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Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience, a division of the Chief Administrative Office, recommending the Board consider the following pertaining Request for Qualifications 2026-0101 for Defensible Space and Home Hardening Services - Weber Creek;
1) Make findings pursuant to Section 3.13.030 (C) of El Dorado County Ordinance Chapter 3.13, Contracting Out, that due to the limited timeframes and temporary nature of the work, the project management work related to the Weber Creek Project is not sufficient to warrant addition of permanent staff;
2) Award Request for Qualifications 2026-0101 to All Phase Land Clearing, Inc., Alta Vista Landscaping Inc, Arbor Vitae Enterprises Inc, Daniel Hovarter Tree Service, Fire Break Tree Service LP, Hargo’s Land Management, Highground Excavating and Tree Service, Inc., Newcomb Tree Experts, Inc., Northwoods Tree & Land Service, LLC, The Davey Tree Expert Company, Tier One Terrain Corp., and Wildfire Services Group Inc. for Defensible Space Services and to Dedrick Construction, Inc., Home Hardening Pros LLC, Kingsley Builders, Inc., and Pressler Properties & Construction, LLC for Home Hardening Services for the Weber Creek Project;
3) Approve and authorize the Chair to sign Master Agreement 10476 with All Phase Land Clearing, Inc., 10477 with Alta Vista Landscaping Inc, 10478 with Arbor Vitae Enterprises Inc, 10467 with Daniel Hovarter Tree Service, 10479 with Fire Break Tree Service LP, 10468 with Hargo’s Land Management, 10469 with Highground Excavating and Tree Service, Inc., 10480 with Newcomb Tree Experts, Inc., 10481 with Northwoods Tree & Land Service, LLC, 10470 with The Davey Tree Expert Company, 10482 with Tier One Terrain Corp., and 10483 with Wildfire Services Group Inc. for Defensible Space Services with each contract having a term of three years, commencing upon contract execution, each in the amount $5,000,000;
4) Approve and authorize the Chair to sign Master Agreement 10473 with Dedrick Construction, Inc., 10464 with Kingsley Builders, Inc., and 10475 with Pressler Properties & Construction, LLC for Home Hardening Services with each contract having a term of three years, commencing upon contract execution, in the amount of $5,000,000;
5) Authorize the Contract Administrator to execute any necessary amendments relating to Master Agreements, excluding term extensions and increases to the total compensation amount, contingent upon approval by County Counsel and Risk Management; and
6) Authorize the Purchasing Agent to sign any resulting Tri-Party Agreements that fall under each of the Master Agreements, in an amount not to exceed $120,000, contingent upon approval by County Counsel and Risk Management.
FUNDING: Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Funds (90%), State of California Wildfire Mitigation Program (5.14%), and General Fund (4.86%).
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
On July 25, 2023, the Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience (OWPR) received notification from FEMA that Phase I of the Weber Creek Project (Project), a pilot project funded under the California Wildfire Mitigation Program (CWMP) aimed to reduce the impacts from natural disasters such as wildfire through implementing a series of defensible space and home hardening retrofit measures, was approved in the amount of $1,404,532.50. The remaining grant funds totaling approximately $23 million for Phase II of the Project will be awarded by FEMA upon the successful completion of the Phase I activities, including programmatic review and FEMA's Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) approval.
Under this CWMP Project, OWPR will be responsible for managing a program to perform defensible space and home hardening retrofit measures at no cost to the homeowner for existing residential homes in the Project area, which is an area identified with high risk of fire severity and is located within a wildland-urban interface area. This Project area includes parcels both within and outside the limits of the City of Placerville spanning approximately 850 acres and containing a total of 525 homes. Of the 525 homes, 74 homes have been evaluated through the environmental review process and determined to be “no issue” parcels. These parcels are currently under review with FEMA, and when approved, work can begin on these parcels.
On March 19, 2026, the Chief Administrative Office, Procurement and Contracts Division, on behalf of OWPR, initiated Request for Qualifications (RFQ) 2026-0101 Defensible Space and Home Hardening Services - Weber Creek. Following the evaluation of the proposals received, qualified vendors have been selected for inclusion on the Qualified List. OWPR has begun working to finalize Master Agreements with the following firms: All Phase Land Clearing, Inc., Alta Vista Landscaping Inc, Arbor Vitae Enterprises Inc, Daniel Hovarter Tree Service, Fire Break Tree Service LP, Hargo’s Land Management, Highground Excavating and Tree Service, Inc., Newcomb Tree Experts, Inc., Northwoods Tree & Land Service, LLC, The Davey Tree Expert Company, Tier One Terrain Corp., and Wildfire Services Group Inc. for Defensible Space Services and to Dedrick Construction, Inc., Home Hardening Pros LLC, Kingsley Builders, Inc., and Pressler Properties & Construction, LLC for Home Hardening Services for the Weber Creek Project.
Under the proposed Agreements, the Defensible Space and Home Hardening Contractors will have the opportunity to participate in bid walks for home sites within the project area and if awarded the bid, will be tasked with implementing the defensible space work and/or home hardening retrofits for each awarded scope of work under the guidance of the Construction Management Firm contracted with the County. Bid walks for home sites can be scheduled with Defensible Space and Home Hardening Contractors once environmental approval is obtained by FEMA. The agreements are set at $5,000,000, but vendors will only be compensated once a tri-party agreement is executed with the homeowner, County, and vendor and the County issues a Notice to Proceed for the work.
OWPR is still working with Procurement and Contracts to draft an agreement with one final home hardening contractor associated with this RFQ, Home Hardening Pros LLC, and it will be brought to the Board at a future date.
ALTERNATIVES
Defensible Space and Home Hardening services are necessary to implement the Weber Creek Project under the California Wildfire Mitigation Program (CWMP). The Board could choose not to award the RFQ, and the project would not move forward.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
Legistar file 22-0491 - March 22, 2022 - as part of a presentation and conceptual approval of OWPR, the Board approved and designated $3,375,000 of excess contingency funds to be used as the local matching funds for the Weber Creek Project under the original application for this grant project under FEMA’s HMGP.
Legistar file 23-1568 - August 29, 2023 - The Board accepted a grant award under the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for the Weber Creek Project, Phase I, in the amount of $1,404,532.50 for a term of June 28, 2023 to June 27, 2026.
Legistar file 23-1571 - August 29, 2023 - The Board adopted and endorsed the Wildfire Strategy, which included the award of the Phase 1 California Wildfire Mitigation Program Weber Creek Project.
Legistar file 24-0760 - June 11, 2024 - The Board approved and executed Agreement 8717 with EMC Planning Group, Inc. to perform the environmental and historical preservation review of the Weber Creek homes.
Legistar file 25-1595 - September 30, 2025 - The Board approved and executed Agreement 9819 with 4LEAF Inc. to perform construction management services for the Weber Creek Project.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
Procurement and Contracts
County Counsel
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no increase to Net County Cost associated with the approval of these Agreements. Funding for the Weber Creek Project has been included in the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget and will be included in future year budgets, as needed. Reimbursement for Project expenses will be provided by FEMA and CalOES on a quarterly basis.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Obtain the Chair’s signature on the Master Agreements.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Tanya Harlow, Wildfire Resilience Officer
Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience