Alameda County Procurement and Contracting Committee Meeting - March 19, 2026
Alameda County Procurement and Contracting Committee Meeting – March 19, 2026
Note on dates: The transcript indicates this meeting was held on March 16, 2026, but the provided metadata specifies March 19, 2026. This summary uses the provided date but notes the discrepancy.
This meeting of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ Procurement and Contracting Committee covered quarterly updates from the General Services Agency (GSA), the 12‑month procurement outlook, a special report on the Measure A1 affordable housing construction program, an update on the Project Stabilization and Community Benefits Agreement (PSCBA), and a detailed review of Alameda County Health’s contracts. Discussions emphasized local and small business participation, union utilization, workforce development, and transparency in procurement.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Kelly Abrew (Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter) spoke against an informal RFP (No. 902725) issued by GSA to hire a political consultant to assess voter sentiment and recommend election strategy to weaken Measure D (the voter‑approved open space and agricultural lands protection initiative). Abrew asserted that using taxpayer funds to explore overturning a voter‑approved measure is a misuse of public resources and a breach of voter trust. She called on the board to withdraw the RFP immediately.
- Kelly Abrew (Mission Peak Conservancy, Fremont resident) addressed a non‑agenda item, disputing public statements made by Supervisor David Haubert that the city of Fremont never maintained Morrison Canyon Road. Abrew stated that the city contracts for weed abatement and debris removal, and that pothole maintenance is the county’s responsibility. She asked the board to disavow the supervisor’s remarks and to rely on accurate records.
Discussion Items
1. General Services Update (Quarterly Report – Oct 1 to Dec 31, 2025)
- Presenter: Kimberly Gasway, Director of GSA.
- Key statistics:
- 46 formal procurements for goods and services totaling $65.6 million.
- 18 contracts ($27.5 million, 42%) to certified SLEBs (Small Local Emerging Businesses).
- 12 contracts ($14.8 million, 23%) to non‑certified local vendors.
- 16 contracts ($23.2 million, 35%) to non‑local vendors.
- Sole source exceptions: 59 approved for $8.4 million; 85 exemptions for $6.2 million; 25 piggybacks for $4.6 million.
- GSA awarded a $22.6 million progressive design‑build contract for the African American Wellness Hub and a $3 million design‑bid‑build contract for the Wiley Manual Underground Storage Tank Removal. The general contractor for the progressive design‑build is non‑local but the architect is a local SLEB. Both projects are subject to the county’s Project Stabilization and Community Benefits Agreement (PSCBA), requiring 40% of labor hours by local Alameda County residents.
- Job Order Contracts (JOCs): 21 task orders totaling $6.5 million; 39% ($2.5 million) went to local contractors; 61% ($3.9 million) to non‑local. Reasons for high non‑local share include one Contra Costa County contractor; subcontractors may be local.
- 46 formal procurements for goods and services totaling $65.6 million.
- PSCBA labor results (countywide cumulative as of Dec 31, 2025):
- Total hours reported: 522,621.
- Local area resident goal (40%): achieved 47%.
- Apprentice hours (state requirement 20%): achieved 16% (countywide); GSA at 19%, Public Works at 14%.
- Disadvantaged resident apprentice goal (county policy 40%): achieved 40% countywide; GSA at 44%.
- Outreach: GSA held 17 bid conferences (104 attendees), 14 vendor outreach events (34 attendees), and maintains memberships in several professional and community organizations.
- Supervisor Marquez’s questions and follow‑up:
- Requested a flyer or one‑pager on the contractor technical assistance program (provided by Mary Weather & Williams) to include in district newsletters and social media to promote local business opportunities.
- Asked for better tracking of why some JOC task orders go to non‑local firms; GSA will investigate.
- Inquired about strategies to meet the 20% apprentice goal; GSA noted a joint advisory committee meets monthly to work with contractors.
- Clarified that for goods and services, procurements under $25,000 require first outreach to SLEBs; contracts over $100,000 must be formally advertised.
- Discussed piggyback numbers (25), which staff described as higher than normal; list provided.
- Supervisor Miley’s questions:
- Sought clarification on the informal RFP concerning Measure D (see public comment). GSA confirmed the RFP came from CDA (Community Development Agency) and bids are due March 20. If the award exceeds $25,000, it will come to the board.
- Asked about specific contracts in the 12‑month outlook that might be candidates for unbundling to increase local participation (e.g., food service, security, janitorial, PCard program, shuttle bus). GSA will provide client department details and consider opportunities.
2. 12‑Month Outlook Report (presented by Dietra Dillon, Procurement Administrator)
- Provided a rolling list of upcoming contract expirations and statuses (e.g., “awaiting department instructions,” “rebid in process,” “extended for time”).
- Supervisor Marquez requested that future reports specify the reason for a “rebid” (e.g., no bids, insufficient bidders, or term ending) to better understand opportunities. Ms. Dillon agreed to work with staff.
