title
RESOLUTION APPROVING THE FILING OF NOTICE OF EXEMPTION NO. CE005-15, APPROVING THE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS, AND AWARDING A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT TO NOR-CAL CONCRETE, INC. FOR THE 2015 SIDEWALK, CURB, AND GUTTER REPAIR PROGRAM (PROJECT NO. PW1531)
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve a resolution authorizing the City Manager to:
1. Approve the filing of Notice of Exemption No. CE005-15 under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the 2015 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531).
2. Approve the plans and specifications for the 2015 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531).
3. Reallocate the remaining Transportation Development Act (TDA) and Measure K funding accumulated from unspent annual awards from the Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW9969) in the amount of $637,403 to the 2015 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531).
4. Reallocate the TDA unspent funding from the Curb Ramp Repair project (Project No. PW1304) in the amount of $185,000 to the 2015 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531).
5. Appropriate additional TDA funding in the amount of $19,782 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-15 as apportioned by the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) to the 2015 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531).
6. Award a Construction Contract in the amount of $1,252,950 to the lowest bidder, Nor-Cal Concrete, Inc. of Suisun City, CA, for the subject project.
It is also recommended that the City Manager or his designee be authorized to take appropriate and necessary actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this resolution.
body
Summary
The 2015 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531) will remove and replace City-maintained tree root damaged sidewalks at 319 locations, remove 156 City trees and stumps, and install Americans with Disability Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps at 24 locations as shown in Attachments A and B. On August 13, 2015, the City received three bids for the 2015 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program. Nor-Cal Concrete, Inc. of Suisun, CA was the lowest responsive bidder in the amount of $1,252,950.
In addition to the FY 2015-16 TDA funding allocation from SJCOG for the 2015 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program, the prior years’ accumulated unspent TDA and Measure K funds from Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW9969), and the Curb Ramp Repair project (Project No. PW1304) will be reallocated to the current fiscal year project. The projects are being combined to reduce administrative staff costs and lower unit costs for the work.
This resulting combined funding of original SCCOG 2015 award of $751,000, remaining TDA funding from PW1304 of $185,000 plus increased award or $19,782, and remaining TDA and Measure K funding from PW9969 of $637,403 provide for a total of $1,593,185 for this project (PW1531.) The majority of these funds will be used for the construction contract with minor costs applied for change orders, contingencies, and staff costs specific to this project.
This project is in conformance with the City’s General Plan, and is exempt from the requirements of CEQA Guidelines. Staff recommends Council adopt a resolution authorizing the filing of a Notice of Exemption under CEQA.
The Local Employment and Local Business Preference Ordinances are applicable to this contract.
DISCUSSION
Background
The City maintains approximately 760 centerline miles of streets, most of which contain curb, gutter, and sidewalk. Prior to 1968, the adjacent property owner was responsible for all maintenance of the curb, gutter, and sidewalk in accordance with the Streets and Highways Improvement Act of 1911.
In 1968, Council revised the Stockton Municipal Code (SMC) to assume responsibility for repairs to all sidewalks, curbs, and gutters in cases where the damage is caused by City owned or controlled trees (prior SMC 12.04.040).
The City regularly receives requests for repair of curb, gutter, sidewalk, and the installation of curb ramps. Each request is evaluated to determine if the repair is the City’s responsibility. If repairs are warranted, the location is added to a database for future permanent repairs. For sidewalk locations that need immediate correction, temporary repair is made using asphalt concrete material to patch the displaced area to remove the tripping hazard. Permanent repairs are made as funding becomes available and are prioritized in chronological order, based on the date of the original service request.
Typical annual funding available to the City for repair of curb, gutter, sidewalk, and the installation of curb ramps is approximately $185,000 from State Transportation Development Act funds and approximately $250,000 of Measure K funds. The approved FY 2015-16 Annual Budget and Capital Improvement Program (CIP) allocated $751,000, which includes $300,000 of mission critical funding from the General Fund. These additional mission critical funds will improve the walkability of the City sidewalk infrastructure, reduce City liability, and allow the project to construct significantly more repairs than the typical annual allocation for this type of work.
Present Situation
The 2015 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531) was advertised on July 20, 2015. The project consists of the following work:
• Repair of tree-damaged curb, gutter, and sidewalks at 319 locations, which encompasses all locations reported on the request backlog database prior to March 2012. Locations reported after this date will remain on a backlog list for future projects.
• Removal of 156 City trees and stumps necessary to allow for adjacent sidewalk replacement.
• Installation of 24 new curb ramps at various locations.
