TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Carrie Tai, AICP, Acting Public Works Director
Prem Kumar, City Engineer
Helen Shi, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Formally Accept as Complete the Cycle 5 Federal HSIP Grant Traffic Signal Upgrade Project: Sepulveda Blvd. (SR-1) at 8th Street Traffic Signal Upgrade Project; Authorize Filing a Notice of Completion with the County Recorder; and Release Retention for $20,394 (Acting Public Works Director Tai).
a) ACCEPT
b) APPROVE
Line
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Formally accept as complete the Cycle 5 Federal HSIP Grant Traffic Signal Upgrade Project: Sepulveda Blvd. (SR-1) at 8th Street Traffic Signal Upgrade Project constructed by Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc.;
2. Authorize filing of the appropriate Notice of Completion with the County Recorder’s Office;
3. Approve the release of retention for $20,394 to Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc.; and
4. Release the project balance back to Street & Highways Fund.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The original budget for the Cycle 5 Federal HSIP Grant Traffic Signal Upgrade Project: Sepulveda Blvd. (SR-1) at 8th Street Project (Project) included $212,611.50 in HSIP grant funding (administered by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)) and $154,039.50 in City funds from the Streets and Highways Fund, for a combined total construction budget of $366,650. On May 15, 2020, the City Council approved $126,000 in additional grant funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) for the project, which increased the total construction budget to $492,650.
The total approved construction contract between the City and Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc. (Belco) is $372,421.31, with an authorized contingency of $101,728.69 for a total construction contract budget of $474,150. Besides the total approved construction contract of $372,421.31, Belco performed $35,454.37 in additional work on the project, bringing the total construction cost of the project to $407,875.68. This is covered by Belco’s total construction contract budget, and any remaining City funds will be returned to the Streets and Highways fund balance.
BACKGROUND:
On February 5, 2019, City Council awarded a $316,500 construction contract for the Project to Belco and authorized an additional contingency of $31,650 for a total construction contract budget of $348,150. The work consists of excavation, installation of new traffic signal poles, pole foundations, Americans with Disability Access (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, so 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 review, 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 $55,921.31 to address Caltrans’ new requirements. On May 15, 2020, the City Council approved this change order and authorized an additional contingency of $70,078.69, to increase the total Belco’s construction contract budget to $474,150.
DISCUSSION:
Construction of the Project began on February 10, 2020, and was completed on December 7, 2020.
The City processed four change orders: one for the additional tasks required by Caltrans due to the updated Caltrans standards, one for the added Emergency Vehicle Preemption System, one for night work for signal shutdown to replace the signal pole, and one for additional tasks encountered during the construction and required by the City and Caltrans. The total value of the change orders was $91,375.68, in addition to the original construction contract of $316,500, which increased the cost of construction to $407,875.68. Below is a summary of the budget and expenditures.
$474,150.00 Total Belco’s Construction Contract Budget
$316,500.00 Original Construction Contract
$55,921.31 Change Order # 1 - Caltrans Added Tasks
$13,178.29 Change Order # 2 - Emergency Vehicle Preemption System
$718.09 Change Order # 3 - Night Work for Signal Shutdown
$21,557.99 Change Order # 4 - Additional Caltrans/City Required Tasks
$407,875.68 Total Expenditures
$66,274.32 Returned to Streets and Highways Fund (Fund 205)
The contractor has completed all work for a total construction cost of $407,875.68 and is now requesting formal acceptance of the project. The five percent retention amount of $20,394 will be released 35 days after recordation of the Notice of Completion with the County Recorder. All work inspected by the Public Works Department and Caltrans has been found to be in conformance with the plans and specifications and of good quality.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Construction notices were distributed to area residents and businesses by Belco, and the City staff maintained regular communication with the adjacent property owners to keep them abreast of the project schedule and impacts during construction.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed project for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and previously 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.
ATTACHMENT:
1. Location Map