TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Stephanie Katsouleas, Public Works Director
Prem Kumar, City Engineer
Anastasia Seims, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consider: 1) Appropriating $41,250 from the Water Fund Balance to the Block 35 Elevated Tank Painting Project; 2) Awarding a Construction Contract to Unified Field Services Corporation for the Block 35 Elevated Tank Painting Project for $1,411,389; 3) Authorizing the City Manager to Approve Additional Work if Necessary, for up to $70,582; 4) Approving the Plans and Specifications for the Project; 5) Approving the Design, Layout, and Installation of the City Name and Logo on the Elevated Tank; and 6) Awarding an Inspection Services Agreement with Coating Specialists and Inspection Services, Inc. for the Block 35 Elevated Tank Painting Project for $158,840 (Public Works Director Katsouleas).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NOS. 20-0087 AND 20-0088
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council:
1. Appropriate $41,250 from the Water Fund Balance to the Block 35 Elevated Tank Painting Project (project).
2. Adopt Resolution No. 20-0087:
a. Awarding a construction contract to Unified Field Services Corporation (UFSC) for the Block 35 Elevated Tank Painting Project for $1,411,389,
b. Authorizing the City Manager to execute the Agreement;
c. Authorizing the City Manager to approve additional work, if necessary, for up to $70,582;
d. Approving the Plans and Specifications for the Project; and
3. Approve the design, layout, and installation of the City name and logo on the elevated tank; and
4. Adopt Resolution No. 20-0088 awarding an Inspection Services Agreement with Coating Specialists and Inspection Services, Inc. (CSI) for the Block 35 Elevated Tank Painting Project for $158,840.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The current funding amount required to complete the project, when considering the items listed above plus ancillary expenses identified in the attached Budget and Expenditures report, is $1,676,468. The current funding available is approximately $1,635,218. With an additional appropriation of $41,250 from available Water Fund balance, sufficient funds will be budgeted to complete the project. Any unused funds will revert to the Water Fund balance for future projects.
BACKGROUND:
The Block 35 Elevated Tank was constructed in 1948. It is a steel tank supported on a central pier and eight outer columns with a storage capacity of 300,000 gallons. The elevated tank is part of the City’s potable water system main pressure zone. The elevated tank is filled with potable water, which also provides fire flow protection in the Main Pressure Zone.
A limited chip sampling for the presence of lead paint in the leg frames of the elevated tank was conducted in 2015 and revealed that the lead content of the innermost coat of paint sampled is well in excess of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) maximum lead content, categorizing it as lead-based paint.
A limited inspection of the elevated tank conducted in March 2017, determined that the elevated tank’s protective coating had reached the end of its service life at several locations both inside and outside of the tank surface, causing the progressive corrosion of the steel tank structure. Items such as electrical wiring, corroded structural members and obstruction lightning fixtures were also identified as in need of repairs during this inspection. The Block 35 elevated tank shows signs of severe rusting and paint deterioration. In order to preserve the elevated tank’s steel structure, it is imperative that the exterior surface be repainted and epoxied in order to arrest metal corrosion. This project addresses these concerns and calls for:
• Removing the existing interior and exterior coatings;
• Coating and applying epoxy to the interior and exterior coatings; and
• Repairing and replacing structural components, such as the interior and exterior ladders, catwalk panels, catwalk guardrails, etc.
In order to complete the repairs to the elevated tank, existing antennas and related appurtenances currently located on the elevated tank need to be removed and temporarily relocated or stored during construction. This includes two City-owned IT antennas and one City-owned supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) antenna.
Additional antennas and ancillary equipment owned by the Interoperability Network of the South Bay Joint Powers Authority (INSB), which supports the regional emergency services network, will also need to be removed and relocated prior construction.
DISCUSSION:
Construction Bids
Bids for the Block 35 Elevated Tank Painting Project were solicited on a competitive basis in accordance with the provisions of the California Public Contract Code in November 2019. A total of two competitive bids were received and opened on January 6, 2020. The bid results were as follows:
Contractor Total Bid Price
Simpson Sandblasting & Special Coatings, Inc. $1,828,390.00
Advanced Industrial Services, Inc . $1,830,200.00
There were discrepancies and errors in both of the submitted bids. In consultation with the City Attorney’s Office, it was determined that both the Simpson Sandblasting & Special Coatings, Inc. bid and the Advanced Industrial Services, Inc. bid should be rejected as non-responsive. Therefore, the two bids were allowed to expire after ninety days. However, because the bids were much higher than expected, staff followed up with the two bidders and determined that the removal of the INSB and City antennas and ancillary equipment caused a significant increase to the cost of the project. These bid items were removed from the elevated tank scope of work, and instead the INSB has coordinated removal of its antennas and equipment directly with a specialty contractor. The City antennas will also be removed by a specialty contractor at a much lower rate. Relocation of the City-owned antennas is anticipated to occur in August 2020 and construction is anticipated to start in September 2020 and be completed by April 2021.
