PREPARED BY: JIMMY ZHOU DATE OF MEETING: 05/20/2024
SUBJECT:
TITLE
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION (1) APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE SUTTER AVENUE URBAN GREENING PROJECT (“PROJECT”, CIP 0300); (2) APPROPRIATING MEASURE J FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,412,860 TO THE PROJECT; (3) REAPPROPRIATING FUND 120 FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $292,812 FROM THE FULL TRASH CAPTURE DEVICE PROJECT (0304) TO THE PROJECT; (4) AWARDING A CONTRACT TO KEREX ENGINEERING, INC., IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,856,219 WITH A 15% CONTINGENCY FOR A TOTAL AUTHORIZATION OF $4,434,652; (5) AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH KEREX ENGINEERING INC. FOR THE PROJECT AND (6) AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH PARK ENGINEERING INC. FOR THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND INSPECTION SERVICES FOR THE PROJECT IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $382,405
CEQA Compliance Statement: The Sutter Green Project was assessed and determined to be Categorically Exempt from environmental review under Section 15304(b)&(f), 15301(b)&(c), and 15302(c) of the CEQA Regulations. The CEQA Notice of Exemption (NOE) was originally filed at the Contra Costa County Clerk’s Office on January 31, 2022, and a revised NOE was filed on March 13, 2024.
Label
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Adopt Resolution
Body
Workplan Compliance statement
Major Policy Goal: Build a Healthy Community - 109 Develop Public Facilities for Active Living is an adopted policy item contained in the FY 2023-25 Adopted City Council Priority Workplan, updated May 1, 2023.
BACKGROUND
Project Background:
The Sutter Avenue Urban Greening Project (“Project”) aims to reduce localized urban flooding, improve water quality of storm runoff to the bay, and increase infiltration to the groundwater. The Project is located on Sutter Avenue between Rumrill Boulevard and 17th Street and on 14th Street between Sutter Avenue and Bush Avenue. Other project goals include urban greening, sequestering carbon through tree planting, traffic calming, and improving pedestrian accessibility.
On January 18, 2022, Geosyntec Consultants was awarded a contract for engineering and design services for the Project. The 100% construction plans and specifications were completed in December 2023.
On February 29, 2024, the City advertised the notice inviting bids. One addendum was issued during the advertisement period. The Engineer’s Estimate for construction is $3,600,000.
On March 21, 2024, the City received one (1) bid and publicly opened bids as follows:
|
1) |
Kerex Engineering Inc. |
Pleasant Hill, CA |
$3,856,219 |
The apparent lowest responsive and responsible bidder is Kerex Engineering Inc. from Pleasant Hill, California. The bid total is $3,856,219. Staff conducted a bid analysis and found no irregularities. Staff recommends awarding the contract to Kerex Engineering Inc.
Construction on the Project is anticipated to begin in June 2024, and reach substantial completion by the end of November 2024. The time of completion of this construction contract is 110 working days. A moderate to significant impact to residents who live in the Project area is anticipated, as with any other similar-size construction projects in residential area. Appropriate traffic control, pedestrian safety measures, and outreach efforts will be implemented. For example, one travel lane for through traffic will be available at all times; driveways and sidewalks will be made accessible to residents as much as possible during the excavation and reconstruction of sidewalks; and a Spanish speaking staff member is planned to be assigned to the Project so the Project team can efficiently communicate with residents.
On March 19, 2024, the City published the Request for Proposals (RFP) for construction management and inspection services for the Project. On April 2, 2024, the City received three (3) proposals from the following firms: Park Engineering Inc., SNG Associates Inc., and UNICO Engineering. Following a thorough review and evaluation of the proposals and subsequent interviews, Park Engineering Inc. was considered the top-ranked consultant firm. Staff has negotiated with Park Engineering Inc. to modify the scope and compensation and has accepted a revised cost proposal. Staff recommends City Council authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Park Engineering Inc. in the amount of $382,405 to provide construction management and inspection services for the Project.
In summary, with City Council’s approval to award, the general contractor to construct the Project will be Kerex Engineering Inc. and the construction management and inspection will be performed by Park Engineering Inc. Ongoing engineering support during construction will be provided by Geosyntec Consultants.
Funding Background:
The Project has secured three federal and state grants as follows:
• $1,760,000 from the State of California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) Proposition 68 (Prop 68) Urban Flood Protection Grant Program,
• $1,560,000 from the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Proposition 1 (Prop 1) Storm Water Grant Program, and
• $50,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) San Francisco Bay Area Water Quality Improvement Fund (SFBWQIF) Grant.
