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 the Following Actions Related to the Fire Station No. 2 Replacement Project:
a) Purchase Order with Westnet Inc. in the Amount of $146,722.02 for an Alerting System;
b) Amendment No. 2 to Construction Management and Inspection Agreement with Griffin Structures in the Amount of $85,000; and
c) Increase in the Contingency Amount in the Construction Contract with Monet by $175,000 (Public Works Director Lee).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NOS. 23-0059, 23-0060, AND 23-0061
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council take the following actions related to the Fire Station No. 2 Replacement Project:
1. Adopt Resolution No. 23-0059 authorizing a purchase order with Westnet, Inc. in the amount of $146,722.02 for an alerting system;
2. Adopt Resolution No. 23-0060 approving Amendment No. 2 to the professional services agreement with Griffin Structures (“Griffin”) for construction management and inspection in the amount of $85,000; and
3. Adopt Resolution No. 23-0061 authorizing the City Manager or his or her designee to approve additional construction work with Monet Construction (“Monet”), if necessary, up to $919,500, increasing the construction contingency by $175,000.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The three proposed items under consideration are related to the Fire Station No. 2 project and require adjustment of the amounts projected to be utilized within the project.
The purchase order with Westnet will provide a fire alerting system at a cost of $146,722.02. Sufficient funds are available for this item as part of the Fire Station No. 2 project within the Bond Fund.
Amendment No. 2 to Griffin’s Professional Services Agreement will add $85,000 for construction management and inspection services and will increase the total not-to-exceed amount of the Agreement to $983,486. Sufficient funds are available for this item as part of the Fire Station No. 2 project within the CIP and Bond Funds.
The construction contract with Monet will has a current contract authorization of $7,799,500 for work related to the Fire Station No. 2 project. As the project is nearing completion, staff has determined an additional $175,000 of work may be necessary and is seeking to add this amount to the contract authorization for a total not-to-exceed construction contract amount of $7,974,500. As indicated in the Budget and Expenditure Report, the supplementary funds will provide contingency for the construction contract for the Fire Station No. 2 project within the Bond Fund. Additionally, staff has identified other work that utilizes this contract, but benefits other projects and programs including:
• The installation of a new traffic signal in front of Fire Station No. 2
o $100,000 from the Traffic Signal Replacement Program within the Measure M Fund
• The installation of fiber optic conduits adjacent to the new fire station
o $8,944 from the Manhattan Beach Advanced Traffic Signal (MBATS) within the Measure M Fund
• The re-location of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) hub from the former fire station to the new fire station
o $10,000 from the SCADA project within the Water Fund
o $24,000 from the SCADA project within the Wastewater Fund
• Procurement and installation of fixtures at Fire Station No. 2
o $64,000 from the Facilities Improvements Program within the CIP Fund
Separately, staff intends to use up to $41,000 from the Facilities Improvements Program within the CIP Fund for the procurement of furniture, gym equipment, and other appurtenant fixtures to be installed within the new fire station. Sufficient funds exist within each of these programs and projects to support the requested amounts within the identified funds.
BACKGROUND:
The original Fire Station No. 2 structure located at the southeast corner of Rowell Avenue and Manhattan Beach Boulevard at 1400 Manhattan Beach Boulevard was constructed in 1954. Over time, significant changes to Fire Department staffing and services, modernization of fire apparatus, and updates to building codes rendered the station obsolete.
On September 5, 2017, staff presented City Council with a needs assessment/feasibility study that explored renovation or replacement of Fire Station No. 2. City Council determined that the fire station, being an essential service building for emergency response, is the highest priority facility in the City. As a result, Council directed staff to move forward with the complete replacement of the existing Fire Station No. 2 facility at the existing location.
In May 2018, the City Council awarded an agreement to WLC Architects (WLC) for design and construction support services for the replacement of Fire Station No. 2. WLC, now PBK, proceeded to develop construction documents (plans, specifications, and cost estimate) for the construction of the replacement fire station.
The Building & Safety Division approved the plans for the new fire station on January 12, 2021. After a competitive bid process, Monet was identified as the low bidder and was awarded a construction contract during the August 3, 2021 City Council meeting. During that same meeting, Council also approved an agreement with Griffin for construction management and inspection services and a separate agreement with Leighton Consulting for construction observation and testing services. In addition, Council appropriated funding for an alerting system to be provided by Westnet, as well as funding for station furniture, permits, and miscellaneous project expenses.