- Supervisor Miley asked that client departments be identified for each contract to facilitate unbundling discussions.
- Both supervisors encouraged proactive consideration of unbundling when contracts are still early in the process (e.g., with more than one year until expiry).
3. PSCBA Update (DeVai Sloan Inc. – DSI)
- Presenters: Jake Sloan (President), Kitty Creech (Labor Compliance Officer), with Andrea Lowe and Danielle Motley Lewis.
- Background: DSI has administered the county’s PSCBA since 2014, covering GSA and Public Works construction projects over $1 million.
- Goals: 40% of hours by Alameda County residents; 40% of apprentice hours by Disadvantaged Resident Apprentices (DRA: local, less than 2 years in apprenticeship, unemployed at start).
- Results:
- Since inception: 1.2 million hours on 65+ projects.
- As of Dec 31, 2025: 522,621 hours on 33 active projects; 47% local resident hours; 40% DRA apprentice hours (exceeded).
- No major grievances; minor issues resolved.
- Challenges: some early‑stage projects have low apprentice hours due to limited scope; DSI works with contractors and unions to increase placements.
- Supervisor Marquez asked about penalties for not meeting the 20% apprentice state requirement—none, but monitored; DSI responds quickly when opportunities arise.
- Supervisor Marquez also asked for data on female journeymen and outreach to Santa Rita Jail; DSI tracks demographics and sees opportunity to strengthen re‑entry pathways.
- Both supervisors praised the program’s success and urged continued improvement.
4. Measure A1 Labor and Contract Compliance Pilot Program (Special Report)
- Presenter: Ann Olivia Eldred, HCD (Housing and Community Development).
- Context: Measure A1 funds the county’s role as a construction funder for affordable housing, not as owner. Report tracks union contractor participation.
- Key findings (as of June 30, 2025):
- 37 completed or in‑construction projects with union data; 2.9 million total hours; 86% union hours (over 2.5 million).
- 1,674 construction contracts awarded to union contractors, totaling nearly $2 billion.
- 5 projects were subject to a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) (80+ units); 97% of contract value on PLA projects went to union contractors; 79% on non‑PLA projects.
- Local union contractors received $1.12 billion (94% of local contracts).
- Small local businesses: $30 million on PLA projects, $84 million on non‑PLA projects.
- Interpretation: High unionization rates regardless of PLA; PLAs increase union share but may reduce very small local contracts.
- Supervisor Marquez asked about the next regular jobs report (scheduled July 2026). She also inquired about a potential regional housing bond; staff noted exploration for 2028 and alternatives being discussed.
- Supervisor Miley highlighted the 1:7.5 leveraging ratio from Measure A1 and noted that the program exceeded its local hire goal by 610,000 hours.
5. Alameda County Health (AC Health) Contracts Update
- Presenter: Maria Smith, Director of Special Projects Office.
- Overview: AC Health manages over 1,000 contracts totaling $891.7 million in FY2425. 74% of contracts (by count) and 93% by value went to CBOs (community‑based organizations).
- Breakdown:
- CBO master contracts: $729 million (82% of value), 503 contracts (47% of count).
- Standard services agreements (professional): $137 million, 456 contracts.
- Standard services agreements (other): $26 million, 105 contracts.
- SLEB status: 56% of contracts by count are SLEB‑exempt (due to nonprofit, government, etc.); 13% certified SLEB or with SLEB subcontractors; 15% federal SLEB waiver; 13% GSA SLEB waiver; 3% board‑approved waiver.
- Departments: Behavioral Health awarded the highest dollar amount ($597 million), followed by Office of the Agency Director ($259 million), Public Health ($30 million), Environmental Health ($4.6 million).
- RFP activity: AC Health runs most RFPs internally; in 2025, 9 internal, 7 through GSA (due to capacity).
- Supervisors Marquez and Miley asked for future reports to include service delivery location (in progress), job counts (to come after budget season), and a breakdown of Office of the Agency Director contracts by program (e.g., housing and homelessness). Maria Smith agreed to provide these.
- Supervisor Miley praised the report’s evolution and transparency, noting it provides a foundation for understanding the economic impact of county health contracts.
Key Outcomes
- Directives to staff:
- GSA to provide a flyer on the contractor technical assistance program for district outreach (Supervisor Marquez).
- GSA to investigate and report on reasons for high non‑local share in JOC task orders and to consider bifurcating data on subcontractors.
- GSA to add more specific rebid reasons in the 12‑month outlook report (Supervisor Marquez).
- GSA to identify client departments for contracts to facilitate unbundling discussions (Supervisor Miley).
- AC Health to provide future reports with service delivery location data and a breakdown of Office of the Agency Director contracts by program area.