On Thursday, August 13, 2015, bids were received for the subject project with the following results:
|
Company Name |
Bid Amount |
|
Nor-Cal Concrete, Inc. of Suisun, CA |
$ 1,252,950 |
|
FBD Vanguard Construction, Inc. of Livermore CA |
$ 1,457,265 |
|
George Reed, Inc. of Modesto, CA |
$ 1,934,844 |
|
|
|
|
Engineer’s Estimate |
$ 1,046,750 |
The bids were higher than anticipated, with the low bid being approximately 20 percent higher than the Engineer’s Estimate. This confirms that construction bid costs are trending up, due to the increase in construction activity as compared to recent years. Future Engineer’s Estimates will reflect the higher unit costs. Staff does not anticipate that rebidding the project would result in any savings.
The bid from Nor-Cal Concrete, Inc., the lowest responsive bidder, is regular in all respects. Nor-Cal Concrete has the proper license to perform the work. Staff recommends awarding the Construction Contract to Nor-Cal Concrete, Inc. in the amount of $1,252,950. It is anticipated that project will be completed by July, 2016.
After repair of the 319 curb, gutter, and sidewalk locations, and the 24 curb ramp locations on the project list, there will be approximately 600 curb, gutter, and sidewalk locations, and 146 curb ramp locations on the updated backlog list. These locations will be repaired as additional funding becomes available. It should be noted that this repair location backlog does not include locations where sidewalks are needed but do not currently exist. These locations are referred to as “sidewalk gaps”, and are addressed when the City is able to successfully compete for grant funding for “sidewalk gap closure” projects.
The project is in conformance with the City’s General Plan, pursuant to California Government Code Section 65402, and is exempt from the requirements of CEQA as specified under Article 18, Section 15301, Class 1, of the CEQA Guidelines. As a result, the project has been granted a “Categorical Exemption”. This is considered a discretionary project under the City’s jurisdiction, and qualifies as a project that does not have a significant effect on the environment. Staff recommends Council adopt a resolution authorizing the filing of Notice of Exemption No. CE005-15 under CEQA.
The Local Employment Ordinance (SMC Section 3.68.095) applies to this contract. This ordinance requires the contractor “to make a good faith effort…to employ qualified individuals who are, and have been for one year prior to the effective date of the contract, residents of Stockton in sufficient numbers so that no less than 50 percent of the contractor’s total construction work force, including any subcontractors work force, measured in labor hours, is comprised of Stockton residents”. Contractors who fail to achieve the 50 percent goal must demonstrate that they made a good faith effort to do so, by undertaking and documenting at least 6 of 11 specified employee recruitment activities. The low bidder has committed to compliance with this ordinance. Failure to comply may cause the contractor to be barred from bidding on future contracts.
The Local Business Preference Ordinance (SMC Section 3.68.090) also applies to this contract, which provides 2 percent preference on bidders who have a physical business location within the boundaries of San Joaquin County, and 5 percent preference on bidders who have a physical business location within the boundaries of City of Stockton. Bid preference was not given to any of the bidders as none have businesses within the boundary of City of Stockton, or San Joaquin County.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
The Sidewalk, Curb, Gutter Repair Program has accumulated unspent TDA and Measure K funds from prior years in Project No. PW9969 and PW1304, which combined with the FY 2014-15 TDA allotment and appropriated from General Fund provide funding for the 2015 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531) as follows:
1) $751,000 was appropriated in the FY 2015-16 CIP portion of the Annual Budget under the Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531).
2) $204,782 is available from the FY 2014-15 apportionment of TDA funding to be allocated to the Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531). This includes an increase of $19,782 from the original award of $185,000 (Project No. PW1304).
3) $637,403 is being reallocated from the prior year’s Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW9969) to the Sidewalk, Curb and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531).
The combination of these funding sources provide a total project amount of $1,593,185. This amount is sufficient to award the Construction Contract to Nor-Cal Concrete, Inc. in the amount of $1,252,950. Funds over and above the contract amount will be used for change orders, contingencies, and staff costs. Any remaining funding will be reallocated to future curb, gutter, and sidewalk repairs and/or curb ramp installations.
The total project funding with the additional reallocations is as follows:
|
Description |
Amount Under PW1531 |
|
Original Allocation Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repair Program (Project No. PW1531) |
$ 751,000 |
|
Reallocation of State Transportation Development Act - Project No. PW1304 |
$ 185,000 |
|
Award of addition TDA funding |
$ 19,782 |
|
Reallocation of State Transportation Development Act and Measure K Maintenance Funds - Project No. PW9969 |
$ 637,403 |
|
|
|
|
Total Project Funding |
$1,593,185 |
It is recommended that the City Manager be authorized to approve the above noted transactions, and to undertake any other financial actions that are needed and appropriate and necessary to carry out the purpose and intent of the resolution.
Attachment A - Curb, Gutter and Sidewalk Repair List
Attachment B - Curb Ramp Installation List