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Orinda Council authorizes Opticos contract for objective design standards, caps cost at $140,000
Summary
After discussion about single-bid risks and scopes, the Orinda City Council authorized the city manager to sign a contract with Opticos to prepare objective design standards, with a not-to-exceed amount of $140,000 and some tasks made optional.
The Orinda City Council on Feb. 18 authorized the city manager to enter into a contract with consultant Opticos to prepare objective design standards for parts of the city, setting a not-to-exceed cap of $140,000.
City staff and council members spent more than an hour discussing the single proposal the city received, whether the scope could be reduced or placed on a time-and-materials basis, and how quickly the city needs the standards in place for impending rezonings and for reporting to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Director Cross said staff received a single proposal and had negotiated reductions before bringing it to the council. “I actually already reduced this scope by about 27,000,” Director Cross said. She told the council she reviewed comparable contracts in other jurisdictions and found the Opticos price to be in the same range as other recent contracts, noting past downtown work that had cost about $130,000 but benefited from a $90,000 Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant.
Council members questioned whether a time-and-materials contract would be cheaper. Director Cross said Opticos was reluctant to propose time-and-materials because it feared exceeding the city’s $150,000 budget; staff and Opticos were open to further negotiation. After a brief recess to allow staff and the city manager to confer, staff recommended authority for a contract not to exceed $140,000 and to move some tasks into optional scope items.
Council member J moved to authorize the city manager to enter into an agreement with Opticos not to exceed $140,000 and to allow the city manager and planning staff flexibility to adjust the scope to fit that budget; Council member Riley seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
The council record shows staff had already reduced Opticos’s original proposed scope and cost by about $27,000 before the meeting; staff said further small reductions were possible by moving some community engagement and working-session tasks to optional status. Director Cross told the council the contract as drafted is a fixed-price agreement, not time-and-materials, unless renegotiated.
The council recorded a written public comment from a Mr. Wardoff on the item. Staff will finalize the agreement and proceed under the approved not-to-exceed amount.
