Council approves consent calendar after staff clarifies one-year streetscapes maintenance renewal

Council member Smith pulled consent calendar item 6F5 at the April 8 Bakersfield City Council meeting to ask staff whether the contract had been publicly bid.

"I just want to pull this off because I received a constituent concern that we were signing a contract that we hadn't put out to bid," Council member Smith said, asking the city manager's office to explain the item.

Assistant City Manager Rick Anthony responded that the agreement covers streetscapes maintenance, not tree maintenance, and that the item represented a one-year renewal. "It is only about streetscapes maintenance," Anthony said, adding that staff believed the vendor's work was satisfactory and that "we would not get a better price if we put it out to bid" for this one-year renewal. He also said staff expects to go out to bid after the one-year period.

After the explanation, Council member Smith moved to approve the consent calendar, including item 6F5. The motion was approved; the meeting record notes the motion passed "with council members Cor, Gonzales, and Weir absent." The motion record does not list a second or provide a roll-call yea/nay tally in the transcript.

The council did not amend or impose additional conditions on the contract during the meeting; staff indicated they will rebid the work after the one-year renewal period.