ORDINANCE approving and awarding eighteen Tow and Go Freeway Towing and Emergency Road Service Agreements between the City of Houston and ACTION TOWING INC dba BEST TOW, ALLIED COLLISION CENTER, INC, ASHA AUTOMOTIVE, INC, CANINO WEST, INC, CORPORATE AUTO SERVICES, INC, DWIGHT CANNON dba D. C. WRECKER, FAST TOW ZONE ONE AUTO STORAGE, HUMBLE TOWING SERVICE, NAHYAH ENTERPRISE, LLC dba HY-TECH TOWING and RECOVERY, MERCHANTS VEHICLE TOWING, LLC, MILSTEAD AUTOMOTIVE, LTD., NORTH HOUSTON MOTORS, INC, PRO WRECKER ENTERPRISES, LLC, RBEX, INC dba APPLE TOWING CO., K.T.L. ENTERPRISES, INC dba SAFETOW, SIBERIA HOUSTON LNA, LLC dba EXPRO TOWING and EXPRO AUTO COLLISION & REPAIR, UNIFIED AUTO WORKS PAINT and BODY, INC, and ZONE 3 COLLISION CENTER, LLC dba COLLISION CENTER for the Tow and Go Freeway Towing and Emergency Road Service Program for the Houston Police Department - 5 Years - $3,905,000.00 - Grant Fund

Qualifications received April 27, 2023, for Q32444 – Approve an ordinance awarding contracts to the respondents listed below for Tow and Go Freeway Towing and Emergency Road Services in the total amount of $3,905,000.00 for the Houston Police Department (HPD).

Specific Explanation:

The Chief of the Houston Police Department and the Chief Procurement Officer recommend that City Council approve an ordinance awarding five (5) year contracts to the respondents listed below for the Tow and Go Freeway Towing and Emergency Road Service program in the total amount of $3,905,000.00 for the Houston Police Department (HPD). The City intends to apply for future grants through HGAC and upon award of funds, an amendment will be brought to Council for additional spending authority to the contract. 

The City will provide towing services by using designated Tow and Go operators. Tow and Go operators will be paid per tow using the grant funds from the H-GAC Agreement.  The fees paid to each Tow and Go operators will be determined by the number of qualified tows and may vary for each Tow and Go operator. The H-GAC grant will also reimburse the City's for HPD's administrative costs associated with the stalled vehicle towing program. 

The scope of work requires the contractors to provide all labor, equipment, tools, vehicles and supervision necessary to provide towing or emergency road services to wrecked or stalled vehicles.  Each contractor holds a Police-Authorized Towing Service Agreement (PATSA) and will patrol assigned segments of the City’s freeway system which increases public safety on the freeways, reduces traffic congestion, and ensure citizens are treated fairly by wrecker drivers.  

The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was advertised in accordance with the requirements of the State of Texas bid laws.  Qualifications were received from twenty-four qualified respondents.

The Evaluation Committee was composed of six (6) evaluators from Houston Police Department, Houston Public Works, Houston-Galveston Area Council, and TxDOT.  The qualifications for selecting a Tow and Go Freeway Towing and Emergency Road Service vendor were based upon the following criteria:

• Responsiveness to the RFQ
• Proximity of Tow and Go Freeway Towing and Emergency Road Service segment to storage lot
• Incident Management Experience
• Driver Capacity
• Experience/Expertise
• Financial Strength
• Franchise Tax Account Status with the Texas Secretary of State
• Standing with HPD Auto Dealers Detail

Based on the evaluation results, HPD and SPD recommend the following contractors to participate in the Tow and Go Freeway Towing and Emergency Road Service program as listed below:

**Exhibit 1 lists the segments the contractors will be servicing through the Tow and Go Freeway Towing and Emergency Road Service program.

DBE Participation:

This Request for Qualifications was issued as a goal-oriented contract with a 24% DBE participation goal.  Each of the recommended contractors for award submitted a Pre-Award Good Faith Efforts to the Office of Business Opportunity, which was approved at 0%, as the scope of work lacks divisibility.  Therefore, this contract will not be required to meet the 24% DBE participation goal.

Pay or Play Program:

The proposed contract requires compliance with the City's 'Pay or Play' ordinance regarding health benefits for employees of City contractors. In this case, Allied Collision Center, Inc., Asha Automotive, Inc. dba Car King Towing, Cannino West Inc dba Best Tow, Corporate Auto Services, Inc., Humble Towing Services, Nahyah Enterprise LLC dba Hy-Tech Towing & Recovery, Merchants Vehicle Towing, LLC, North Houston Motors, Inc, Unified Auto Works Paint & Body, Inc dba Unified Autoworks, and Zone 3 Collision Center, LLC have elected to pay into the Contractor Responsibility Fund.  Action Towing, Inc., Rbex Inc. dba Apple Towing Co, Milam Street Auto Storage Inc. dba Fast Tow Zone One Auto Storage, Pro Wrecker Enterprises, LLC, K.T.L. Enterprises Inc. dba Safetow and KTL Auto Storage, and Siberia Houston LNA LLC dba Expro Auto Towing will provide health benefits to eligible employees in compliance with City policy.  D.C. Wrecker Service and Milstead Automotive LTD. will participate in both options.

Hire Houston First:

Hire Houston First does not apply because it involves the use of federal funds and is subject to specific procurement rules of the federal government.

Fiscal Note:

No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.

$3,905,000.00

Federal Local State Pass Through Fund

Fund 5030