- Next steps for Measure A1: A regular jobs report is scheduled for July 2026. Supervisors noted ongoing efforts to explore future housing bond measures at local and regional levels, with possible legislative action needed for 2028.
- Public issue regarding Measure D: Supervisors acknowledged the public comment and flagged the informal RFP; Supervisor Miley will follow up with CDA Director Sandy Reverend to close the loop and provide a public update. No vote was taken, but the board did not direct cancellation of the RFP.
- Adjournment: The committee adjourned at approximately [time not specified] until the next meeting.
Meeting Transcript
All right, so good afternoon. We're gonna get started with the procurement and contracting committee meeting with the Board of Supervisors March 16th, 2026. Our first item, general services update. Good afternoon, supervisors. That's loud. Can we turn that role record? Supervisor Miley. Supervisor Mike web quorum. Okay, first item. Good afternoon, supervisors. Kimberly Gasway, Director of General Services Agency, and I'm here to present the procurement and contracting policy committee report for GSA activities October 1st, 2025 to December 31st, 2025. So GSA procurement and ministered 46 formal procurements for goods and services, totaling 65.6 million dollars. And certified slabs, there were 18 of 27.5 million or 42 percent of those procurements. Non-certified local vendors, there were 12 of them for 14.8 million dollars or 23 percent of the procurements, and non-local were 16 contracts, 23.2 million or 35 percent of the procurements. And the total value of those were 44.99 or almost 45 million dollars. Nearly 8 million dollars or 35 percent of the waivers were issued to local businesses in Alameda County. Soul source exceptions, exemptions, and piggybacks. This quarter, GSA purchasing approved 59 sole source exceptions for 8.4 million dollars and 85 sole source exception exemptions for 6.2 million dollars for a total of 14.6 million. Purchasing also approved 25 piggybacks for 4.6 million dollars. The next set of information as requested gives the definitions for sole source exceptions, which are single sources supply, patent rights, absolute compatibility, equipment maintenance services, exemptions, ticket and procurements include computer software license renewals, educational services, commercial off-the-shelf, computer software packages, utility services, sponsorship of outreach-related events, security systems, ammunition, proprietary maintenance services, landlord-controlled services, and state or federal mandated products or services. A piggyback is a process in which goods or services are procured from a competitive bidding process managed by another government entity. GSA award a progressive design build contract during this period for the African American Wellness Hub project in the amount of 22.6 million and a design bid build contract for the Wiley Manual Underground Storage Tank Removal Project in the amount of three million dollars for a total value of 25.6 million for the um progressive design build contract. For the Progressive Design Build Contract, the while those contractors, general contractors were non-local at 25 million. The architect for the progressive design build contract was awarded to a local firm and who is a certified SLEB, so a million nearly a million dollars of the that project went to that contractor. 40% of the hour labor's. Oh, I'm sorry, both projects are subject to the county's uh project stabilization and community benefits agreement, and therefore 40% of the labor hours must be performed by local Adameda County residents. Our job order contracts, GSA building maintenance uh issued 21 job order contract task orders under existing contracts with a combined value of 6.5 million dollars during this period. Of that 39% or 2.5 million dollars were to local um contractors, and 3.9 million were or 61% were to non-local. The current job contracts are subject to the county's PSCBA, therefore 40% of the labor hours must be performed by local Alameda County residents. And as you can see, each of the different um contracts. We have a master contract with these job order contractors, and then underneath that is the task orders that were assigned to them around our facilities. We can scroll down. Next, I'll provide you the update on our projects. Can you scroll down right there? Project stabilization agreement. So the current PSCBA applies to project bid and awarded on or after October 6, 2020. This labor report includes payroll data available in our elation system through December 31st, 2025. The results are summarized below. So the countywide cumulative total, the total hours reported as of December 31st, 2025 is 522, 621 hours. 40 percent is the local uh area resident goal, uh labor hours on the project, and we achieved more higher than that goal at 47 percent. Apprentice hours are a 20% state requirement, and uh 78 um.8,000 hours or 16 percent is what we have achieved so far. The 40% disadvantaged resident apprentice goal is a county policy goal, is 31.2,000 hours, and 40% was achieved countywide. GSA and public works are broken out separately. So GSA right now for the local area resident labor hours, we've achieved 46% towards their apprenticeship uh state requirement 19%, and towards the disadvantaged workers, we've exceeded that goal also at 44%. Next, you'll see a list of each of the projects and where they stand at the time. Some of the projects are still at the beginning in design phase, so they may not quite be meeting the goals at this point. You'll see the um fire department has the project for their fire station seven and 25, which are design build projects. They're at 15% of construction, and right now their labor hours for local residents 76 percent. Their um apprenticeship hours are 29 hours or 3%, likely because they're still in the beginning stages of the project, and there have been no hours yet reported for the last criteria. CDA is managing the San Lorenzo Theater, and that project has achieved 33% of the goal for local um residents.
openpublica.com