Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: AWARD OF THE 2025 STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
Date: April 8, 2025
Written by: Craig Scott, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution awarding the construction contract for the 2025 Street Improvement Project to American Asphalt Repair & Resurfacing Co., Inc. and authorizing the City Manager to execute the construction contract and construction management and inspection services agreement with Green Valley Consulting Engineer and any needed change orders or amendments to supporting professional agreements up to the authorized Project amount.
Background
The City’s Five-Year Capital Improvements Plan includes a list of street paving projects. The paving projects are based on a Pavement Management Program (PMP), updated every 2 years, which guides the identification and prioritization of street pavement maintenance projects. The PMP provides strategies to prioritize the annual roadway projects based on their condition and treatment costs. Pavement maintenance projects are significantly funded by, and made possible by Measure S, the City’s local revenue measure, grant matching funds, as well as the street financing issued in 2022. The City Council continues to prioritize street repair and maintenance to reduce long-term maintenance costs. Since July 2020, the City has completed approximately $15.2 million in roadway improvements, increasing the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) to the mid-70’s. These investments have made considerable progress in improving the condition of our roadways, making Cotati’s streets among the best in Sonoma County.
Analysis/Discussion
The 2025 Street Improvement Project (Project) is included in the City’s current Five-Year Capital Improvement Program. The streets included in the total Base Bid and Additive Alternative 1 are Old Redwood Highway between Hwy 116 and George Street, E. Cotati Ave between Old Redwood Highway and Baytree Ct, Forno Way, Jagle Street, Honor Place, Dorfman Drive, Clothier Lane, Logan Place, Loma Linda Drive, Loma Linda Court, Issel Court, and Water Road. This work is pavement preservation, so it includes repair of failed areas (dig outs/repairs), slurry seal and restriping.
The bid documents were finalized and the Project was advertised for bidding on February 21, 2025. On March 18, 2025, five bids were received, with the low bid provided by American Asphalt Repair & Resurfacing Co., Inc for a total base bid and Additive Alternative amount of $513,478.55 which is 12.8 percent below the Engineer’s estimate. The bid summary is attached.
The low bid was reviewed and determined to be responsive and is recommended for award.
In April 2022, City Staff conducted a consultant selection process and selected Green Valley Consulting Engineers, based on their being best qualified to perform construction management services for pavement maintenance projects. City staff requested and Green Valley Consulting Engineer is provided a proposal for Construction Management and Inspection services for the Project and City staff has reviewed the proposal and finds it to be fair and reasonable and recommends it for approval.
Subsequent to opening the bids, the City received the attached “Bid Advisory” letter from the nonprofit The Foundation for Fair Contracting (FFC) recommending the bid from American Asphalt Repair & Resurfacing, Inc. be rejected. FFC appears to have filed complaints with the State of California, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), Labor Commissioner’s office, which are pending, against the Contractor on January 30, 2024, July 30, 2024, and December 31, 2024. The complaints identify alleged prevailing wage issues of underpayment of wages, unpaid overtime, and failure to request dispatch of apprentices. FFC also lists at least one Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) lawsuit filed in August 2023 against American Asphalt repair & resurfacing, Inc., with allegations including but not limited to failure to pay minimum wages, failure to pay overtime compensation, failure to provide meal periods, etc.
The FFC letter also points out that the Contractor’s bid was 12 percent below the Engineer’s Estimate alleging this could mean the bid does not follow the plans and specifications giving it an unfair advantage over other bidders.
Staff has read the letter and does not recommend rejecting the low bid for the following reasons:
1) in accordance with standard practice, the low bid was reviewed for completeness against the specification and plan requirements and was found to be responsive, and 2) the FFC letter refers to pending complaints and lawsuits and, therefore, the allegations may or may not be valid.
Financial Considerations
The City’s adopted FY24/25 Budget includes $664,000 for this project, and accounting for the design agreement, construction contract, Construction Management professional services, engineering services during construction leaves an extremely low 1.7 percent contingency (as a percentage of the construction contract). To avoid reducing the City General Fund unencumbered balance, Staff are recommending no project budget amendment and cutting back the scope of the Project during construction as the need arises.
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.