TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Joe DeFrancesco, Interim Public Works Director
Jeff Page, Utilities Manager
SUBJECT: Title
Consideration of a Resolution Approving Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement with W.A. Rasic Construction Company, Inc., for On-Call Construction and Repair Services, in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $112,586 (Budgeted) (Interim Public Works Director DeFrancesco).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 26-0037
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt resolution No. 26-0037 approving amendment No. 1 to the agreement with W.A. Rasic Construction Company, Inc. for on-call construction and repair services, in an amount not to exceed $112,586.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Sufficient funding for this emergency repair is available in the Public Works Department’s budget for the current fiscal year within the Sewer Fund.
BACKGROUND:
The City’s wastewater collection system includes approximately 82 miles of sewer mains, primarily constructed of vitrified clay pipe, with some ceramic-lined concrete pipe in older beach areas. The system includes six lift stations and conveys flow to the Los Angeles County Sanitation District for treatment. The City maintains an ongoing capital improvement and rehabilitation program guided by its Wastewater Master Plan, Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP), and Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
In early February, staff identified a sewer main in front of 400 N. Sepulveda Boulevard that had been nearly filled with cement slurry, a material typically used for filling abandoned sewer lines or stabilizing trenches. This condition significantly reduced the pipe’s capacity and created a risk of a sewer system overflow. Staff made multiple attempts to remove the obstruction using available in-house methods, including mechanical cutting, but those efforts were unsuccessful. Given the immediate risk to system operations and the inability to resolve the issue with City resources, the situation required urgent outside assistance.
The City maintains an on-call agreement with W.A. Rasic Construction Company, Inc., for construction and repair services. Due to the urgent nature of the repair and the contractor’s availability, W.A. Rasic was engaged to perform the work. The repair was completed over approximately one week.
DISCUSSION:
Public Contract Code Section 22032(a) provides that public projects of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) or less may be performed by a public agency’s employees or by negotiated contract. At the outset of this emergency repair, staff anticipated that the total cost would remain within the existing contract authority of $74,900. However, due to the extent and complexity of the obstruction, the final cost exceeded that amount.
Resolution No. 12-6422 delegates authority to the City Manager to declare an emergency and take action without competitive bidding pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 22050. Because the initial cost estimate was within existing contract authority, the formal emergency procedures outlined in Section 22050(c)(2) were not initiated at that time.
This situation reflects the inherent uncertainty associated with emergency repair work, where conditions are not fully known until the work is underway. Moving forward, staff will take a more conservative approach when evaluating emergency repairs and will initiate the provisions of Section 22050 when there is potential for costs to exceed established contract authority, ensuring compliance with all procedural requirements.
Based on observations made during the repair, the slurry found in the sewer main may be associated with nearby development activity. Staff will evaluate the circumstances and pursue cost recovery, as appropriate.
Accordingly, staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution approving Amendment No. 1 to the agreement with W.A. Rasic Construction Company, Inc. for on-call construction and repair services, in an amount not to exceed $112,586.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has approved the agreement as to form.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 26-0037
2. Amendment No. 1 - W.A. Rasic Construction Company, Inc.
3. Agreement - W.A. Rasic Construction Company, Inc.
4. Resolution No. 12-6422