Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute amendments to Contract No. 33071 with Azteca Landscape, Inc., of Ontario, CA, and Contract No. 33259 with Merchants Landscape Services, Inc., of Santa Ana, CA, for grounds maintenance services; extend the term to February 28, 2018; and, increase the aggregate contract amount by $2,635,454, with a 10 percent contingency of $263,545, for a total aggregate contract amount not to exceed $6,764,331.  (Citywide)
Which increase? Item 29 is a report from Parks, Recreation and Marine Financial Management. Recommendation to execute amendments to contract with Azteca. Landscape and Merchants. Landscape services for ground maintenance services extend the term to February 28, 2018 and increase the aggregate contract amount by 26 2.6 million citywide. It's been moved and seconded. Is there any public comment on this item? Yes. Thank you. Please come forward. You have 3 minutes. I'll make it quick. Put the supervisor amendment here. Okay. This is for two ladies that asked me to speak for them regarding this. They oppose the extending the contract. I guess they're saying that they're using Roundup, a poison that is a suspect carcinogen as a weed killer. The active ingredient is in Roundup is like Goliath phosphate originally used in Vietnam. It's Agent Orange and they're saying that the Huntington Beach and Irvine areas have Boundary Band Roundup and we should use those cities as a benchmark in how to handle weed killing. I'm not going to read this any further. That's it. I actually. And for me, with with this contractor, they they haven't done they haven't fulfilled their contracts. About 50% of what they do doesn't seem to be be working. And or they don't seem to be fulfilling about 50% of it. I'm tied to just nonperformance issues or double billing. I hope that we can resolve some of this stuff. I know I'm not going to I'm just letting you know there's a problem with the contract. We've had audits. You know, we know the contracting department is really nonfunctional. They've failed their contract. So I. I don't know what to do that poor Mary Knight has got a lot of stuff on her hands that aren't even really her responsibility. But she's dealing with it. So. I think I put all three in one and I hope everything works out well, but they oppose it. I kind of I know that it has to be done. So life goes on. Have a great day. Thank you. Count on mango. Just as a point of note, in the future, when people have comments they want entered into the record. There's an online tool that they can use and they can make their own comments so that you don't have to feel responsible for making comments for other people. Furthermore, the Huntington Beach data is incorrect. Huntington Beach does not ban Roundup. They have the same policy we do that we don't use it in playgrounds. We don't use it in play areas. We don't use it in rental spaces. We don't use it on fields. We use it in certain areas that we haven't found another solution for. And we are in certain areas of the park in Eldorado Park specifically try and alternatives. Furthermore, please don't take what I've said and try to retype it on next door in a way that confuses people and causes more confusion . I don't even care about this. Thank you. Yes. I'm not very familiar with this particular. Contract. But it does bring me to wonder, to extend it for so many months, for so much money. So I also I thought, well, if it if they didn't finish what they needed to do within the contract period as opposed to amending it, why would it be too difficult to have brought that for business here in Long Beach as opposed to extending for $2 million, almost, you know, almost $3 million for businesses not located in Long Beach. That's all. Thank you. Thank you. Any other public comment? Seeing none. Okay, members, please cast your votes. Madam. Critical. My screen's not working anymore. Just press on this. I went to sleep well. And I'm doing a lot of sign pushing. Councilmember Sabina. What? Can you come over here, please? Councilman Andrews. You. Bush and Kerry's.