TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Stephanie Katsouleas, Public Works Director
Prem Kumar, City Engineer
Helen Shi, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consider:
a) Accepting $126,000 in Additional Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Grant Funding for the Sepulveda Boulevard (SR-1) at 8th Street Traffic Signal Upgrade Project and Appropriating Those Funds in the Streets and Highways Fund; and
b) Authorizing Change Order No. 1 in the Amount of $55,922 (Public Works Director Katsouleas).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 20-0058 APPROVING AN APPROPRIATION AND CHANGE ORDER
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council approve Resolution No. 20-0058:
1. Accepting $126,000 in additional grant funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) for the Sepulveda Boulevard (SR-1) at 8th Street Traffic Signal Upgrade Project and appropriating this amount in Streets and Highway Fund for the project; and
2. Authorizing Change Order No.1 in the amount of $55,922.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The current budget for the Traffic Signal Upgrade Project: Sepulveda Boulevard (SR-1) at 8th Street Project (Project) includes $212,611 in HSIP grant funding (administered by Caltrans) and $154,039 in City funds from the Streets and Highways Fund, for a combined total construction budget of $366,650. A contract was awarded to Belco for $316,500, with an authorized contingency of $31,650 for a total construction contract budget of $348,150. The budget for the construction phase of the project is now $492,650, which fully covers the change order request of $55,922 and provides $70,078 in additional contingency funds. All grant funds and required matching funds will be expended first, and any remaining City funds will be returned to the Streets and Highways fund balance. The attached budget and expenditures summary is provided for reference.
BACKGROUND:
On February 5, 2019, City Council awarded a $316,500 construction contract for the Cycle 5 Federal HSIP Grant Traffic Signal Upgrade Project: Sepulveda Boulevard (SR-1) at 8th Street to Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc. and authorized an additional contingency of $31,650. The work consists of excavation, installation of new traffic signal poles, pole foundations, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ramps, conduit, pull boxes, utility relocations, asphalt concrete repairs to existing public improvements, and all other appurtenant work as shown on the project plans and delineated in the specifications.
The Notice to Proceed was issued to the Contractor in April 2019. After some initial field work, it was determined that the existing soil parameters did not meet the requirements stipulated in the Caltrans standard plans. In response, the City hired a Structural Engineer to review all the foundation designs prior to ordering new traffic signal poles. The revised design was finalized and submitted to Caltrans. After several rounds of reviews, late last year Caltrans re-issued a construction permit to the City with several additional requirements due to updates to their standards. This resulted in a contract change order for $55,922 to address Caltrans’ new requirements.
The Contractor commenced field construction activities in early February 2020, once it received confirmation that the poles would be available and delivered in early April. However, the unexpected closure of factory that produces the traffic signal and pedestrian heads due COVID19 has caused a further delay in equipment delivery. The construction completion date is now estimated to be in June 2020, barring any other unforeseen circumstances.
DISCUSSION:
The traffic signal project at Sepulveda Boulevard and 8th Street is within Caltrans’ right-of-way. Caltrans issued a construction permit for the work December 2019, which included several required changes due the agency’s new standards. Revisions included installation of additional loop detection systems, modifications to the median island, construction of new foundation for signal cabinet, and miscellaneous other items, including some night work to address traffic safety concerns. Based on these changes, the City’s contractor submitted one contract change order for $55,922. To compensate for the additional requirements, in March 2020, Caltrans approved $126,000 in additional funding to supplement the original HSIP Grant.
Staff recommends that City Council accept the $126,000 in additional grant funding and authorize an additional appropriation in the Streets and Highways Fund for this amount. Staff also recommends that City Council approve change order no. 1 in the amount of $55,922.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
No public outreach was conducted in accepting additional grant funds for this project. However, Construction notices were distributed to area residents and businesses by Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc., and the City staff maintained regular communication with the adjacent property owners to keep them abreast of the project schedule and impacts during construction.
ENVIROMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed project for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the project qualifies for a Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301 Class 1 (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 reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 20-0058
2. Change Order No. 1 - Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc.
3. Budget and Expenditures Summary