Paradise council upholds procurement process, awards FEMA-funded hazard-tree contract

Paradise Town Council on Tuesday rejected two formal bid protests and approved a not‑to‑exceed contract to Warner Enterprises for removal of hazard trees identified under the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Category 4 program.

The contract decision follows a contentious procurement cycle and formal protests from two local firms, JW Bamford Inc. and P31 Enterprises/GreenTek, which argued the bid evaluation over‑weighted non‑price factors and that the lowest responsive bid should receive the award. Council rejected the protests and approved the Warner contract after the selection committee and staff recommended Warner as the firm best able to manage the project’s complexity.

The tree‑removal program covers private parcels enrolled in a voluntary county/town effort under HMGP and related state funding. Staff said the project universe originally included roughly 577 enrolled parcels and about 12,000 tagged trees; after property changes and dropouts the active universe for phase 2 is about 374 parcels and roughly 10,500 tagged trees. Staff and the Butte Fire Safe Council emphasized that only trees still present and documented at time of removal will be billed to FEMA/Cal OES.

Town staff and the Fire Safe Council described the procurement and scoring process to the council. The selection process used a rubric that weighted approach, experience, personnel and cost. After written scoring the top two firms—Warner Enterprises and JW Bamford—were invited to interviews. "Warner communicated a strong understanding of the community, the specific needs of the project and the high level of coordination that will be required," staff told the council. The selection panel recommended Warner unanimously following interviews.

Local contractors who protested the award described the bid and scoring as unfair. Nathan Bamford, owner of JW Bamford Inc., said he objected to the process and the outcome. "I never protested a bid, don't like doing it, don't like being here, but... I thought it might as well finish what we started," he told the council. Josh Saint, owner of GreenTek (listed as owner of P30/P31 Enterprises in the protest), said his firm submitted the low bid and argued the award should more strongly reflect price: "On an objective standard... we're the lowest bidder," Saint said.

Town staff and the town attorney said FEMA and Cal OES reviewed and approved the RFP template and scoring approach used for the solicitation, and that the agency partners expect awards on a best‑value basis rather than strictly to the low bidder. Staff noted the contract amount is an estimate based on the current tree inventory and that the final invoiced amount will reflect only those trees actually removed and documented under FEMA reimbursement rules. Staff also presented an "engineer's estimate" for the project of about $5.3 million and said the program budget in the town’s files is $7.6 million; the committee told council Warner’s proposal and approach justified the selection despite higher price than some other proposals.

Council votes and next steps Council members voted to reject both protests before considering the award. After rejecting the protests, the council voted to approve the Warner Enterprises professional services agreement and authorize staff to finalize the contract. Council members who voted in favor said they accepted the panel’s scoring and prioritized a contractor who demonstrated the capacity to coordinate with property owners, tribal monitors, and multiple state agencies. Two council members said they were uncomfortable with the gap between the low bids and Warner’s prices but ultimately voted to proceed to avoid further project delay.

Staff said environmental and tribal surveys and field verification began the week after council action. The Butte Fire Safe Council will confirm which tagged trees remain on parcels and will update the project GIS. The town and partners said tree removal operations are expected to begin in the spring after required permits and monitoring are in place.

Ending — design, oversight and documentation Town staff emphasized that FEMA requires per‑tree documentation from tagging through disposal before reimbursement is paid. The project manager told council the program includes detailed chain‑of‑custody tracking, archaeological and biological monitoring, and tribal consultation on a parcel‑by‑parcel basis.

Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from the meeting record and include protesting contractors and town staff involved in the procurement and the Fire Safe Council.