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LAFCO picks low‑cost consultant Michael Bell to review SFPUC RFI responses for CCA phase‑one tasks
Summary
After debate over price and team composition, LAFCO approved a not‑to‑exceed contract with consultant Michael Bell for Tasks 2 and 3 (review of SFPUC RFI responses and recommendations on the draft implementation plan) citing cost savings; commissioners asked staff to bring price proposals for additional implementation tasks at the next meeting.
The Local Agency Formation Commission voted to award the initial CCA consulting contract to Michael Bell, a sole proprietorship consultant, to perform Tasks 2 and 3: review of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s RFI responses and recommendations on the draft implementation plan.
Miss Miller presented three qualified bidders — Navigant, Local Power, and Mike Bell — and summarized the scoring and price proposals. Bell’s bid was the lowest at $35,000 for approximately 80 hours of work for the tasks before LAFCO. Local Power’s proposal included roughly double the hours and a larger multidisciplinary team (legal counsel, financing specialists, Booz Allen Hamilton) that the staff estimated would cost materially more. Navigant proposed a higher price based on doing substantial front‑end work and raised concerns about meter‑based provisions; Navigant was not present at the meeting.
Miss Miller said the hourly rates in the proposals were competitive and the primary reason for the price gap was the number of hours each bidder proposed. She recommended Bell for the oversight/monitoring role based on price and prior work with the commission. Commissioner Bornstein and others urged caution and proposed hiring two contractors — Bell for oversight and Local Power for implementation and public outreach — or at least returning with price proposals for subsequent tasks. Paul Fenn of Local Power told the commission his team planned about 40,000 (sic) line‑item hours to review roughly 100 pages of RFI responses and to include bond and financing expertise.
Commissioner Schmeltzer moved to adopt the staff recommendation to hire Michael Bell; the motion was seconded and approved with no recorded objections. Chair Ross Mercurini announced that “First phase is now forwarded, and that will be by Mike Bell,” and asked staff to return with price proposals for potential next tasks (including public outreach and implementation) so the commission could consider engaging additional contractors if needed.
The commission recorded no formal roll‑call vote in the transcript; the motion passed by voice/consensus.
