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CONSENT AGENDA INDIAN RIVER COUNTY U � OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET PURCHASING DIVISION DATE: July 6, 2015 TO: Board of County Commissioners THROUGH: Joseph A. Baird, County Administrato Jason E. Brown, Budget Director FROM: Jennifer Hyde, Purchasing Manag SUBJECT: Approval of Customer Service Agreement with UniFirst BACKGROUND: The County's existing agreement for the rental of uniforms and other supplies with Aramark Uniform Services expires on September 30, 2015, with no renewals available. Aramark has been providing rental services to the County since 1995; for the first five years by piggyback of a Palm Beach County contract, and the following 15 years by award of three County-issued annual bids (on two of those bids, Aramark was the only submitting vendor). The expiring award was made on September 14, 2010 for an initial two-year term with options for three one-year renewals, which were all executed. The level of service received from Aramark has declined, especially within the last year of the contract, to the level that we would choose not to renew, were an option to do so available. Annual expenditures with Aramark have been more than $49,000 annually for the first four years of the current contract, and are projected to meet or exceed that amount for this year. Currently, nine departments and a total of 299 employees utilize the uniform rental services contract. The County belongs to several cooperative purchasing groups, which enable us to contract for goods and services at a reduced rate without the time and cost of developing, releasing, evaluating and awarding our own bid.These cooperative contracts(also referred to as piggyback contracts) are designed to establish pricing for a much broader spectrum of goods than typically requested in local bids, providing many more options for using agencies and departments. These agreements also most often offer more competitive pricing than local bids. ANALYSIS: Staff has reviewed two cooperative contracts for uniform rental, and has determined UniFirst's agreement through the National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA) to be the most beneficial to the County. The agreement offers hundreds of uniform options, both for rental and purchase, and at the lowest annual cost of the two cooperative contracts. Approval of this agreement will enable each department to work with the vendor to determine what types of garments are most appropriate for their staff and budgets, and then rent them at the defined price. As an example, high-visibility shirts could be selected for employees who routinely work near rights-of-way, 49