REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL December 1, 2016 FROM: BRUCE RUDD, City Manager SUBJECT ..Title Approve amendment to Professional Cleanup Services Agreement with Lowell Property Services, LLC., to include the Jefferson neighborhood in the amount of $2,750 for one month to perform an initial clean up, and then $1,750 per month for weekly cleaning and reporting services[PS1]. ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends Council approve the amendment of an existing three year agreement due to expire December 31, 2018 [PS2]for professional cleanup services in the Lowell, Kirk, and Yokomi neighborhoods to now include the expansion of these services into the Jefferson neighborhood in the amount of $2,750 for one month, and $1,750 every month thereafter. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Beginning in January 2015, Lowell Property Services began maintaining the Lowell alleyways. Since then, the Yokomi, and Kirk alleyways have been added to their regular service schedule. Staff now recommends expanding the work to the Jefferson neighborhood, with hopes of reducing service in early 2017 for neighborhoods where the condition of alleyways has become sustainable. BACKGROUND Lowell Property services (LPS) was retained on a three-year contract to clean up the Lowell and Yokomi community alleys on a weekly schedule, and the Kirk community alleys on a bi-weekly schedule. LPS routinely removes abandoned items left in alleys, sweeps up glass and sharps, provides weed control, and repairs minor potholes. In addition to the cleanup services, LPS is a partner to the City and Police Department (PD) in these challenging areas. LPS reports graffiti to the Fresno Graffiti team, criminal activity and homeless encampments to PD, code violations to Community Revitalization, and provides video surveillance equipment for extremely problematic illegal dumping areas. This extra layer of reporting and surveillance uniquely qualifies LPS to continue servicing this area. Staff also recommends expanding these services into the neighboring Jefferson community by adding it to the terms of the existing contract. The community revitalization division of DARM has been working in the Jefferson neighborhood since March 2016 and has experienced challenges in holding property owners accountable for maintaining their alleyways when much of the clutter is a result of illegal dumping. The City has struggled to keep up with the alleyways city-wide, and based upon past experience in Lowell, Jefferson, and Kirk, a strategy to maintain alleys begins with an initial clean-up. Once the initial clean-up is completed it provides community revitalization a "clean slate" by which to evaluate the source of the dumping and to gain compliance. Over time, the community (and those dumping in its alleyways) learns that dumping items in the alleyways is not a legal or viable solution for disposing of unwanted items, and the condition of alleyways are maintained.[KF3] Because this has been community revitalization's experience, within the next few months it is anticipated that services will no longer be needed in at least one of the neighborhoods in which LPS is working. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS A clean up services agreement is not a project for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act. LOCAL PREFERENCE Local preference was not implemented however LPS is a local business. FISCAL IMPACT The yearly agreement amount of $61,200 (with 3% increases in 2017 and 2018 for wage increases included in the existing contract) will be paid through Community Sanitation funds. Attachment: Lowell Property Services, LLC. Agreement [PS1]I chose not to mention our January 2017 timeline so Council doesn't hold us to that if it takes a couple more months to get the fence issue fixed by CalTrans. Right call? [PS2]Please confirm. I don't have a copy of the original document. [KF3]I would allude to the ending of the clean up in Kirk here, not by name, but "anticipate that services will no longer be needed within the next three months" or something along those lines so they can see this isn't just growing.....