Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
MAY 18, 2023
Subject
SUBJECT: ON-CALL COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT SERVICES BENCH
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to execute Modification No. 1 to Task Order No. 1 with Lee Andrews Group under the Communications Support Services Bench Contract No. PS85397007 to continue to provide street teams, community-based intervention specialists, and program administration in the amount of $5,175,320, increasing the task order value from $6,753,723 to a not-to-exceed amount of $11,929,043, and extend the period of performance through November 30, 2023.
Issue
ISSUE
The street teams, which include community intervention staff secured through community-based organizations (CBOs), have served as a visible unarmed presence on the K line that is vital to ensuring the system feels welcoming, friendly and safe for new riders to the system. This service has proven to be so valuable that staff is in the process of issuing a competitive Request for Proposals (RFPs) to specifically provide supplemental field customer support teams and community intervention specialists as a complement to the Metro Ambassadors program throughout the term of the Ambassador pilot. That procurement is expected to be completed and brought to the Board for award in Fall 2023.
As such, and to ensure continued street team support and community intervention coverage that improves the customer experience, staff recommends that the Board authorize the CEO to extend the period of performance for Task Order 1 until the procurement is awarded, and the new team is on-boarded and mobilized.
Background
BACKGROUND
In September 2022, the Metro Board of Directors approved the establishment of the Communications Support Services Bench contracts (Bench) for an amount not-to-exceed $32,000,000 for a four-year term.
In December 2022, the Metro Board of Directors authorized the CEO to award Task Order No. 1 under the Communications Support Services Bench Contract No. PS85397007 in the amount of $6,753,723 to Lee Andrews Group to provide Street Teams, Community-Based Intervention Specialists and Program Administration through June 30, 2023. Most of these services have been directed towards providing vital supplemental field support staff (street teams) for the Metro Ambassador program primarily on the K Line and adjacent areas while Ambassadors were hired and trained to be on the system.
Task Order No. 1 services as adopted by the Metro Board of Directors in December 2021 supports Metro’s Reimagined Public Safety Plan that provides a “holistic, equitable and welcoming” approach to public safety that prioritizes building trust with our communities. Grounded in values of diversity, compassion, openness and accountability, and designed with input gathered from employees, riders and community members, the Public Safety Plan makes significant investments in people, infrastructure, and technology to create a safer, cleaner, and more comfortable system for everyone. The plan, which Metro is in the process of operationalizing, concentrates on three key areas: security, customer care and cleanliness. The Street Teams Program complements the Ambassador Program to deliver customer care.
The Street Teams, with their community intervention specialists, have been deployed primarily on the K Line and adjacent areas as a complement to the Metro Ambassadors since October 2022. The program administrator has served as a liaison with Metro staff on scheduling, training, compensating, and managing the overall Program. Further, the program administrator has partnered with various Community-Based Organizations (CBO) in accordance with Metro’s CBO Partnering Strategy. The street teams have been working seven days a week, from 6:30 a.m. through 8 p.m. Notably, there has been only one reported incident of crime on the K Line since its opening.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The Metro Ambassadors are key to operationalizing Metro’s reimagined Public Safety Plan, serving as a support, information, and reporting resource on the system. The use of Street Teams and community intervention specialists as complements to the Metro Ambassador program, as provided by Task Order No. 1, has proven to be successful in helping riders feel safer on the system.
The Street Teams and Community Intervention Specialists have become an integral part of the K Line by providing a safe and familiar presence for its daily riders since the opening of the K Line. The street team is made up of local residents from South Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, and Northeast Los Angeles with 75% being fully bilingual in Spanish.
Street team members are on a first name basis with many daily riders, sharing everyday greetings, creating a welcoming and safer environment, helping riders living with disabilities, and calling in graffiti, broken glass and maintenance issues, which improves the response time to ensure the platforms are clean.
