Form
ACE’s performance has been confirmed as satisfactory. OCCR/OC Parks has verified there are no concerns that must be addressed with respect to ACE’s ownership/name, litigation status or conflicts with County interests.
The Contract with ACE includes services such as: development of an annual communications/public relations plan; media, social media and website support; press releases and follow-up; promotional photography, and videography; obtaining a subscription to Cision’s media monitoring services and generation of monthly communications reports; and advertising.
Compliance with CEQA: This action is not a project within the meaning of CEQA Guidelines, Section 15378 and is therefore not subject to CEQA, since it does not have the potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The approval of this agenda item does not commit the County to a definite course of action in regard to a project because it consists of a comprehensive public communications and outreach program for OC Parks facilities for information and educational purposes only. This proposed activity is therefore not subject to CEQA. Any future action connected to this approval that constitutes a project will be reviewed for compliance with CEQA.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Appropriations for this Contract are included in OC Parks Fund 405 FY 2021–22 Budget and will be included in the budgeting process for future years.
For the three-year period of April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2025, the first year of the Contract has a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000, which will be contractually increased each year by 1.5 percent of the then-current not-to-exceed amount, for a cumulative total not-to-exceed amount of $913,568.
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 immediately terminated or modified without penalty to the County.
STAFFING IMPACT:
N/A
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment A — Evaluator Score Summary
Attachment B — Contract MA-012-22010856 with The ACE Agency, Inc.
Attachment C — Contract Summary Form