$280,000 Gang Prevention Contract on Monday’s Consent Calendar

The City Manager is seeking authorization to enter into a $288,000 three year contract with three people for gang violence outreach and interruption services.

“Pasadena has experienced a rise in gang violence which has resulted in a 125% increase in confirmed shootings between 2019 and 2021,” according to a city staff report.

In response to this crisis, the City Manager’s Office engaged the services of Ricky Pickens and members of a team he assembled, including DeAndre Scott and Flavio Andrade, to engage in gang violence outreach and interruption services. 

Pickens and the proposed gang interventionist team are currently under individual purchase order contracts with the City of Pasadena to provide community violence intervention services. 

The services are designed to provide mediation and conflict resolution intended to reduce incidents of violence, especially retaliatory shootings. 

If approved by City Council, this focused approach to violence interruption will continue and supplement the broader violence prevention and intervention efforts being launched by the Pasadena Public Health Department.

Pickens’ contract includes responsibilities for overseeing the violence intervention team and will fund one additional gang interventionist to be hired at a later date. 

Scott and Andrade will continue their work under annual purchase order contracts on a fixed, monthly payment, with each working on-call, and on essentially a full-time basis. In addition, Pickens will also supervise a youth-focused gang outreach worker funded through the CalVIP grant in partnership with the Pasadena Intervention and Prevention Project (“PIPP”) Program Coordinator II within the Public Health Department.

Here are the other items on Monday’s consent calendar: 

• $120,470 contract award To Chapman Coast Roof Co., Inc. for Victory Park Recreation Center roof replacement.  A building assessment of Victory Park Recreation Center (Victory Park) was performed as part of the Citywide Building Assessment to identify and prioritize building system deficiencies requiring maintenance or replacement. During this assessment, the Recreation Center roof at Victory Park was identified as being in poor condition and in need of replacement. The existing roof system requires continual maintenance repairs to reduce damage after rain events. The project scope of work includes removing debris from the existing roof, repairing sections of the roof’s damaged substrate, and installation of new roofing system.

• Authorization to increase a purchase order contract with Chevrolet Of Watsonville/National Auto Fleet Group by $13,493 to amend the model year purchase of two electric Ford-Transit Cargo vans. On May 9, 2022, the City Council authorized a purchase order contract with 72 Hour in the amount of $366,484 for the purchase of seven vehicles (five electric Ford F-150 Lightning trucks for the departments of Fire, Housing, and Public Works and two electric Ford ETransit cargo vans for the departments of Public Works and Transportation). The Department of Public Works Building Systems and Fleet Management Division (BSFMD) was recently informed by 72 Hour that orders placed for the model year 2022 electric Ford E-Transit cargo vans have been disrupted and cannot be fulfilled, specifically impacting two of the seven units ordered by the City.  

• Assignment of non-exclusive solid waste franchise from direct disposal to California Waste Services.  Direct the City Attorney to draft an amendment to Ordinance 7396 that approves the transfer and assignment of the non-exclusive solid waste franchise from Direct Disposal to the new owner, California Waste Services, LLC. for the term beginning immediately upon execution of the agreement through June 30, 2023, with four additional one-year renewal terms at the sole discretion of the City Manager. California Waste Services has no vested or contract right in any of the four additional one-year renewal terms. 

• A $107,000 contract award to Opengov Inc. for an electronic procurement system. The Pasadena Municipal Code (PMC) Chapter 4.08 directs staff to administer a public procurement process for purchases. The Department of Finance, Purchasing Division is responsible for administering the City’s purchasing procedures for City Departments.

• A purchase order contract award to Turboscape, Inc. for engineered wood fiber materials. The Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department (PRCS) purchases and utilizes engineered wood fiber (EWF). material under and around City playground equipment. Engineered wood fiber is a material designed to cushion the impact of a fall. Through the City’s Playground Inspection Program, PRCS performs weekly inspections of 24 playgrounds to ensure proper fiber wood fill depth requirements are met to prevent injuries.  

• Adoption of salary resolutions for non-represented non-management, non-represented management, and executive management employees. The City Council establishes by resolution the salaries and benefits for classifications that are not represented by an employee association or union. The City Council may adopt salary resolutions as necessary in order to make adjustments to wages, benefits and working conditions for non-represented employees. The non-represented employee resolutions are typically reviewed once annually. 

•  Authorize the City Manager to enter into a purchase order contract with Emergency Vehicle Group, Inc. for the purchase and installation of two 2023 Ford E450, 4×2, gasoline-powered two door cab ambulances chassis and patient care compartments in an amount not to exceed $660,000. The Pasadena Fire Department is an “All Hazard” response agency which responds to all calls for public assistance including emergency medical service, fires, technical rescues and other hazards. In fiscal year (FY) 2021, the PFD responded to 17,023 emergency call for service, of which 14,575 (86 percent) were medical-related emergencies. 

• Two lease agreements located at 150 S. Los Robles Ave. and 1055 E. Colorado Blvd. The City’s Water and Power department currently leases a total of 34,540 square feet of office space at 150 S. Los Robles Ave. and 1055 E. Colorado Blvd. These two office locations are used as the department’s central administrative offices. The City has looked at alternative office building sites and considered consolidating both of these offices at one location, but a suitable location has not yet been identified. In addition, the City is currently in the very early stages of information gathering on consolidating all the Water and Power offices to the existing historic Water and Power Building located at the southwest corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and E. Glenarm Street.