KEEPING MILLBRAE CLEAN AT HALF THE PRICE
By Ronny Gil – Millbrae Patch

The Millbrae city council convened on Sept. 28 to unanimously approve a new janitorial services contract for the city of Millbrae that will save the city thousands of dollars.

The city reviews the janitorial contracts when they expire every three years to save money by finding companies willing to do the job for less. This year Little Giant Building Maintenance (http://littlegiantbuilding.com/) bid at $39,000, while all other bids from other companies were between $80,000 and $90,000. Total Quality Management currently cleans Millbrae city buildings and is paid $84,000 annually.

“It’s shocking to see the difference,” said council member Marge Colapietro.

The contract consists of janitorial services to all of the city buildings three days a week, including the two fire stations, city hall and the community center. The contract is virtually the same as the previous one with Total Quality Management – the only difference is price.

“The low bidding caused concern. So we held another meeting with Little Giant,” said Director of Public Works Ron Popp.

The city reexplained the contract during the second meeting, but Little Giant still stood by their bid. The city then checked into the company’s references and heard nothing but glowing remarks. Little Giant’s General Manager Sarah Kirk remained confident in their work despite the price differences.

“Our guys are really good at doing that type of work. We’ve been working together for so many years, so we’re very efficient. We’re saving the city money because we keep our overhead minimal. For example, we already have a lot of contracts in the area, so there is no travel costs,” said Kirk.

The city remained weary however. Popp explained that three years ago the city had to fire the lowest bidder because they could not perform all the necessary tasks. “We’ll be keeping a very close eye on them making sure they’re not doing anything suspicious,” said Popp.

If Little Giant doesn’t perform to city standards then the contract will be awarded to the next lowest bidder.