Huntington Park council awards parks landscape contract to SLA, adds 66% local-hire requirement

The Huntington Park City Council voted to award a five‑year landscape maintenance contract to SLA on Tuesday and approved a council amendment requiring at least 66% of the contractor’s workforce to be Huntington Park residents by the contract’s second year.

Public works staff told the council that eight firms submitted proposals in response to the RFP and that staff interviewed the top six bidders before producing the rankings presented to council. Director Lopez said staff ranked firms on compliance, qualifications, references and cost, and that cost played a strong role in the scoring.

Why it matters: The new contract governs routine maintenance for city parks and public landscapes and is expected to influence local hiring, union labor use and annual parks maintenance costs. Council members emphasized local hiring and community benefits during debate: supporters said the winning firm proposed workforce-development elements and local hiring, while other members pressed staff about references, firm locations and prior performance.

Key details and debate: Council members and staff discussed apparent errors in some proposals (monthly vs. annual math), union requirements for landscape maintenance and reference checks. One council member noted Elite and SLA conducted stronger proposals and that SLA’s bid was the lowest by roughly $200,000 per year compared with the highest competitive offers, which staff said affected scoring. Staff also reported follow‑up calls with references, including a Westminster reference that rated Elite highly and described the firm as competitive in the market.

Local‑hire amendment and contract terms: During the motion to award the contract, councilmember speakers proposed and accepted a friendly amendment requiring contractors to reach a local‑hire threshold of 66% (two‑thirds) of the workforce by the second year of the five‑year agreement. Councilmember Macias asked staff to clarify that "local hire" referred to employees living in Huntington Park; that clarification was affirmed during the meeting. Council members also discussed more aggressive targets (including rhetoric about later reaching higher percentages), but the formal requirement approved at the meeting is 66% by year two; staff will finalize contract language with the selected firm during post‑award negotiations.

Formal action: The council motion to award the contract to SLA, with the accepted amendment to require 66% Huntington Park local hire by the contract’s second year, passed on a roll-call vote: Council member Macias — Yes; Council member Martis — Yes; Council member Sanabria — Yes; Vice Mayor Martinez — Yes; Mayor Flores — Yes.

Next steps: Staff will finalize contract terms with SLA and incorporate the local‑hire language agreed to by the council. Council members instructed staff to ensure the contract reflects the council’s direction on local hiring and to verify unionized labor requirements.