Title
Adopt a Resolution to Approve and Authorize the City Manager to Award a Construction Contract to Spencon Construction in an amount of $2,471,000 for Curb Ramp Upgrades for Annual Street Paving 21-23, Project No. 2020.0050; to Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate and Approve Individual Change Orders Up to 5% of the Original Contract Amount ($123,550); to Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate and Approve Cumulative Change Orders up to 25% of the Original Contract Amount ($617,750); and to Appropriate $465,000 for the Project in Fiscal Year 2022-2023
Staffreport
COUNCIL PRIORITY
• Infrastructure
SUMMARY
This contract provides for the upgrade of pedestrian curb cut ramps to meet current accessibility code requirements for street segments proposed for surface restoration as part of the Annual Street Paving 21-23 project.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends the following actions:
• Award a construction contract of the ‘base bid plus additive alternate A’ to Spencon Construction, Inc. in the amount of $2,471,000
• Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and approve individual change orders up to 5% (or $123,550) of the original contract amount
• Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and approve change orders up to a cumulative value not to exceed 25% (or $617,750) of the original contract amount; and
• Appropriate an additional $465,000 in SB1 funds to existing project account number 152-38-520
BACKGROUND
Streets are a critical component of the City’s infrastructure, and their condition is an important factor in the quality of life for residents and the vitality of local businesses. Good pavement conditions increase the efficiency of transporting goods, improve bicycle safety, and make walking more appealing. Each day, residents are dependent on safe, reliable local streets and roads to begin and end their daily commutes. Police, fire, and emergency medical services all rely on safe and reliable roads to respond quickly to calls for service.
Improving the City’s average Pavement Condition Index (PCI) has been of high priority to the City. In 2014 voters in San Leandro passed Measure HH as a guaranteed funding source for essential City services, including improvement to local roadways. In addition, in November 2020, voters in Alameda County passed Measure B to improve local roadways as one of their main objectives. This project has a total project cost of approximately $15,200,000. Over half of the project’s funding ($8,950,000) is provided by City General Funds with the remaining amount provided by a combination of grant, gas tax, and Water Pollution Control Plant enterprise funds.
The City of San Leandro maintains approximately 180 centerline miles of paved roadways. The Annual Street Paving 21-23project will complete paving maintenance on approximately 15.5 lane miles; and includes 88 street segments comprised of 11 arterial streets, 13 collector streets, and 64 local streets. A list of the street segments proposed for restoration is attached. The project also includes improvements to bike and pedestrian access within the project limits, sewer point repairs, and curb ramps. The contract provides for the upgrade of pedestrian curb cut ramps.
Streets within the project will receive either replacement of the top layer of asphalt, a 3/8” rubberized seal coating, or thin slurry seal coat. The streets selected for rehabilitation are the streets that had the lowest pavement condition index (PCI) or pavement condition that could also be restored using the above methods. When selecting streets, priority is also given to streets that carry more vehicles and streets that are on a bike route.
This curb ramp work was bid separately from the rest of the project scope to accelerate project delivery. As part of the proposed base contract, the Contractor will replace or upgrade 376 pedestrian curb cut ramp locations as required by the ADA for streets receiving cape seal or overlay restorations. In addition, this contract will upgrade 86 curb ramps, as included in the additive bid alternate A in preparation for additional streets proposed for paving by the City’s paving crew. Future construction contracts planned for this project include public bids for sanitary sewer point repairs, paving surface seal improvements (asphalt rubber cape seal and slurry seal), and paving rehabilitation (mill and fill) phases.
Analysis
On July 20, 2022, City opened bids for the subject project. Six bids were received with base bids ranging between $2,069,750 and $2,631,350, and the Additive Alternate A ranging between $401,750 and $478,690. Staff determined that Spencon Construction is the apparent low bidder based on the base bid. Spencon Construction is also the lowest bidder for the base bid plus additive alternate A option. The pre-bid Engineer’s Estimate for base bid construction was $2,809,550, and $503,000 for the additive alternate A. Staff recommends the award of a construction contract to Spencon Construction for the ‘base bid plus additive alternate A’ for $2,471,000. Staff verified that Spencon Construction has a valid Contractor’s State License Board license and is registered with the California Department of Industrial Relations.
Additionally, staff recommends appropriation of SB1 funds for $465,000 to complete ramps included in additive alternate A for the subject project. These ramps were bid as an alternate because they are located on streets that will be paved by the City’s Public Works Department using internal equipment. Although street paving maintenance can be done directly by the City’s Public Works Department, they do not have the resources to complete any related concrete ramp replacements SB1 is the funding source used by Public Works for its street work.
