HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10179 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10179
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council August 21, 2018
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SUBJECT: PROCUREMENT OF POLICE-INITIATED TOWING SERVICES
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The Police Department (PD) approached the Purchasing Division for assistance obtaining PD-initiated
towing services since the existing contracts with the twenty towing companies were set to expire on
September 30, 2018. As part of the request, PD was interested in modernizing the systems associated with
initiating and completing towing services as well as looking for opportunities to utilize best practices already
in use by other municipalities.
Purchasing Staff, working with PD and the Law Department, developed and issued a Request for Proposals
(RFP) including a scope of work describing the qualifications, services, and technology requested to
modernize operations and meet overall objectives set out by PD. The RFP provided three different
opportunities to which firms could respond:
• Towing Services only — this allowed any towing companies that met the City set
standards to respond to the RFP and be utilized for PD initiated tows whether
contracting directly with the City or through a Turnkey Vendor if Option 2 was
selected;
• Option 1: Towing Dispatch Management and Technology Solution — this allowed
vendors interested in only providing a technology and dispatch management solution
that could be paired with City contracted towing companies to respond with their
products and solutions; and
• Option 2: Towing Dispatch Management and Technology Solutions plus Towing
Services (Turnkey Vendor)—this allowed vendors that were interested in providing a
full service product that includes technology and dispatch management plus providing
the actual towing services through one contract to respond.
The intent of the RFP was to allow the City to review how best to structure towing services going forward
and compare whether a"Turnkey Vendor" option or an option that utilized separate towing operations from
the technology and dispatch management would provide the best value and service to the City. A waiver of
the goal for MBE/SBE subcontracting requirements was requested by the Purchasing Division and approved
by the M/WBE Office,in accordance with the BDE Ordinance.
The RFP was advertised every Wednesday in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from May 23,2018 through June
20, 2018, and was available on the City's website continuously during this same timeframe. A pre-proposal
conference was held Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Fifteen 15 interested firms attended the conference. One
hundred thirty-nine vendors were solicited from the purchasing vendor database. On June 21, 2108, 2
proposals were received for Towing Services only while 21 proposals were received to provide Towing
Services only in conjunction with the Fort Worth Towing Alliance, LLC proposal under Option 2, two
proposals were received for Option 1, and three proposals were received for Option 2.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10179
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council August 21, 2018
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SUBJECT: PROCUREMENT OF POLICE-INITIATED TOWING SERVICES
1673
Towing-only proposals and towing-service-subcontractor proposals under Option 2 were reviewed by an
evaluation committee on factors outlined in the RFP including current operations, prior experience, success
in the towing industry, safety record, compliance, claims and litigation, reputation, equipment, and staff
capability and capacity. Proposals for communications and dispatch technology under Option 1 and Option
2 were evaluated on factors including financial and cost elements, service standards,technology to improve
data reporting and collection and technology to improve communication and response.
The two proposals submitted under Option 1 were reviewed by the evaluation committee and were found to
not meet the minimum requirements of the requested capabilities for technology and towing management.
Additionally, the proposals required up front funding from the City to implement the systems that severely
impacted scores in relation to the Option 2 Vendor responses. No interviews were pursued.
The evaluation committee interviewed all three firms that responded with Option 2 proposals,the Fort Worth
Area Towing Alliance,LLC, Sameis Holdings LLC dba Dispatch&Tracking Solutions, and TEGSCO,LLC,
in order to clarify their understanding of the firms' capabilities, qualifications and technology after scoring
each based solely on the written responses. After completing the interviews,the committee rated TEGSCO,
LLC's offer as the proposal that presented the best value to the City of Fort Worth.
Under the submittal made by TEGSCO, LLC, the company has committed to the following: 1) hire all
qualified towing companies that responded to the RFP as subcontractors to perform the towing services; 2)
obtain additional towing companies as needed that meet the City's standards for towing and customer service;
3)administer and manage the towing subcontracts on a day-to-day basis;4)provide the technology to manage
the tow requests and stored vehicle management; 5)provide for a 24-hour/365 day dispatch command center;
and 6)provide project management and system integration capabilities. As outlined in the RFP, discipline
and termination of any contracted towing company will remain at the discretion of the Chief of Police.
For tows to the City's impound lot, the City will reimburse TEGSCO, LLC, without mark-up or additional
fees. For Fiscal Year 2019, the estimated cost will be approximately $480,000.00 for vehicles towed to the
Auto Pound. These costs will be offset by fee revenue from customers claiming vehicles following release
of the vehicles from the Auto Pound. Towing fees are set by the City. The costs of the communications and
dispatch technology and services will be covered through an administrative fee to be paid by individuals
whose cars are being towed.
City Staff will begin negotiations with TEGSCO, LLC to craft a contract for full service turnkey towing
services that include updated technology and dispatch management. It is proposed that a M&C to approve
this contract will be placed on a City Council meeting agenda in September. If you have any questions about
this information, please call Cynthia Garcia, Assistant Director-Purchasing, at 817-392-8525, or Deputy
Chief Ty Hadsell at 817-392-4311.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS