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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
DATE: SEPTEMBER 29, 2026
FROM: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
SUBJECT: AWARD OF DESIGN-BUILD AGREEMENT TO BIG BEN, INC.
FOR THE SANTA ANA CANYON ROAD WATER MAIN
EXTENSION PROJECT
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 05
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: NO
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion:
1) Determine that the Santa Ana Canyon Road Water Main Extension Project and all related construction activities associated therewith (collectively, the “Project”) are statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Public Resources Code (PRC) section 21080.62; 2) Determine that the proposal submitted by Big Ben Inc. (dba Big Ben Engineering), a California corporation (Contractors License No. 774444, Classification A), in response to the City of Anaheim’s (Anaheim) request for proposals dated March 24, 2026, is the most advantageous to Anaheim and award to Big Ben Inc. a Design-Build Agreement (“Agreement”), in the form attached, to design and construct the Project in the amount of $9,263,000, plus a 10% contingency, and waive any irregularities in any of the proposal documents; and
3) Authorize the Director of Public Works, or designee, on behalf of Anaheim, to execute the Agreement and all related or implementing documents, including cost-neutral amendments and documents contemplated by the Agreement, and take all actions necessary or advisable to implement and administer the Agreement; and authorize the Finance Director to execute the Escrow Agreement pertaining to contract retentions in accordance with Public Contract Code section 22300; and
4) Authorize changes to the Agreement that do not materially change the terms and conditions of the Agreement, as determined by the City Attorney’s Office.
Award of Design-Build Agreement to Big Ben, Inc. for the Santa Ana Canyon Road Water Main Extension Project September 29, 2026
DISCUSSION:
The Public Utilities Board recommended that the City Council approve the Project-related actions at its meeting on August 26, 2026.
The proposed Gypsum Canyon Memorial Park consists of a 283-acre property in the eastern portion of Anaheim near the intersection of Gypsum Canyon Road and Santa Ana Canyon Road.
The project will include the Southern California State Veterans Cemetery as well as a public cemetery, with dedicated space for Orange County first responders and Allied Veterans.
As part of the Gypsum Canyon Memorial Park site development, the Orange County Cemetery District (OCCD) requested that Anaheim Public Utilities (APU) provide new water infrastructure along Santa Ana Canyon Road from Woodcreek Road to Gypsum Canyon Road (Attachment 2), to support the needs of the planned development. APU will coordinate with Public Works on final street restoration and traffic requirements, which will also take into consideration the electric line extension requested by the Customer.
APU provides water main extensions requested by large developments in accordance with APU’s Water Rates, Rules, and Regulations. These requests require customers to reimburse their proportional costs, including design, permitting, construction, inspection, pavement restoration, and materials.
Procurement of Design-Build Entity:
The design-build procurement for the project followed the Anaheim Municipal Code (AMC) Chapter 10.06 - Design-Build Contracting for Public Works projects through a 2-step process. In step 1, APU issued a Request for Statement of Qualifications (RFSQ) that APU advertised through Anaheim’s online bidding platform on December 18, 2025. The RFSQ established minimum qualifications and criteria to evaluate and rank the design-build teams. Anaheim received six Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) on February 3, 2026, and Anaheim prequalified three design-build teams.
For the second step, APU issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) and sent the RFP to the three pre-qualified design-build teams on March 24, 2026. The RFP established evaluation criteria in order to select the most advantageous proposal based on Anaheim Municipal Code Chapter
10.06. Anaheim received technical proposals on May 26, 2026, and price proposals on June 12, 2026. Anaheim evaluated the teams based on their proposed approach for project delivery, traffic control, permit acquisition plan, ability to meet schedule, and reasonableness of their price proposal. The table below shows the rankings of the three firms.
Rank Design-Build Team
1 Big Ben, Inc. / Ardurra Group Inc.
2 J. De Sigio Construction, Inc. / TAIT & Associates, Inc. 3 Steve P. Rados, Inc. / Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.
Award of Design-Build Agreement to Big Ben, Inc. for the Santa Ana Canyon Road Water Main Extension Project September 29, 2026
Staff recommends Big Ben, Inc. (Big Ben) for award as the highest-ranked firm. Big Ben has performed similar projects for the City of Anaheim and for other agencies such as Golden State Water Company, the City of Orange, and the City of Riverside.
The Project design and procurement phase is expected to take one (1) year to complete.
Construction is expected to start in the third quarter of 2027, with final completion expected in the second quarter of 2028. Construction will primarily be on public Right-of-Way on Santa Ana Canyon Road. Traffic control and hours of construction will be coordinated with Public Works to minimize disruption to the surrounding community and local and non-local commuters using the road as an alternative route to SR-91.
COMMUNITY WORKFORCE AGREEMENT (CWA):
This Project is covered under “Project Work” as defined in the Second Amended and Restated Community Workforce Agreement (CWA) that the City entered into with the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council and the Signatory Craft Councils and Local Unions.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council determine that the Project is statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to PRC § 21080.62. The Project consists of installing water service necessary to facilitate operation of the public and State Veterans Cemetery in Gypsum Canyon. The cemetery constitutes less intensive land use than the project analyzed in the 2005 Certified Environmental Impact Report No. 331 for the Mountain Park Specific Plan Amendment, as required by PRC § 21080.62(a)(1). In addition, the Gypsum Canyon Cemetery Project Development Project No. 2020-00204 Addendum to the 2008 Certified Environmental Impact Report No. 331 analyzed the environmental impacts associated with the public and State Veterans Cemetery, including the water service improvements necessary to support its operation, satisfying PRC § 21080.62(a)(2).
Accordingly, the Project is exempt from CEQA under PRC § 21080.62.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
APU’s Fiscal Year 2026/27 Water Capital Improvement Program budget contains sufficient funds for the Project from restricted Water Utility Enterprise funds, with OCCD reimbursing APU for 70% of the Project costs.
Respectfully submitted, Concurred by,
Rudy Emami Brian Beelner
Director of Public Works Acting Public Utilities General Manager Award of Design-Build Agreement to Big Ben, Inc. for the Santa Ana Canyon Road Water Main Extension Project September 29, 2026
Attachments:
1. Design-Build Agreement
2. Project Location Map