TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Erick Lee, Public Works Director
Katherine Doherty, City Engineer
Jeff Fijalka, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of Accepting as Complete Work Performed by Asplundh Construction, LLC, Regarding the Underground Utility Assessment District 4 Project (Public Works Director Lee).
A) ACCEPT
B) AUTHORIZE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Formally accept as complete the Asplundh Construction, LLC construction contract;
2) Authorize the filing of the Notice of Completion with the County Recorder; and
3) Release the retention of $218,977.30.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The construction contract for the Underground Utility Assessment District 4 Project (District 4) was awarded to Asplundh Construction, LLC (Asplundh) for a total not to exceed $4,526,052. Asplundh completed work on the project for a total cost of $4,379,545.90. Subsequent to acceptance of the work and the filing of the Notice of Completion, the retention amount of $218,977.30 will be released to the contractor.
Unexpended project contingency funds will remain available in the Utility Assessment District Contract Services account to address unforeseen issues that may arise prior to the removal of all overhead facilities and utility poles from the District. After the completion of all overhead wire and pole removal, any remaining construction funds will be refunded to the individual property owners within the district.
BACKGROUND:
District 4 is a 167-parcel underground utility assessment district in the southern portion of the City’s Hill Section. The district is generally bounded by 1st Street to the north, Sepulveda Boulevard to the east, Boundary Place to the south, and Ardmore Avenue to the west.
Bids for the installation of the Southern California Edison, Frontier, and Spectrum underground facilities (i.e. trench, conduit, pull boxes, etc.) in District 4 were solicited by the City on a competitive basis in September 2019, and Asplundh was identified as the lowest responsible bidder. As such, Asplundh’s bid price was included in the Assessment Engineer’s Report for this district. The total district costs were then apportioned out and presented to property owners. Voting to form the district commenced in November 2019.
On January 7, 2020, a Proposition 218 hearing was conducted to count ballots for District 4 in consideration of forming an underground utility assessment district. The votes tallied showed majority support for undergrounding, and City Council subsequently adopted a resolution forming District 4. During that same meeting, City Council awarded a construction contract to Asplundh in the amount of $3,998,090 and authorized a construction contingency for additional work up to $527,962.
DISCUSSION:
Asplundh began construction on August 17, 2020 and was substantially complete on June 18, 2021. They recently fulfilled the remaining “punchlist” items to the City’s satisfaction.
Nine change orders were necessary for the work performed by Asplundh, to account for additional unforeseen utilities in need of undergrounding, additional concrete restoration, application of crack seal and slurry seal throughout the district, and conduit and utility pole relocation. A total of 50 additional working days were granted for the execution of this additional work.
The Asplundh contract budget and expenditure summary is as follows:
Budget:
$3,998,090.00 Original Contract Award
$ 527,962.00 Authorized Contingency
$4,526,052.00 Total Combined Asplundh Contract Budget
Expenditures:
$3,998,090.00 Contract Expenditures
$ 8,144.12 CCO #1 - Crown Castle Conduit, Part 1
$ 19,425.06 CCO #2 - Crown Castle Conduit, Part 2
$ 14,496.00 CCO #3 - AT&T Conduit, Part 1
$ 768.00 CCO #4 - Additional Concrete Restoration on Dianthus St.
$ 100,856.00 CCO #5 - AT&T Conduit, Part 2
$ 3,345.00 CCO #6 - Re-work on Ardmore Due to Unmarked Irrigation
$ 106,585.63 CCO #7 - Crack Seal and Slurry Seal throughout District
$ 38,792.65 CCO #8 - Conduit Relocation
$ 89,043.44 CCO #9 - Pole Relocation at 2nd Street and Dianthus St.
$4,379,545.90 Final Asplundh Contract Costs
The contractor has completed all work for a total construction cost of $4,379,545.90 and is now requesting formal acceptance of the project. The five percent retention amount of $218,977.30 will be released 35 days after the recordation of the Notice of Completion with the County Recorder. All work inspected by the Public Works Department has been found to be in conformance with the plans and specifications and of good quality.
District 4 property owners were mailed notices in May 2021 with instructions for connecting their homes to the underground conduits installed by Asplundh. The City provided a four month window for the private conversion work, and all property owners completed the required work within 60 days of the deadline.
As of August 2022, Southern California Edison has completed the installation of their underground system and all properties have been cut-over to the new electrical system. Build-out of the Frontier and Spectrum underground systems is nearing completion, and both of these utilities expect to perform individual customer cut-overs during September and October of this year. Utility pole removal and streetlight installation is anticipated to commence after all overhead services have been disconnected, and this final phase of the project is expected to last one to two months.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Prior to the start of construction, two project information signs were installed at opposing ends of the District to notify the public of the project. The signage remained in place throughout construction. In addition, a notice announcing the start of construction was mailed to each District 4 property owner and to all District residents. A list of road closures and construction impacts was posted to the UUAD page on the City’s website and updated regularly throughout construction. Work notification was also coordinated with the City of Hermosa Beach, when necessary.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed project for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and had determined that the project qualifies for a Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15302(d) and 15303(d) (Conversion of overhead electric utility distribution system facilities to underground and conversion of existing small structures to small new equipment and facilities in small structures) of the State CEQA Guidelines. A Notice of Exemption was filed with the Los Angeles County Clerk’s Office for the Project.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.