On Ramp to Small Business

Servicing San Diego and Imperial County

Volume 5, January 2021

Caltrans Warehouse Store

 

 The District 11 Store’s mission is to support, equip and protect Caltrans’ workers, who keep the traveling public safe, maintain the operation of the infrastructure while being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Store staff is responsible for the procurement, storage, management, and distribution of materials and goods throughout the District. The District 11 Store carries an inventory of approximately 600 products at any given time, with an average value of $750,000. District 11 Store staff directly procure about 75 of those products from small businesses. Those products vary widely, including COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies, fire extinguishers, and parts needed for landscaping. The Store makes annual purchases of $350,000 - $400,000 through small businesses. The D11 Store staff work very hard to maintain inventory levels, make purchases and provide excellent customer service to all Caltrans personnel in San Diego and Imperial Counties. If you are interested in doing business with the District 11 Store, please email your capabilities statement to D11.Store@dot.ca.gov. 

 

Happy New Year!

Caltrans is looking forward to doing business in 2021. We have great projects on the horizon this year, and we hope to see you join us. While the new year marks the end of the holiday season, the business of bringing a new and improved transportation system doesn’t. You provide an important service and we recognize that.  Working with Caltrans provides you opportunities to meet your company’s objectives that you set for your business in 2021. This is  an ideal opportunity to refocus and plan for superior business resolutions for the future.

New Year, New Beginnings. Get Certified!

Obtaining a state certification can help your business by opening additional opportunities and possibilities. Caltrans recognizes four (4) certifications: Small Business (SB), Small Business for the purpose of Public Works (SB-PW), Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE), and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE). Check out the contract goal percentages and informational links below to see if you are eligible to apply!

Contract Goal Percentages:

• Small Business – 25%
• Small Business for the Purpose of Public Works – 25%
• Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise – 5%
• Disadvantaged Business Enterprise – 17.6%

Apply Online at:

https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/sbdvbe-index.aspx

Questions? Contact (916) 375-4940, OSDSHelp@dgs.ca.gov

Download the DBE application from: https://dot.ca.gov/programs/civil-rights

Mail the completed Application Packet to:

Caltrans, Office of Civil Rights,
P. O. Box 942874, MS 79, Sacramento, CA 94274

Questions? Contact (916) 324-1700, DBE.certification@dot.ca.gov

Need a more in-depth understanding of these certifications? Register for our upcoming workshops:

• How to do Business with Caltrans 2.0Certifications (DBE)
• How to do Business with Caltrans 2.0Certifications (SB/DVBE)

DVBE Corner

Continuing to Serve — The Caltrans Veterans Outreach Program

At Caltrans, we are always looking for ways to improve the transportation system and provide help to those who need it. The Caltrans Veterans Outreach Program (VOP), established in 2017 as a partnership with the Butte County Office of Education’s Back2Work program, was a creative way for us to help veterans and improve our communities beyond the scope of our normal contracts. The Veterans Outreach Program originated in Caltrans Headquarters with crews statewide, and the San Diego region was proud to be the first District to expand the program by employing additional crews in 2019. Working with Back2Work’s Regional Coordinator Randy Wortman, the VOP program recruits veterans who are out of work and are often times experiencing homelessness. Participants receive transitional employment alongside Caltrans maintenance crews, while also receiving job skills training to reintegrate them back into the workforce. According to Wortman, “the goal is to launch them into career employment. Something in trades, the state at Caltrans, I.T. whatever they are interested in. This is a means to an end”.

As a department we value integrity, commitment, teamwork, innovation, and   leadership; all things our veterans learned in military service, and through the VOP program can apply to public service as they help maintain our highways. In the San Diego region Caltrans has continuously dedicated more and more resources to combat the increasing amount of littering and illegal dumping happening on our transportation system, and VOP crews are one of the many solutions. While the cleanup work the veteran teams perform alongside Caltrans crews is invaluable, the most rewarding part is to see participants continue their successes after completing the program. Recently several program graduates have been hired as full-time employees at Caltrans, and now some participants are going on to pursue self-employment. Our goal now is to educate those interested and connect them with resources for starting a small business, getting certified as a Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise in California, and winning state contracts, increasing the DVBE pool and continuing our partnership with veterans committed to serving our community.

You can learn more about on the Caltrans Veterans Outreach Program by calling 211 and entering option four to speak with someone from Courage to Call or by visiting the website www.sdvetsback2work.org

DVBE Resources

At Caltrans, we partner with other agencies to be a resource for your Small Business needs.  The following links have helpful information; from jump starting your business, to assisting with an already established business.

• Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) Programhttps://socalvboc.org/   
• Training & Events Link
• U.S. Veteran Business Alliance
• San Diego Veterans Coalition
• CalVet
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Veterans in Business (VIB) Network
• Elite SDBVOB Network

Small Business Team & D11 DVBE Advocate

Maria Ibarra

• Business Services Manager  
• Work Cell Phone (619) 930-7895
• Fax (619) 220-7379
• maria.ibarra@dot.ca.gov

Shawn Rivers

• Acting Small Business Liaison
• Desk Phone (619) 688-3151
• Fax  (619) 220-7379
• shawn.rivers@dot.ca.gov

Upcoming Procurement Opportunities

Solicitation Resource Links:

Architecture & Engineering

• To search upcoming A&E Contracts, click here
• To see the A&E Look ahead report, click here

Construction

• To locate significant construction contracts, click here
• Construction Contract Awards 

Commodities & Services

To view active commodities & service contracts, click here

Upcoming Events in 2021

How to do Business with Caltrans Workshops

• January 20, 2021 | 9:30 - 11:30 AM | WebEx
• March  17, 2021 | 9:30 - 11:30 AM | WebEx
• May 19, 2021 | 9:30 - 11:30 AM | WebEx

Local Small Business Council

Caltrans Small Business Council for the San Diego Region was established to promote the effective implementation of federal and state requirements and assist with participation in Caltrans contracts. We continue to provide forums in which interested small businesses can offer suggestions from their unique perspective in an advisory capacity on Caltrans’s practices and procedures. Please be advised that representation on the Council must be from a local organization representing small businesses interested in doing business with Caltrans.

The Council is comprised of individuals from business trade associations, Caltrans, construction industry representatives, public agency partners, and other businesses on an as-needed basis.

Are you interested in becoming a member? Apply today!

Register to attend by emailing: D11.SmallBusiness@dot.ca.gov

• Committee Meetings: 8:00 AM to 9:15 AM
• Council Meetings: 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM

Council Meeting Dates for 2021:

• Wednesday, February 24th
• Wednesday, April 28th
• Wednesday, June 23rd
• Wednesday, August 25th
• Wednesday, October 27th

Council and Committee Meetings will be delivered via Webex until further notice.