Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: AWARD OF CONTRACT TO CODA TECHNOLOGY GROUP
FOR COTATI CITY HALL, CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
AUDIO VISUAL SYSTEM UPGRADES
Date: September 24, 2024
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended the City of Cotati City Council adopt a resolution awarding the construction agreement for the Cotati City Hall, City Council Chambers Audio Visual System Upgrades and authorizing the City Manager to execute said agreement and any change orders up to the authorized project budget amount.
Background
The City Council Chambers Audio Visual System was originally installed in 2014 with a significant change in operations in 2020 to add live remote participation by Zoom. In the past several years, the frequency of unexpected audio or broadcast issues has increased, primarily due to the age of portions of the system and the complexity of the current system, which was backed into with the changes in 2020. As a result, the City Council directed staff to work on upgrades to the system to improve reliability. To accomplish this, the City contracted with the Shallack Collaborative to design an updated system that meets the City’s needs.
Analysis/Discussion
The Project is to replace the broadcast system to simplify the operations and improve system reliability. To save costs, some elements, such as the in-chamber audio system, are not being replaced. In general, if the components did not affect broadcast reliability or were very new, they were re-incorporated into the design.
The design was completed, and the project advertised for bidding and bids were opened on September 19, 2024. Two bids were received: one from PCD with a base bid of $366,934.00 and the other from CODA Technology Group with a base bid of $253,571.95. The Engineer’s Estimate for the base bid is $260,000. The lowest responsive and responsible bidder was CODA Technology Group with a base bid of $253,571.95. As is common in most bids, the bid from CODA Technology Group included minor irregularities that the City is waiving.
The proposed project design and schedule requires the contractor to build and test the system offsite prior to installation. This would allow the contractor to install and commission the system in an extremely compressed period during the holiday break in December. The contractor has 64 working days to complete the work, so the system is complete and fully operational before the first meeting in January.
Financial Considerations
The City’s adopted Fiscal Year 24/25 Budget includes the Cotati City Hall, City Council Chambers Audio Visual System Upgrades Project with a FY24/25 budget of $306,000, which is funded by the City’s General Fund.
The lowest responsive and responsible bidder was CODA Technology Group with a base bid of $253,572. There were also three additive alternates for extended equipment licensing and conference room streaming, for $14,052. Purchasing extended licensing upfront is typically a significantly better value, but staff had this broken out as optional expense if budget was an issue. If all bid alternates were exercised, the project total would be $267,624, but this decision would not be made until later in the project once the full scope and cost of any subsequent change orders is known. This contract budget, plus the current budget balance for the design and construction management of $10,320, creates an estimated total project budget of $277,944, which is within the total project budget adopted for the fiscal year. Staff are proposing to continue to encumber these funds for the project for contingency. Excess funds would be returned upon project acceptance.
Environmental Issues
This action is found to qualify for a Class 1 Categorical Exemption under CEQA Section 15301 in that the project consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of the existing or former use.