Item - 2019.IE9.4

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the General Manager, Toronto Water and the General Manager, Transportation Services to:

a. negotiate and, where such negotiations are successful, enter into and execute agreements with locate service providers for such locate services as may be required from time to time to meet the City’s obligations under the Act, including any amendments or renewals thereof, provided that the terms and conditions of such agreements are acceptable to the General Manager, Toronto Water and the General Manager, Transportation Services, and within their respective budgets and in form(s) satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

b. procure such locate services through the Locate Alliance Consortium's RFP process, if and when the General Manager, Toronto Water and the General Manager, Transportation Services, consider the terms and conditions are beneficial to the City and within their respective budgets.

2. City Council authorize the General Manager, Toronto Water and the General Manager, Transportation Services to negotiate, enter into and execute Alternate Locate Agreements (“ALA”s) from time to time, with such public utility owners and upon such terms and conditions as the respective General Managers consider appropriate, and in a form acceptable to the City Solicitor.

The purpose of this report is to seek delegated authority for the General Managers of Toronto Water and Transportation Services (the “General Managers”) to negotiate and, where such negotiations are successful, to enter into and execute agreements with locate service providers for such locate services as may be required from time to time to meet the City’s obligations under the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012 ("the Act), provided that the terms and conditions of such agreements are acceptable to the General Managers and within their respective budgets and in form(s) satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

Further, the purpose of this report is to also seek authority to procure such locate  services through the Locate Alliance Consortium's (“LAC”) Request for Proposals (“RFP”) process, if and when the General Managers consider the terms and conditions are beneficial to the City.

The City is a member of LAC and has utilized LAC’s RFP process over the past several years to procure locate services.  The current two agreements that the City has for locate services expire on January 31, 2020.

Both Toronto Water and Transportation Services have benefited from utilizing the past LAC RFP process.  These benefits include: better pricing from economies of scale, coordination of locate services with other LAC members and standardized process and quality control and other efficiencies which result in overall improved response times and improved customer service.

Utilizing the current pricing under the LAC RFP process, the estimated cost for locate services for the period of February 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021 would be $3,079,406, net of Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) recoveries, in aggregate for both divisions.  For the period of February 1, 2020 to January 31, 2024, the estimated cost would be $13,043,281, net of HST recoveries, in aggregate for both divisions. Costs for such services will be within the Approved Operating and Approved Capital Budgets for each division.

City Council approval is required in accordance with Municipal Code Chapter 195-Purchasing, where the current non-competitive procurement request exceeds the Chief Purchasing Official's authority of the cumulative five year commitment limit under Article 7, Section 195-7.3 (D) of the Purchasing By-Law or exceeds the threshold of $500,000 net of Harmonized Sales Tax allowed under staff authority as per the Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 71- Financial Control, Section 71-11A.