This project is subject to the provisions of the Community Workforce Agreement (CWA). Each bidder was advised of the agreement in writing and verbally at the mandatory pre-bid meetings. Each contractor was given contact information for the Bay Area Business Roundtable, an organization hired by the City to provide free technical assistance to comply with the Community Workforce Agreement (CWA). All bidders signed the CWA commitment form. The City’s Local Inclusion Policy Ordinance was not included in this bid because its provisions conflict with the requirements of the project’s Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
As is standard in the construction industry, staff balanced site investigation costs with the risk of finding unforeseen conditions during construction as well as the design costs with the level of detail on the plans. As a result, unforeseen conditions may be encountered during construction and plan details may need to be adjusted or clarified. To minimize delay to the project and ensure that the scope of work is adjusted as needed to provide the highest quality project, staff requests that the City Council authorize the City Manager or her designee to negotiate and approve individual change orders up to 5% ($123,550) of the original contract amount. In addition, staff requests authority to negotiate and approve cumulative change orders up to 25% ($617,750) of the original contract amount. While this level of cumulative change orders is relatively high, this will help to ensure efficient completion of the project on budget and on schedule. This contingency also provides flexibility to add additional street segments to the project should costs on the future bid for the paving phase be less than projected.
Current Agency Policies
• Maintain and enhance the City’s infrastructure
Previous Actions
• On 4/18/2022 by Resolution No. 2022-055, the City Council Approved a Consulting Services Agreement with Nichol Consulting Engineers for the Design of the Annual Street Paving 2021-2023, Project No. 2022.0050 for an Amount Not to Exceed $1,065,000; to Authorize Individual Agreement Amendments Up to 10% ($106,500); and to Authorize Cumulative Agreement Amendments Up to 25% ($266,250)
Applicable General Plan Policies
• Policy T-3.6 - Pedestrian Environment. Improve the walkability of all streets in San Leandro through the planning, implementing, and maintaining of pedestrian supportive infrastructure
• Policy T-3.7 - Removing Barriers to Active Transportation. Reduce barriers to walking and other forms of active transportation such as incomplete or uneven sidewalks, lack of wheelchair ramps and curb cuts, sidewalk obstructions including cars parked on sidewalks, trail gaps, wide intersections, and poor sidewalk connections to transit stops
• Policy CSF-6.8 - Maintenance. Ensure that sufficient funding is provided for the ongoing maintenance of City-owned facilities, including streets, streetlights, traffic signals, landscaping, street trees, storm drains, public buildings and other infrastructure
Environmental Review
This project is Categorically Exempt per California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Section 15301(c) of the CEQA guidelines. A Notice of Exemption was filed with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office on April 14, 2022, and the City received no public objections to the project within the statutory comment period.
Summary of Public Outreach Efforts
The Notice to Bidders was published in the Daily Review, the South County Post, Visión Hispana and World Journal. Staff also notified local builders’ exchanges and construction data firms, as well as a list of contractors that asked to be notified of bidding opportunities via email. The project is described on the Engineering and Transportation Department website.
Three mandatory pre-bid meetings were held on October 11, 13, and 17, with potential bidders.
Prior to any construction which would affect access to private businesses or residences, the contractor will provide notification in the form of door hangers before the work starts. City staff will also notify property owners adjacent to any new mid-block crossing ramp location (where no ramp was located previously) with a letter and door hanger to provide advance notice of the new ramp location.
Legal Analysis
The contractor has agreed to the terms of the contract.
Financial Impacts
The current estimated total cost of this project is $15,215,000 as detailed below:
Design and Bid $1,240,000
Construction Contract - curb ramps (Spencon Construction) $2,471,750
Construction Contract - sanitary sewer repairs $135,212
Construction Contract - pavement resurfacing $9,950,000
Construction Management & Inspection $455,000
Construction Contingencies $963,038
Total Cost: $15,215,000
Funds included in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 budget for this project are as follows:
• Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB1) Grant Funds in
Capital Improvement Fund Account 152-38-520 $ 500,000
• Alameda County Expenditure Plan (Measure B) Grant Funds in
Capital Improvement Fund Account 144-38-520 $1,005,000
• American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Grant Funds in
Streets and Highways Fund Account 190-31-804 $3,600,000
• 2023 Gas Tax Funds in
Capital Improvement Fund Account 140-38-521 $ 500,000
• General Funds in
Capital Improvement Fund Account 210-38-521 $8,953,723
• Sanitary Sewer System Repair funds in
Water Pollution Control Plant Account 593-52-277 $ 191,277
This Council action is funded in part by the above existing project appropriations in the FY2022-23 budget. Additional appropriation of $465,000, which will draw down the CIP General Fund’s undesignated fund balance, is requested by this action.
• Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB1) Funds in
Capital Improvement Fund Account 152-38-520 $ 465,000
Total Funding Required: $15,215,000
ATTACHMENTS
• Attachment A - Resolution
• Attachment B - Bid Summary - Project No. 2022.0050
• Attachment C - List of Project Streets
PREPARED BY: Mark Goralka, PE, Associate Engineer, Engineering and Transportation Department