The West Covina City Council voted 3–2 on Nov. 18 to award a multi-year tree trimming and maintenance contract to West Coast Arborist following a contentious public hearing that focused on procurement transparency and evaluation procedures.

Council members and multiple bidders spent more than two hours scrutinizing the Request for Proposals (RFP) process, the evaluation forms and whether the city’s staff and legal advisers properly handled a post-evaluation negotiation with the incumbent. Councilmember Ollie Cantos moved — and Councilmember Gutierrez seconded — a substitute motion to reject all bids and reissue the RFP; that motion failed on a roll call vote (Contos and Gutierrez in favor; Diaz, Lopez Viado and Mayor Tony Wu opposed).

The council then approved the staff recommendation to award the contract to West Coast Arborist by roll call (Aye: Diaz, Lopez Viado, Mayor Wu; No: Contos, Gutierrez). The procurement staff’s presentation described the procurement as a multi-step evaluation in which interview panel scores were averaged and the purchasing manager separately reviewed the price proposal, which carried 20% of the total weight.

Councilmember Gutierrez criticized the process as inconsistent and opaque, saying that some panelists left scoring boxes blank and that the city allowed the incumbent to provide a revised rate after interviews. “When a multimillion dollar contract shows inconsistencies in regular scoring, missing documentation, and mid-process changes, that is not a witch hunt. That is oversight,” Gutierrez said in a prepared statement.

Staff and the city’s legal counsel said they had sought legal advice and were directed that the city could negotiate with the qualified, lowest responsible bidder. Procurement staff told the council that attorneys from Jones & Meyer advised the city that negotiation with West Coast Arborist was permitted and that the assistant city manager and the public works superintendent met with WCA on Oct. 13, after which staff determined WCA to be the "lowest responsible bidder." Procurement staff repeatedly stated interview evaluation forms "did not require mandatory comments" for each criterion.

Representatives from several bidders spoke against the award during the public hearing. Scott Griffin and others questioned why only the incumbent received the opportunity to submit a 'best and final' offer when higher-ranked bidders were not given the same opportunity. “How is it fair that only one company got a best and final look?” one bidder asked.

West Coast Arborist’s representative, Nick Lago, defended his firm’s record, citing 30 years serving West Covina, the ArborAccess inventory that the company maintains (described by staff as integrated with the city’s GIS), and capacity to respond to storms and emergencies. A WCA representative told the council the company would honor tree replacements when requested by the city and said prior references to grant-funded replacements were from a separate program that did not materialize.

At several points, council members pressed staff on whether interview scoring instructions were followed and whether removing interview scores from the staff report (at an attorney’s recommendation) had been appropriate. Procurement staff said interview panels scored independently and management compiled the results; the purchasing manager alone evaluated price proposals. The city attorney advised that the city has wide discretion to select the "lowest responsible bidder" per West Covina Municipal Code Section 2-334.

Councilmembers also debated operational questions that affect performance: whether the contract covers trees in parks, medians, sidewalks, and hillside slopes; how dead-tree removal and hazardous-tree mitigation are prioritized; and whether the city should split future contracts by district or procure separate hillside mitigation contracts. Staff said the city maintains a five-year grid cycle for street trees and addresses hillside removals on an as-needed basis, noting budget constraints and a separate $1.5 million hillside mitigation allocation.

The council’s vote came after a failed substitute motion to reject all bids and reissue the RFP. After the award, Mayor Wu noted that contracts can be terminated for convenience with 15 days’ notice and urged staff to continue providing oversight.

Next steps: staff said it will share detailed cost estimates and scope clarifications on what the awarded contractor will be asked to perform (grid cycle, palms, park trees, and emergency removals), and councilmembers requested future agenda items on split contracts for large projects and a staff presentation on urban-forest priorities and performance expectations.

Votes and formal actions recorded at the meeting are reflected in the city’s official minutes and staff report.