AGENDA TITLE:
title
Adopt a Resolution Rejecting Protest and Awarding Contract for 2026-2028 Tree Maintenance Project to Elite Maintenance & Tree Service, of Ceres ($616,700), and Execute Change Orders ($100,000) (PW)
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MEETING DATE:
August 5, 2026
PREPARED BY:
Sean Nathan, Interim Public Works Director
recommendation
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Adopt a resolution rejecting protest and awarding contract for 2026-2028 Tree Maintenance to Elite Maintenance & Tree Service, of Ceres, in the amount of $616,700 and authorizing City Manager to execute change orders in an amount not-to-exceed $100,000.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
This on-call contract provides for the structural pruning, maintenance trimming, stump grinding, emergency calls, removal of City trees, pest control, and tree planting at various locations throughout the City for Fiscal Years 2026/27 and 2027/28. The main objective of this contract is to provide a safe and healthy urban forest and to reduce costs associated with this effort. The initial contract term is two years and includes two optional, one-year extensions, for a total of four years, if all extensions are executed. If the extensions are utilized, staff will bring the contract back to council to identify the source of the additional funding and to authorize the associated increase in change order authority.
The bid opening was held on May 8, 2026. There were 6 bids received and 4 of them were responsive. The responsive bids are summarized below.
Bidder Location Bid Above/(Below)
Estimate
Engineer’s Estimate $ 784,700.00
Elite Maintenance & Tree Ceres $ 616,700.00 $(168,000.00)
West Coast Arborists, Inc. Anaheim $ 684,920.00 $(99,780.00)
Professional Tree Care Comp Berkeley $ 999,750.00 $ 215,050.00
New Image Landscape Comp Fremont $ 1,155,050.00 $ 370,350.00
The City received a protest letter (Exhibit A) from the second lowest bidder, West Coast Arborists, Inc. (WCA), dated May 8, 2026, claiming the bid submitted by Elite Maintenance & Tree Service does not meet the minimum qualifications required under the contract documents. In response to the protest letter, staff investigated the allegations and determined that the low bidder, Elite Maintenance & Tree Service (Elite) does in fact meet the minimum qualifications required, and should be awarded the contract as reflected in the City’s response letter, dated May 28, 2026 (Exhibit B).
During the June 17 Council meeting, a representative from WCA reiterated their protest during the public comment period and requested that the Council award the contract to them instead. Through an unintentional issue with the comment cards, no other members of the public (including Elite) were given an opportunity to speak on the item, and Council voted to push the item to a later date in order to get more information about the WCA claims as well as ensure public comment was sufficiently heard.
Since that council meeting, staff internally reviewed the steps taken with the original qualification verification and came to the same conclusion that Elite Maintenance & Tree Service meets the requirements set forth in the bid specifications and therefore staff’s recommendation is to award the contract to Elite Maintenance & Tree Service in the amount of $616,700. This amount is intended to cover the initial term of the contract (two years). The actual funds spent each Fiscal Year will not exceed the amount included in the adopted budget for that Fiscal Year and/or otherwise appropriated by Council. The funding utilized for contract extensions will be subject to Council approval at a future meeting. The change order authority is intended to provide contract flexibility should another Department/Division need to utilize the services of this contract. This commonly occurs with the Parks Department, the Transit Division, and the Facilities Division.
In response to the June 17 Council meeting, Elite has provided a letter to the City, which is included as Exhibit C.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The funding of ongoing tree maintenance improves the long-term health of the City’s trees, which reduces the number of emergency issues and the risk to the health and safety of the community.
FUNDING AVAILABLE:
Funding for this work comes from adopted operating budgets for Fiscal Years 2026/27. (Landscape/Trees Misc. Contract Services - 30156004.72499). Fiscal Year 2027/28 (and any executed extensions) will come out of the same fund, however that expenditure will be dependent on Council’s Budget adoption for those associated fiscal years.