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APPROVE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE BRIDGE REHABILITATION PROJECT
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RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve a motion authorizing the City Manager to:
1. Award a Professional Services Contract to MGE Engineering, Inc. (MGE) of Sacramento, CA, in the amount of $304,683, for the Bridge Rehabilitation (Project No. PW1603/Federal Project No. BPMP-5008(157)).
2. Approve findings pursuant to Stockton Municipal Code (SMC) section 3.68.070 in support of an exception to the competitive bidding process.
It is recommended that the City Manager be authorized to take appropriate and necessary actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this motion.
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Summary
The Bridge Preventative Maintenance Program (BPMP) is a federally funded program managed by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to assist local agencies with extending the useful life of their bridges. To take advantage of this program, local agencies must have a prioritized bridge preventative maintenance plan approved by Caltrans. The plan pertaining to the City of Stockton (City) was approved by Caltrans in 2012. The City recently completed construction for the top three bridge projects using the BPMP.
The next six priority bridges were grouped together into one Bridge Rehabilitation project, as these bridges require similar repair work (Attachment A). On September 2, 2016, Caltrans gave funding approval for the preliminary engineering (PE) phase of the Bridge Rehabilitation project. The scope of work includes erosion repairs, replacement of the asphalt approaches, deck sealing, and barrier replacement.
The next six priority bridges are:
1. West Lane over Calaveras River (Bridge No. 29C0157R/L)
2. Pershing Avenue over Calaveras River (Bridge No. 29C0243)
3. Diamond Street over Mormon Slough (Bridge No. 29C0238)
4. Santa Paula Way over Mosher Slough (Bridge No. 29C0240)
5. Aurora Street over Mormon Slough (Bridge No. 29C0235)
6. Turnpike over Walker Slough (Bridge No. 29C0399)
On October 11, 2016, the City advertised a Request for Proposal (RFP) for design of the project. Four firms submitted proposals for this project. The Selection Committee evaluated the proposals and initially found Biggs Cardosa and Associates, Inc. (BCA) of San Jose, CA, to be the highest ranked firm. However, negotiations with BCA did not yield an acceptable scope and fee agreement. Therefore, in accordance with federal procedures for selecting a consultant, staff opened negotiations with the second ranked firm, MGE of Sacramento, CA. This process resulted in an acceptable scope and fee agreement.
It is recommended that Council approve a motion authorizing the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Contract in the amount of $304,683 with MGE (Attachment B). It is anticipated that the design will be completed by spring 2018.
DISCUSSION
Background
The BPMP is a federally funded program managed by Caltrans that is meant to assist local agencies to extend the life of their bridges by performing certain activities that are pre-approved by the Federal Highway Administration. To take advantage of this program, local agencies must have a prioritized bridge preventative maintenance plan approved by Caltrans. Following Caltrans approval of the local agency’s plan, the local agency may then request authorization to proceed with the PE and construction phases of projects in the plan.
The City developed a bridge preventative maintenance plan to prioritize City-owned bridges that demonstrate structural deficiencies, physical deterioration, or other deficiencies based on bridge inspection reports. The City’s BPMP plan was approved by Caltrans in 2012. The McKinley Avenue bridge over French Camp Slough, the Center Street bridge over Burlington Northern Railroad/Scotts Avenue, and the El Dorado Street bridge over Burlington Northern Railroad/Scotts Avenue were ranked as the highest priorities. Rehabilitation of these bridges was completed using BPMP funding.
The next six priority bridges are:
1. West Lane over Calaveras River (Bridge No. 29C0157R/L)
2. Pershing Avenue over Calaveras River (Bridge No. 29C0243)
3. Diamond Street over Mormon Slough (Bridge No. 29C0238)
4. Santa Paula Way over Mosher Slough (Bridge No. 29C0240)
5. Aurora Street over Mormon Slough (Bridge No. 29C0235)
6. Turnpike over Walker Slough (Bridge No. 29C0399)
The scope of work includes erosion repairs, replacement of the asphalt approaches, deck sealing, and barrier replacement. The City grouped the bridges into a combined Bridge Rehabilitation project, and secured federal-aid funds to begin the PE phase (Project No. PW1603/Federal No. BPMP-5008(157)).
