Vote: approved

Item Text

50. DELEGATE AUTHORITY TO DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS WITH SOLE SOURCE UTILITY PROVIDERS Delegate to the Director of Facilities Management the authority to enter into agreements, that are approved as to form by legal counsel to the County, with sole source utility providers as necessary to affect the delivery of utility services for County buildings and facilities and to effectuate modifications to utility lines and appurtenant facilities necessary for the completion of County construction projects. This authority includes, but is not limited to, entering into any agreements necessary for the installation and maintenance by the provider of necessary lines and equipment or as needed by the County to complete construction, regardless of whether or not this work provides direct services to a County owned or leased facility. This delegation of authority is limited to situations where no discretion or choice exists in selecting the provider, and, therefore, no competitive procurement is possible. In the course of normal operations and maintenance for existing facilities and as a result of the construction of or the leasing of new facilities, there are several circumstances that necessitate the execution of new or revised agreements with sole source utility providers. An example of the these circumstances are when the county purchases or leases new facilities and needs to establish various utility service agreements to provide electric, water, sewer and natural gas service to accommodate occupancy of the facility. With the Downtown Court Tower Project, the Capital Improvement Plan and the County’s Major Maintenance Program, among other potential future projects or programs, there is a need to enter into agreements with utilities to establish service connections and distribution systems to new facilities in order to initiate service and to enter into licensing and other agreements to move existing utility connections in order to complete the County’s projects and programs as intended and approved by the Board of Supervisors. In all cases, these services are sole source agreements between the County and the regulated provider of the specific utility in that geographical area. These agreements are standard format, will be approved as to form by legal counsel for the County, and outline each party’s financial responsibilities associated with the initiation and maintenance of the service as well as the service levels and/or the rate tariffs to be assessed. (C-70-01-014-0-01)