Bids for the revised Project scope of work were solicited again on a competitive basis in accordance with the provisions of the California Public Contract Code in May 2020. The project was advertised for bid in the City’s publisher of record (Beach Reporter), in several construction industry publications, and was listed on the City’s website and BidSync, an online service that connects vendors, suppliers and contractors to government procurement opportunities. Staff also notified over 60 contractors on the City’s contractor database regarding this project.
A total of three competitive bids were received on June 18, 2020, and opened on June 19, 2020, after twenty-four hours of contactless document isolation. The bid results are as follows:
Contractor Total Bid Price
Unified Field Services Corporation $1,411,418.20
Advanced Industrial Services, Inc . $1,457,700.00
Simpson Sandblasting & Special Coatings, Inc. $1,463,122.00
Staff reviewed UFSC’s contractor license and found it to be in order. Additionally, references indicate the contractor has the knowledge and capability to complete the work in a timely and acceptable manner. All bid packets were analyzed for arithmetical errors, completeness, accuracy, etc. UFSC’s bid packet included an error in the Total Base Bid Schedule Amount amounting to a -0.002% variance from its submitted bid. Additionally, UFSC’s bid packet omitted the unit prices for the three of the bid items, but this error resulted in no variance to the total bid amount included in the submitted bid.
Further, the bid packet did not include additional evidence indicating the capacity of one of the two the persons signing the Bid to bind the Bidder and did not include a signed copy of Addendum No. 1. In consultation with the City Attorney’s Office, it was determined that the error to Total Base Bid Schedule Amount, the omission of the unit prices for three of the bid items on UFSC’s bid packet, and the late submittal of evidence are all immaterial deviations for the purposes of considering its bid as responsive.
Additionally, per the specifications, in cases of discrepancy between the unit price and the extended amount set forth for the item, if the unit price is omitted, the extended amount shall prevail. Therefore, the extended amount for each bid item is used to calculate the unit price for that bid item, and the total base bid amount is unchanged.
Due to the error in the Total Base Bid Schedule Amount, and for the purposes of determining the lowest responsible bidder based on the calculated rather than submitted subtotals, the total base bid amount is $1,250,435.57 ($30.00 less than stated in UFSC’s bid), and the total bid amount inclusive of Additive Bid A, based on the calculated rather than submitted subtotals, is $1,411,388.20 ($30.00 less than stated in UFSC’s bid).
Staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to award a construction contract with UFSC for $1,411,389 and approve additional work, if necessary, for up to $70,582.
City Name and Logo
Included in the construction contract is the installation of the City name and logo on the elevated tank. The City name and logo styling, font, and colors match the City’s adopted standards and will be installed as a vinyl graphic wrap with the City name on the east and west sides of the tank and the City logo on the north and south sides of the tank. An exhibit of the layout and styling of the City name and logo on the elevated tank is attached. Staff recommends that City Council approve the styling, font, colors, layout, and installation of the City name and logo on the elevated tank.
Construction Management and Inspection Services
The City issued Request for Proposal (RFP) No. 1233-20 on January 9, 2020, for construction management and inspection services for the Block 35 Elevated Tank Painting Project. A total of two proposals were received by the February 5, 2020, RFP deadline. Each proposal was evaluated and ranked by the City’s evaluation committee based on the proposer’s understanding of the scope of services, proposed methodology and work plan, and experience of both the firm and the project team members.
CSI submitted the most responsive and comprehensive proposal. The firm’s assigned staff has the most relevant experience and its proposal demonstrated a significant understanding of the key project tasks and constraints. The recommended award of $158,840 will cover the expected costs for the scope outlined in the RFP, which includes inspection services during the construction phase of the Project. Per Government Code Section 4526, Professional Services Consultants are selected based on qualifications.
Key services to be provided by CSI include:
• Full-time inspection of construction activities.
• Specialty inspection and testing for coatings and structural repairs.
• Ongoing review and oversight of the construction schedule.
• Notifying the City to issues that arise in the field during construction.
Staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to award an inspection services agreement with CSI for $158,840.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Once the project is ready to commence with construction, notices will be sent to the residences adjacent to the work.
ENVIROMENTAL 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 15301(b) (repair and maintenance of existing public facilities, involving negligible or no expansion of use) 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 approved the agreements as to form.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 20-0087
2. Agreement - Unified Field Services Corporation
3. Bid Proposal
4. Plans and Specifications
5. City Name and Logo Graphic Exhibit
6. Resolution No. 20-0088
7. Agreement - Coating Specialists and Inspection Services, Inc.
8. Budget and Expenditures Summary
9. Location Map