Present Situation
On October 11, 2016, the City advertised a RFP for design services. On November 9, 2016, four proposals were received from the following firms:
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• Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc. (San Jose) |
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• MGE Engineering, Inc. (Sacramento) |
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• Mark Thomas & Company (Sacramento) |
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• ADKO Engineering, Inc. (Roseville) |
A Selection Committee comprised of Public Works staff evaluated and ranked all proposals based on each firm’s understanding of work, experience with similar kinds of projects, staff qualifications, technical ability, project approach, and familiarity with State and federal procedures.
BCA received the highest ranking based on the noted criteria. In accordance with federal procedures for selecting a consultant, the proposers submitted a separate envelope containing their fee proposal for the project, and the City is only permitted to open the fee envelope for the top ranked firm. Staff opened BCA’s fee proposal, but could not successfully negotiate a suitable fee with BCA for the scope, size, and complexity of the project. Therefore, the City and BCA mutually agreed to terminate negotiations in the best interest of the project.
Federal procedures for selecting a consultant stipulate that when negotiations with the top ranked firm are unsuccessful, the fee envelope for the second most qualified consultant may be opened. The second ranked firm was MGE Engineering, Inc. Staff opened the fee envelope for MGE and negotiated a suitable fee with MGE for the required services.
Since the project is funded with federal transportation dollars, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program rules apply. DBE rules require that the consultants either meet a calculated project specific DBE participation goal or undertake and document good faith efforts to do so. Failure to meet the goal or make adequate good faith efforts are grounds for rejecting a consultant’s proposal. By definition, a DBE is a socially and economically disadvantaged small business owned by a woman or by a specified ethnic group that has been properly certified by Caltrans. These groups include:
• African American
• Asian Pacific American
• Native American
• Women
• Hispanic American
• Subcontinent Asian American
A DBE goal of six percent was established for this project. The goal was calculated by examining the breakdown of the types of work to be performed, and the availability of certified DBE companies in our market area to perform the work. MGE meets the DBE goal requirement with their proposal.
Findings
Pursuant to SMC section 3.68.070, Council may approve findings which support an exception to the competitive bidding process. These findings include:
1. The City does not have staffing available to provide the design of this project within the required deadlines.
2. The scope of the design services requires an engineering firm experienced in bridge rehabilitation design.
3. Use of the RFP process is appropriate for this Professional Services Contract, because it relies on the evaluation of professional qualifications and performance as the primary basis for selection of a vendor. Use of this criteria helps ensure selection of a vendor that will provide the highest quality professional service, which is in the public interest.
4. The City negotiated a contract following solicitation of competitive proposals in accordance with SMC section 3.68.070.A.3.
The BPMP requires a 20 percent match of non-federal dollars for the PE phase. The local match, as well as the federal funding for the PE phase, was programmed in Fiscal year 2016-2017 of the 2016-2021 Capital Improvement Program. The recommended motion will approve a Professional Services Contract with MGE, in the amount of $304,683, for the Bridge Rehabilitation (Project No. PW1603/Federal Project No. BPMP-5008(157)).
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
The Bridge Rehabilitation (Project No. PW1603/Federal Project No. BPMP-5008(157)) currently has an unencumbered balance of $459,000. This is sufficient to award the Professional Services Contract in the amount of $304,683. The remaining funds will be used for staff costs, contingency, and other design administration. The project is fully funded with Federal Grant and Measure K Maintenance funds. Both funds are eligible to be expended on the design contract.
Attachment A - Vicinity Map
Attachment B - Professional Services Contract with MGE Engineering, Inc.