TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Erick Lee, Public Works Director
Katherine Doherty, City Engineer
Marzena Laskowska, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Approving the Professional Design Services Agreement with PACE Inc. for Final Design Services for the Poinsettia Ave Sewer Lift Station Improvement Project at a Cost Not-to-Exceed $450,215 and Making a Determination of Exemption Pursuant to Sections 15302 Class 2 of the State CEQA Guidelines (Public Works Director Lee).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 23-0140
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council:
1. Adopt Resolution No. 23-0140 approving the professional services agreement with Pacific Advanced Civil Engineering, Inc. (PACE) for final design services and preparation of construction bid documents for the Poinsettia Avenue Sewer Lift Station Improvement Project at a Cost Not-to-Exceed $450,215; and
2. Make a Determination of Exemption Pursuant to Sections 15302 Class 2 of the State CEQA Guidelines for Poinsettia Avenue Sewer Lift Station Improvement Project.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The Poinsettia Avenue Sewer Lift Station Improvement Project is included in the current Capital Improvement Program (CIP) with a total project budget of $3.3 million within Wastewater Fund. This agreement will cover the final design engineering necessary to construct the Poinsettia Avenue sewer lift station. There are sufficient funds available to complete the final design contract for $450,215, as shown in the Budget and Expenditures summary table (attachment). There are no additional fiscal implications at this time.
BACKGROUND:
The City currently operates and maintains an extensive sanitary sewer system. The City’s existing wastewater collection system is comprised of a network of gravity sewer pipelines, lift (pump) stations, and force mains. The gravity system consists of approximately 81.6 miles (430,784 linear feet) of pipe and 2,086 manholes and cleanouts. It also includes eight pump stations and 5,114 linear feet of associated force mains to lift and convey wastewater from the lower elevation areas to the gravity system. The City’s local sewer system connects to the Los Angeles County Sanitation District system, which provides regional wastewater conveyance and treatment services to the City and neighboring agencies.
Sanitary sewer lift stations are complex facilities with auxiliary systems designed to move wastewater from lower to higher elevations through a force main pipe. Pump stations must be monitored and maintained regularly to ensure a reliable operating condition. Key elements of lift stations include a wastewater receiving well (wet-well), often equipped with a screen to remove coarse materials; pumps and piping with associated valves; motors; a power supply system; an equipment control and alarm system; and an odor control system and ventilation system. Lift station equipment and systems are often installed in enclosed concrete underground structures. Underground sewer pump station concrete structures typically last 50 to 100 years, with internal mechanical and electrical equipment lasting 15 to 20 years. The Poinsettia Ave Sewer Lift Station structure was initially constructed in the early 1950s and has reached its useful life at nearly 70 years old. Once the useful life has been exceeded, these facilities become less reliable, more expensive to maintain, and are subject to failure.
In 2010, the City adopted a Wastewater Master Plan that analyzed various facilities and operations of the City’s existing wastewater collection system. The Wastewater Master Plan included a list of capital improvement projects that will enhance the system to meet established criteria, properly maintain the system assets, and replace the facilities that have reached the end of their useful lives. The 2010 Wastewater Master Plan identified six sewer lift stations requiring major rehabilitation. After reviewing this plan, Public Works staff identified the Voorhees Avenue, Pacific Avenue, and Poinsettia Avenue stations as priorities.
In October 2019, the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for design services to upgrade and enhance three sewer lift stations, force mains, and associated appurtenances, including:
• Voorhees Avenue
• Pacific Avenue
• Poinsettia Avenue
The RFP phased the project approach and delivery in two phases:
1. Preliminary design development of a Basis of Design Report (BODR) for each sewer lift station.
2. Final design and preparation of construction bid contract documents.
In April 2020, City Council awarded a contract to PACE, Inc. for the Phase 1 preliminary design development work to determine the preferred alternatives to upgrade and enhance the sewer lift stations listed above.
