Recommendation to Award a Contract for the Publication of Legal Notices to the Alameda Journal for Fiscal Year 2017-18. (City Clerk 2210)
Recommendation to award a contract for the publication of legal notices to the Alameda Journal for fiscal year 20 1718. Remember. Did you want to share this? Sure. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I guess the reason I put this will one to have a discussion, because I think we had a discussion last year on this and it was too late to include a competitive bid from the Alameda Sun and. You know, we received and then we have a copy of this up here correspondence from the Alameda Sun that question the. Question the verified audit. So I wonder if if staff could clarify, because I think we do have an updated letter from the Journal. That says their audit is 18,000 and the letter from the Sun alleges that is 23,000 plus. So maybe we can have some explanation on the difference on those two numbers. And if it makes a difference in our and our bid. Bidding process. Well, I can I can respond to part of that. First of all, the way it works for legal newspapers is it's part of the government code that talks about what a legal newspaper is. And they have to be adjudicated by a court that they meet the requirements of the government code to be a newspaper of general circulation . There are a couple of tests. Frankly, the audit is not part of those tests. So the Alameda Journal many years ago, I think it was 1992, I have it here in my file actually was adjudicated as a newspaper of general circulation. So eligible then to be considered by the city to to get that contract. The son had not been. The sun now is the sun also has received from from the municipal court an adjudication that they too are a newspaper of general circulation. Our charter requires that annually the city clerk put out a request for bids and solicit bids from. Adjudicated newspapers to submit what you. Have before you and the and then to award the contract to the lowest responsive bidder. And so that is what the staff report shows. The city clerk did it, did that. I don't if you want to add anything here, Laura, but appreciating the comments from the sun. But frankly, none of them are relevant to the fact that a court has adjudicated a journal to be a newspaper that is eligible for this. And the process would be for the Sun to petition the court if they believe that any information they might have could affect that adjudicated result. Is there any other? Are we? I'm thinking minimum. Are we obligated to go with the lowest bidder? That's what the charter says. It does say that. Charter. Charter Section three Dash 18 says the Council shall annually after advertising in the manner provided for the purchase of. Supplies, which is the bidding. Process award a contract to the responsible bidder who. Submits the lowest and best bid for publication of legal. Advertising in the city for a newspaper adjudicated to be a newspaper of general circulation within the city. You are allowed to reject all bids. But you have to give it to the charter. Responsible bidder who. Submits the lowest and best bid for publication. Is there a definition of the word best? I mean. No, sir. That's what the charter says. Oh, okay. Okay. So. In regards that lowest and best does best give us some opening in regards to evaluate you know in evaluating beyond just the lowest. If you believe there is some finding. That you can make that makes one of them. Better than the other. When they're both adjudicated legal newspapers and have the capability and they have and responded with prices. I the council can discuss that. On their member matters. I would submit to the Council that the local ownership and local operation of Tell Me the Sun qualifies it as being the best. And I think I would add to that that there's speculation locally based on the audited numbers is actually higher. So two points. So I make two. We make a motion to accept their bid over at the Journal. Yes. We'll do it with the findings that you part of your motion should be those findings that you just stated, which is why it is the best since it's not the lowest. So I move that in evaluation of the bids, it was determined that they are in the sun by virtue of its higher circulation and its local ownership qualifies as the best and should be awarded the contract for legal notices for the City of Armenia. Second Vice Mayor. Thought I heard. Yeah. I mean, I think rather than just say that it's got a higher circulation, I would like to clarify for the record how much higher I mean, the prices are. Daniel. A different voice. I would like to at least clarify that for the record. So and I appreciate that there's a motion a second. One thing that I had heard discussed was possibly looking at six months and six months of each, if that was a possibility, and I don't know if council would entertain such a thing. Nebraska, I have a question which was in this staff report on the. So it talks about the cost. The city spends approximately $18,000 annually for legal notices, of which approximately 4000 is from the general fund. Awarding the contract to the Alameda Sun would cause the costs to triple. So remind me. Is that the general fund portion triples from 4 to 12000, but then each department's budget has to cover the rest. Yes. So the total costs instead of 18,000 would be closer to 60,000. And it would be spread between departments who use it and also the general fund portion, which is. Now a quarter of that. And. I'm vice. Mayor. What departments typically use this primarily planning? So I'd like to make a friendly ask if you would consider a friendly amendment to the motion to actually consider to have six months and six months of each of them actually thinks all people get one or the other. Not necessarily both in my neighborhood. I don't know who was mentioned. That was sorry. I think it was never Odie. Sorry. Sorry. Um. Member matter. I see. I can't I can't split my determination of what's best and worth essentially $40,000 in local investment. So I don't think I'll accept that amendment. Forget about you proposing me. Well, I was suggesting some people had actually suggested to me that we consider looking at six months and six months. But the reason was that some people get one and some people get the other that many neighborhoods don't get both newspapers. From my understanding, I know. In my neighborhood. That's true. And. I don't see the logic of that. I mean, maybe I missed the thing, but. I have one other question. People are saying that the sun has higher circulation than the journal. I don't see those numbers either in the staff report and I've asked for clarification on that or in the in the letters that I've received. You want the exact numbers? Yes. Where? Where is that? We're being told it's substantially more so. Okay. Let me let me just pull it for you. I thought. Okay. I've got it. Not in this email, though. It's not me. I need. The number included in the Suns bid and. Is the total is 23,500 is 175 and free is 22,000 930. And then this urinal can observe. Can you learn which. Yeah, sure. Okay. Got it. So this is for the sun first and their total that they say is 23,500. And of those, 22,930 are free. Circulation, free circulation and paid circulation is 175. And numbers for the Journal, huh? There are no. Hard to see. Sorry. Two more. Lines. Okay. They're small. 4471. What was the number? 3471? Although I believe their letter says something different than what they've 18,000, 18,000 tonight. So I think I'm looking at the wrong thing all the. Okay. Wait, I was thinking. I've got to go further. I have like a whole. Thing of all of their. Yeah, that one. I'm sure that letter has arrived, but the 18,000 number? Yeah. I can't. Imagine. I have 18. Seven. The note, the letter. We had an. Open. To the day dais from the Bay Area News Group from. Submitted today. 1801 to is now 15,012. Okay. So that being said, so we have a motion and a second. All those in favor. I. I. I. All those. The motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Thank you. That was five E. That completes the concert calendar. Is that right? Yes. All right. And now we go on to our regular agenda. 6 a.m. adoption of resolutions reappointing McCormack as a member of the Public Utilities Board. Christopher Griffiths is a member of the new advisory committee. Sarah Murray is a member of the Rent Review Advisory Committee and Claudia martinez, a member of the Social Service Human Relations Board.