While there have been many highlights, some of them deserve a spotlight. For example, the visually impaired rider who often relies on street team members to transfer them from the Expo Crenshaw station stop to E Line. This rider has expressed their appreciation to the street team for their assistance. Also, the rider that a street team member noticed was turning a blue complexion and called 911 immediately. This rider received medical attention. The biggest highlight is that every day, women riding alone have thanked the street team members for just being there, making them feel safe riding Metro. Between December 9, 2022, and March 23, 2023, the street teams have interacted with 6,498 customers along the Metro K Line.
Community Intervention Specialists
The implementation of Community Intervention Specialists (CIS) with the street team has made one of the biggest impacts in reimagined safety. They are led by a local CBO that is made up of young men and women from the local area receiving a second chance. The CIS are familiar with local gangs, their members, and how to approach incidents that involve each of them. The CIS members have made an immediate impact in creating a safe environment for Metro riders on the K Line platforms.
The CIS brings in professional expertise in handling the toughest of situations, and working with local CBOs allows the community to benefit with great jobs, further establishing that the K Line and Metro works for everyone.
The Task Order for this successful program is only funded through the end of FY 23 and additional budget and a time extension are required to continue the program on a longer-term basis. Therefore, Metro staff recommends extending the Task Order for up to 5 months while a longer-term contract is procured separately outside the On-Call Communications Support Services Bench Contract.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
[Expected this section to address the benefit to improved safety of riders and frontline employees.]
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The FY23 Budget includes $39.2 million under Cost Center 5420, Customer Programs and Services, Project 300040, Rail Operations Management and Admin for the Metro Ambassador Program and supporting Street Teams.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
Through the 2021 public safety survey, customers told us they want Metro to use a care-based approach to public safety that considers the use of alternatives to law enforcement.
The Street Teams Program supports the agency’s equity, customer experience and public safety goals by supporting a human-centered approach to public safety that uses alternatives to law enforcement. Through the presence of street team staff who come from the specific neighborhoods we serve, Metro is improving the feeling of safety for all our riders.
Additionally, the On-Call Communications Bench has been utilized by Metro to strengthen communications with stakeholders throughout Los Angeles County where targeted, strategic, multilingual and multicultural communications programs are needed to engage with BIPOC, low-income households, people living with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.
The On-Call Communications Bench provides opportunities for minority, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses. The Diversity & Economic Opportunity Department (DEOD) has set a goal of 22% Small Business Enterprise (SBE) goal and a 3% Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) goal for this procurement.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The recommended actions support the following goals:
Goal 1: Provide high-quality mobility options that enable people to spend less time traveling;
Goal 2: Deliver outstanding trip experiences for all users of the transportation system;
Goal 3: Enhance communities and lives through mobility and access to opportunity;
Goal 5: Provide responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization.
The Street Teams Program and overall Bench contract allow the agency to engage stakeholders in an authentic, meaningful, and responsive manner on the agency’s customer experience and public safety programs and initiatives.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board may request staff reprocure another Street Teams Program Administration Task Order within the authorized $5,000,000 threshold limit under the Bench contract. This alternative is not recommended as a new Contractor may be awarded the new Task Order which would require training of all-new Street Team members and CBO partners. Given the timing, this would result in a gap in street team and community intervention coverage on the K Line, which would be detrimental to our ability to meet our customer experience and public safety goals.
The Board may allow the Task Order and funding to expire, which would result in the removal of street teams and community intervention specialists on the K line. This alternative is not recommended as their presence has been vital to ensuring our riders feel safe and to limiting incidents of crime on that Metro rail line.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, staff will execute Modification No. 1 to Task Order No.1, with Lee Andrews Group to continue to provide Street Team Program Administration through November 30, 2023.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary (Task Order No. 1)
Attachment B -Contract Modification/Change Order Log (Task Order No. 1)
Attachment C - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by:
Lilian De Loza-Gutierrez, Director, Community Relations, 213-922-7479
Monica Bouldin, Deputy Chief, Customer Experience, 213-922-4081
Debra Avila, Deputy Chief Vendor/Contract Management, 213-418-3051
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
Jennifer Vides, Chief Customer Experience Officer, 213-922-4060