At the August 3, 2021 meeting, City Council directed staff to perform public outreach to help assess the need for the creation of a temporary fire station during construction of the replacement station. During the August 24, 2021 meeting, Council elected to forego the temporary station, reducing the total budget for the permanent station construction from $9.7M to $9.1M. Construction of the new station began in October 2021, and was anticipated to last approximately 16 months.
As of May 25, 2023, the City has executed five change orders to the Monet contract, increasing the construction cost by $737,761.54. Currently, 99% of the approved construction contingency has been expended.
DISCUSSION:
Westnet
The City currently uses a first-in alerting system that was supplied and installed by Westnet. A Westnet system is installed and has been in use at the combined Police and Fire Station for many years, and a similar Westnet system was previously used at the former Fire Station No. 2 prior to demolition. Installation of a Westnet system in the new Fire Station No. 2 will facilitate compatibility and consistency throughout the organization. According to its website, Westnet provides its first-in alerting system to several military and civilian firefighters, including the Airforce, Navy, Marines, and the National Guard.
If approved by the City Council, the Council would authorize the City Manager to execute Westnet’s standard agreement which contains its standard terms and conditions and a corresponding purchase order would be issued.
Griffin Structures
Griffin has provided construction management and inspection services since the start of pre-construction activities in September 2021. The original agreement with Griffin included sufficient budget to provide services for the duration of the project. However, change orders to the Monet construction contract extend the construction timeline by 114 working days, and thus Griffin has requested additional budget to continue to provide construction management and inspection services until project completion.
Monet Construction- Additional Contingency
During the August 3, 2021 City Council meeting, Council approved a construction contingency in the amount of $744,500 (10.6% of the construction contract award) to cover unforeseen issues during the execution of Monet’s $7,055,000 contract for the construction of Fire Station No. 2. To date, staff has negotiated five change orders to the Monet contract, expending $737,761.54 of the approved contingency funds. The most significant uses of the funds include offsite utility connections, additional improvements to the traffic signaling system that were requested by the County, and additional data cabling throughout the Fire Station to meet Fire Department operational needs.
At this time, construction of the Fire Station is nearly 75% complete, thus it is anticipated that the quantity and amount of future contractor change order requests will be limited. However, staff is aware of a forthcoming change order in the amount of approximately $32,000 to cover additional casework requested by the Fire Department. The additional casework will reduce the cost of the furniture that the City will need to purchase from an office furniture vendor. However, it will increase the amount needed in Monet’s construction contract. Additionally, staff is currently working with Southern California Edison to obtain an electrical design for the service to the new traffic signal. It is anticipated that the cost of this additional work will be on the order of $50,000.
In addition to these anticipated items, the $175,000 increase to the contingency authorization, if granted, will provide approximately $93,000 in funds to cover unforeseen costs that may arise throughout the remainder of the project. The amount of approved construction contingency will be increased from 10.6% to 13.0%.
Project Schedule
A total of 114 working days have been added to the original construction timeline. The construction schedule has been impacted by rain delays, unforeseen site conditions, and changes required to the building design. For example, an unknown buried structure was excavated at the southeast corner of the site, conflicts between site plans and field conditions were resolved, additional offsite utility work was completed, and safety improvements to the existing perimeter wall were constructed. The project is currently scheduled to be substantially complete in September 2023.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
During the preliminary design phase, the City held two public meetings on October 29, 2018, and December 3, 2018, to review the floorplan, site plan, and design concepts for the building exterior. The City advertised the meetings in The Beach Reporter and the City’s social media channels. The designs were also posted on the City’s website under Community News and Updates.
During the construction phase, public outreach has consisted of monthly status updates posted to the project webpage.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City previously reviewed the Fire Station No. 2 Replacement Project for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and determined that the project qualifies for a Categorical Exemption pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15332 (Infill Development Projects). Furthermore, there are no features that distinguish the project from others in the exempt class, and therefore, there are no unusual circumstances. Thus, no further environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 23-0059
2. Purchase Order - Westnet, Inc.
3. Resolution No. 23-0060
4. Amendment No. 2 - Griffin Structures
5. Agreement and Amendment No. 1 - Griffin Structures
6. Resolution No. 23-0061
7. Budget and Expenditure Summary Report
8. Location Map