Gilroy council pauses on award for stormwater trash-capture devices after questions on cost, maintenance

City staff presented a recommendation to award a bid to Apex Companies for $189,800 to install certified small trash capture devices in up to 80 catch basins and requested a $60,200 contingency (total $250,000). The council did not approve the contract at Monday's meeting and took no action after an extended discussion about contingency size, ongoing maintenance, and compliance with state trash regulations.

Mark Johnson, the city's environmental programs manager, told council that the devices are certified by the State Water Resources Control Board as full trash-capture devices that prevent the discharge of particles 5 millimeters and larger. He said the city had chosen the first compliance track requiring full trash capture devices in 100% of catch basins in priority land-use areas. Staff recommended funding from the Stormwater Management Fund.

Johnson presented the low bid from Apex Companies (base bid $165,800; additive alternative for two years' annual cleaning $24,000; total $189,800). He said the larger contingency was requested because this is the city's first project of this kind and any unspent funds could be used for additional installations. Councilmembers pressed staff about contingency size, whether other jurisdictions had needed contingencies, and how often the devices would require cleaning. Johnson said Apex would clean annually under the bid alternate but that additional cleaning by city crews could be required in tree-lined neighborhoods.

Councilmembers raised concerns about the devices clogging with leaves in Gilroy's "tree city" neighborhoods and the potential that annual cleaning by the vendor would be insufficient. One council member calculated a rough estimate of about 500 devices would be required to meet state requirements by 02/19/30 and suggested a $1 million program cost at current per-device prices. Another noted street sweeping and public education are also part of the compliance framework.

After public comment and further council discussion, no motion was made to award the contract; staff will return with revised materials at a future meeting. Johnson told council staff chose Track 1 over Track 2 to avoid interpretive risk with state regulators.