City of Dublin, U.S. Army reach ‘first-of-its-kind’ deal

Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (better known as Camp Parks) will save taxpayer money by using janitorial, pest control and solid waste services contracted by the city of Dublin, in what’s been called a “first-of-its kind agreement in the San Francisco Bay Area,” officials with the public agencies said.

The $775,377 contract was approved at the Dec. 3 Dublin City Council meeting, and includes an administrative fee to cover vendor oversight and management by the city.

Tri-Valley Janitorial, Amador Valley Industries and Advanced Integrated Pest Management will provide services “at a lower cost and better standard of performance than the Army was or could contract for those services on its own,” according to city officials.

Such public-public partnerships — also known as an intergovernmental support agreement (IGSA) — have become more common in the Department of Defense since they first received statutory authority by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013. IGSA arrangements are a way for military bases and neighboring communities to share cost savings, cost avoidance, and better performance.

The city of Dublin and Camp Parks have partnered on projects before — the Camp Parks History Center is one notable example — by using memorandums of agreement (MOAs), but “this is the first IGSA and is a tremendous step forward in codifying the relationship between the two organizations,” the city said.

Camp Parks, which operates as a mobilization and training center for the U.S. Army in central Dublin, including battlefield simulation and military intelligence, has been an important part of the Tri-Valley since 1942.