In June 2022, City Council received the BODR (attachment) for each of the three sewer lift stations listed above and approved the Pacific Avenue Sewer Lift Station alternate of replacing sewer lift station with a gravity pipeline. The BODR provided in Phase 1 included analysis of current conditions, evaluation of alternatives for the upgrade, rehabilitation, and relocation or elimination of each sewer lift station, providing preliminary, conceptual design, and alignment drawings for the new sewer lift station and force main by the City’s requirements. City Council also awarded a contract to PACE, Inc. for the Phase 2 final design and preparation of construction bid documents for the Voorhees Avenue Sewer Lift Station Rehabilitation and the Pacific Avenue Sewer Lift Station Replacement Project. Phase 3 for the final design and preparation of construction bid documents for the Poinsettia Avenue Sewer Lift Station Improvement Project was not awarded at that time.
DISCUSSION:
The Poinsettia Avenue Sewer Lift Station is a circular combined wet well and dry vault type underground facility located in the easterly sidewalk area at 1100 Poinsettia Avenue south of Manhattan Beach Boulevard. The entrance to the underground station is located in the driveway of the First Lutheran Church and school. The pump station was originally constructed in 1949 and retrofitted in 1995. The Poinsettia station serves a 25-acre tributary area with only low-density residential land use (152 parcels).
Due to the topography of the City and the invert elevations of nearby sanitary sewer infrastructure, conveying the wastewater flow by gravity is not feasible. The recommended improvement in the BODR for the Poinsettia station is a complete replacement with a new pump station adjacent to and north of the existing station in the sidewalk parkway area. Poinsettia station will require constructing a new adequate emergency storage wet well and dry vault concrete structure and installing new mechanical and electrical equipment. The Poinsettia station pumps wastewater through a force main pipeline approximately 165 feet to Manhattan Beach Boulevard. A new parallel force main pipeline will be installed to provide system redundancy. The old force main would remain available if the primary force main were taken out of service for maintenance or repair. The new sewer lift station will provide added reliability and increase emergency storage for more response time. During construction, the existing sewer lift station needs to be operational for the most extended amount of time possible to avoid a costly temporary bypass.
At this time, staff recommends awarding Phase 3 final design and preparation of construction bid documents for the Poinsettia Avenue Sewer Lift Station Improvement Project. Some of the critical services that will be provided in the final design phase include:
• Complete oversight of the project scope and administration, including progress and community meetings, project cost accounting, quality control, and adherence to the project schedule.
• Environmental compliance with CEQA exemptions and permitting.
• Construction plans, specifications, and estimates (PS&E).
• Construction engineering support, including bidding, review of requests for information (RFI), submittals, associated meetings, and record drawings.
Following approval of the final design agreement, the anticipated schedule milestones for the project are to complete final design in spring 2025 and begin construction in winter 2025/2026.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
No public outreach was conducted regarding this design services award. However, the project team will conduct community information meetings and send notices to residences adjacent to the work once the project progresses into the final design phase.
Furthermore, once the project progresses to the construction phase, public outreach will include construction update notices, special event coordination, electronic message boards, media coordination, traffic alerts, and updates on the City website.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The Phase 1 preliminary engineering BODR included a pre-screening Initial Study, prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), to disclose and evaluate short-term construction-related and long-term operational impacts of the Poinsettia Sewer Lift Station Improvement Project. Based on the Pre-Screening Initial Study analysis, no potentially significant impacts would occur from the proposed project.
Given that the existing conditions and project scope have not changed since the time the pre-screening Initial Study was conducted, the determination of a Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15302 Class 2 of the State CEQA Guidelines for replacement or reconstruction of existing facilities within the same footprint, with the same proposed usage, and with the same capacity is still appropriate. If during the final design process the project changes such that the study areas may be impacted, further technical studies will be conducted and CEQA will be pursued accordingly.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 23-0140
2. Design Report (Web-Links Provided)
3. Design Agreement - PACE Inc. (2023)
4. Budget and Expenditures Summary
5. Location Map