• The City has also appropriated $410,000 of local general funds to the Project in prior resolutions.
• The total Project funding to-date is at $3,780,000 for all phases of the Project.
Near the end of the design phase, staff identified a funding gap for the Project based on the updated engineering estimate for construction. The estimate cost of construction and construction management has increased from $2.962M in 2021 to 4.624M (including 10% contingency) in 2024, representing a 56% increase. The main contributing factors for the cost increase are high inflation in the construction industry as well as increased construction volume.
After receiving the low construction bid and the cost proposal for the top-ranked construction management firm, staff determined the funding gap to be approximately $1.451M.
Staff submitted a cost increase letter to request an additional $1,451,100 from the SWRCB Prop 1 Storm Water Grant Program. Subsequently, staff received an approval memo from the Deputy Director of the Division of Financial Assistance from SWRCB limiting the additional funding to $1,412,860. The 10% contingency for Construction Management ($38,240) was not approved.
Since the amendment for the additional grant funding will take approximately two to three months to execute, this approved funding cannot be appropriated to the Project until then. In order to award the construction contract and to meet the critical Project schedule, staff proposes to appropriate Measure J funding in the amount of $1,412,860 to the Project with the intention of reappropriating the same Measure J amount from the Project as soon as the approved SWRCB grant funding is received and appropriated.
Previously, City Council authorized the City Manager to approve any amendments to the original funding agreement with SWRCB via Resolution 2021-042. It is anticipated that City Manager will utilize this authorization to execute an amendment with the SWRCB to receive the additional funding in the next two to three months.
Subsequently, staff intends to seek City Council’s approval to then reappropriate the Measure J funding from the Project and appropriate the approved SWRCB grant funding to the Project as soon as the amendment has been executed.
In addition, 10% construction contingency is budgeted by using the SWRCB grant funding. Therefore, any expenditure of contingency funds requires approval from the SWRCB. This limits City staff’s ability to respond to potential contract change order in a timely manner. Therefore, staff proposes an additional 5% contingency in the amount of $212,092 using Fund 120 funds. This will provide City staff with the ability to review and approve potential small contract change orders without having seeking approval from the SWRCB. Large and non-time-sensitive contract change orders will still be funded with the SWRCB grant.
Lastly, staff recommends reallocating $122,405 from Construction to Construction Management. The CNRA Prop 68 Urban Flood Reduction Program Grant was previously appropriated from Construction to Construction Management via Resolution 2022-028. This reallocation adjusts funds between the Construction and Construction Management accounts to reflect the bid and contract total.
A summary of the proposed actions to fund the Project, a list of funding sources and an estimate expenditure is be provided in the fiscal impact section.
FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal impacts are outlined in the tables below.
|
Proposed Actions |
|
ACTION |
FROM: Account Code |
TO: Account Code |
AMOUNT |
|
Appropriate |
230-0000-12611-LSM-324 |
320-0300-43604-LSM-324 |
$ 1,412,860 |
|
Re-appropriate |
320-0304-43604-ARA-123 |
320-0300-43604-ARA-123 |
$ 292,812 |
|
Re-allocate |
320-0300-43604-CNR-222 |
320-0300-43605-CNR-222 |
$ 122,405 |
|
Project Budget for Construction and Construction Management |
|
Funding Source |
Fund/Account Code |
Amount |
|
Local/General Fund |
320-0300-43604-GEN-424 |
$ 379,316 |
|
Measure J Fund |
320-0300-43604-LSM-424 |
$ 1,412,860 |
|
Fund 120 Funds |
320-0300-43604-ARA-123 |
$ 292,812 |
|
SWRCB Prop 1 Grant |
320-0300-43604-SWB-222 |
$ 1,017,169 |
|
CNRA Prop 68 Grant |
320-0300-43604-CNR-222 |
$ 1,332,495 |
|
CNRA Prop 68 Grant |
320-0300-43605-CNR-222 |
$ 382,405 |
|
Total: |
$ 4,817,057 |
|
Project Estimate Expenditure for Construction |
|
|
Description |
Amount |
|
Construction contract (Kerex Engineering Inc.) |
$ 3,856,219 |
|
Construction contingency (15%) |
$ 578,433 |
|
Construction Management (Park Engineering Inc.) |
$ 382,405 |
|
Total: |
$ 4,817,057 |
ATTACHMENT
Att A - SWRCB Approval Memo Re: Cost Increase Request
Att B - Resolution
Att C - Contract for construction executed by Kerex Engineering Inc.
Att D - Consultant Agreement for Park Engineering Inc.