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Council debates $3.1M tree-management agreement and why city chose higher bidder
Summary
Council members questioned a $3,102,425 tree-management services agreement with West Coast Arborist—concerns focused on contract scope, why the lowest bidder was not selected, and clarity over a 3-year term with two 1-year options (5-year total). Staff defended choice citing certified arborists on-site and in-house inventory capability.
Councilors pressed staff to explain a proposed tree-management services contract with West Coast Arborist that carries a not-to-exceed amount of $3,102,425 (staff described the base term as three years with two one-year options). Council Member Shrillan (speaker 6) asked why the staff recommended a higher-priced bidder when a lower bid would have saved nearly $500,000 over five years.
Urban Forester (speaker 28) said the selection process weighed qualifications beyond price: West Coast Arborist committed to provide certified arborists on site, perform in‑house tree-inventory work (avoiding separate outside contracts), and meet other scope requirements. The urban forester added that the contract embeds contingency for additional work and that an annual pruning schedule (especially along Veterans Parkway and Ardmore) was included to reduce multi-year growth and avoid larger cuts in any single year.
Council members also sought clearer language in the published title and staff report—asking that the published contract title reflect the five-year financial exposure (three-year base plus two options) for transparency to residents. The city attorney and staff explained the rationale for showing the total potential five‑year cost as a transparency measure rather than a guaranteed expenditure.
A motion to accept the proposed resolution (Resolution No. 25‑0038) and contract was made and seconded on the record; the transcript does not capture a final roll-call vote on that motion within the provided segments.
Staff said they would return with clarified title language and additional justification for vendor selection and for public documentation of the procurement process.
