Proposal:

Award Bid for a Cafeteria Management Firm

Synopsis:

ARAMARK operates the AQMD cafeteria under a contract expiring September 30, 1996. On March 8, 1996, the Board authorized the release of an RFP for a food services management company. Extensive outreach resulted in ten bid submittals. This action is to engage the services of the most qualified bidder.

Committee:

The Administrative Committee did not meet in July.

Recommended Action:

Award the bid for cafeteria management services to Food Systems, Inc. for the period of October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1999 and authorize the Chairman to execute a contract with Food Systems, Inc. for the management and operation of the AQMD’s Diamond Bar Headquarters cafeteria.

James M. Lents, Ph.D.
Executive Officer

Background

The RFP for a cafeteria management firm to operate the Diamond Bar Headquarters Cafeteria facility was approved by the Board on March 8, 1996 and released on that date.

Bid Evaluation

In accordance with the District’s Consulting and Contracting Policy, a public notice inviting bids was published in the following publications:

California State Contracts Register, Chinese Daily News, Eastern Group Publications, El Chicano, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Korea Central Daily, La Opinion, La Voz, Los Angeles Sentinel, Los Angeles Times, M/W/DVBE Source, Orange County Register, Philippine News, Precinct Reporter, Rafu Shimpo, Riverside Press Enterprise, San Bernardino Sun, The Black Voice News, and The Excelsior.

Additionally, potential bidders were identified through Los Angeles County’s Directory of Certified Minority, Women, Disadvantaged and Disabled Veterans Business Enterprises; the Directory of Certified Firms published by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority; The Inland Area Opportunity Pages Ethnic/Women Business & Professional Directory; the Caltrans electronic bulletin board listing of Disadvantaged and Women Business Enterprises; the AQMD's own electronic listing of certified minority vendors; and the Purchasing mailing list.

Copies of the RFP also were mailed to the California Restaurant Association, the Black Caucus, Latino Caucus, and various minority chamber of commerce and business associations, and public service announcements were sent out to 77 local radio, TV and cable stations. The RFP also was posted on the Internet. Further personal outreach efforts by staff were made to various minority businesses and chambers of commerce to inform and invite prospective bidders to visit the Diamond Bar facility and to submit proposals.

Two hundred thirty five copies of the RFP were mailed out and twenty-five companies attended the mandatory bidders conferences held on March 22 and June 4, 1996. Of the twenty-five organizations attending the bidders conferences, three were Hispanic-owned enterprises, two were woman-owned firms, one company was Asian-owned, and one was African-American-owned.

Ten bids were received in response to the RFP when final bidding closed at 1:00 p.m. on June 14, 1996. Of the ten bids, two were from woman-owned business enterprises (one of which has applied for, but has not yet received, WBE certification), and one was from a non-certified minority-owned (Hispanic) business enterprise. Staff contacted the companies that did not submit bids to determine the reasons for not submitting a proposal. Some companies indicated that they were unfamiliar with the RFP process, while other companies felt that the cafeteria’s profitability was limited due to the four-day workweek, hours of operation, and number of meals served.

An evaluation panel was established to review the bids received. This panel consisted of five District staff members, three females and two males. Of the five panel members, one member is Asian, one is African-American, one is Hispanic, and two are Caucasian.

After reviewing the written proposals received and conducting site visits for those non-franchise operators who have currently operating facilities, panel members evaluated bidders on the following criteria: quality of food service, management and food service experience, financial capacity and fiscal management, budget and menu prices, and MBE/WBE/DVBE status. Total point scores were then tabulated.

As a result of the above evaluation process, Food Systems, Inc. received a total point score of 81.6 -- the highest score attained (see Attachment). On this basis, the evaluation panel has recommended the cafeteria management contract be awarded to Food Systems, Inc.

Resource Impacts

This is a no-fee contract; the costs of the cafeteria are supported by the revenue generated from the provision of food services.

Attachment

Ratings Sheet

Attachment

	Final Score	MBE/WBE/	Info Only: Step
Vendor	After Step 2	DVBE	1 Tech. Score*
ARAMARK	35.1	No	69.8
California Dining Services	72.7	No	88.6
Canyon Cafe and Catering	0*	Has applied for WBE cert.**	59.6*
Corporate Cafe Services	51.3	No	72.6
D’Amore Foodservice	0*	non-cert. WBE	37.0*
Food Systems, Inc.	81.6	No	89.2
La Copa Cafe	43.7	non-cert. MBE	74.4
Lunch Stop	37.5	No	71.6
Sanford Maretsky	0*	No	45.2*
Total Food Management, Inc.	72.0	No	80.0

* A minimum of 70 points was required in Step 1 in order to continue in the evaluation process; thus, if the minimum 70 point score was not attained, the cumulative score became zero.

** Information on application for minority certification provided as information only; no points were awarded merely for applying.