Agenda #: 5.7
Meeting Date: November 15, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Daniel Fox, City Manager
TITLE: AWARD OF CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT TO YUNEX LLC FOR
THE LED ILLUMINATED STREET NAME SIGN AND HIGHWAY
SAFETY LIGHT REPLACEMENT PROJECT (CIP # TM23201).
STRATEGIC
GOAL: Safe, Sustainable & Healthy Community
RECOMMENDATION:
A. Determine that the proposed project is Categorically Exempt (Class 2) from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to section 15302 of the CEQA Guidelines;
B. Approve, and authorize the Mayor to sign a Construction Agreement with Yunex LLC, in the amount of $967,795, plus a contingency amount of $48,390 for contract change orders, if any, to be approved by the City Manager, for a total authorization amount of $1,016,185; and
C. Appropriate $176,200 from the Measure M Fund (Fund 203) Fund Balance to the CIP Fund (Fund 301) for Project #TM23201.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The City Council allocated $840,000 in Measure M and Gas Tax Funds for this Project (CIP No. TM23201) as part of the FY 2022/23 CIP Budget. Due to the recent increases in procurement and installation costs, the negotiated cost of the Project is $967,795, which is $127,795 over the approved project budget in FY 2022/23 CIP. An appropriation of $176,200 from the Measure M Fund is therefore requested to cover the full cost of the contract and a 5% contingency.
The contract as proposed will cost $967,795 and the proposed contingency amount of $48,390 will only be used in the event of unforeseen circumstances that will warrant a contract change order.
LED Illuminated Street Name Sign
and Highway Safety Light
Replacement CIP # TM23201
Budget Encumbrance/
Expenses
Balance
Approved: Measure M $390,000 $390,000
Approved: Gas Tax $450,000 $840,000
New Request: Measure M $176,200 $1,016,200
Contract Amount ($967,795) $48,405
Contingency (5% of Contract
Amount)
($48,390) $15
Balance $15
BACKGROUND:
The Public Works Department maintains the existing Internally Illuminated Street Name Signs (IISNS) and Traffic Signal Safety Lights (TSSL) found at all of the signalized intersections citywide. However, after more than fifteen years of daily use, and also the limited availability of fluorescent bulbs, much of this infrastructure has reached the end of its useful life and needs replacement.
This Project as proposed in the City Fiscal Year 2022/23 CIP will replace all of the existing IISNSs and regular TSSLs, with hardware featuring light-emitting diode (LED) lighting technology. The bell-shaped decorative TSSLs that were replaced as part of the streetscape beautification projects in the past few years are not included in the Project as those TSSLs feature either an older LED technology or in more recent installations use the current LED technology.
Diamond Bar Municipal Code Section 10.08.010 authorizes the City Council to determine and designate the character of all official warning, regulatory, and direction signs other than those signs for which specifications are established by the Vehicle Code. That authority includes modifying the appearance of street name signs.
Furthermore, the City is committed to enhancing the overall streetscape design elements, like visual and directional cues, in alignment with the strategic goals outlined in the Community Character and Placemaking Chapter of the Diamond Bar General Plan 2040.
DISCUSSION:
There are sixty-six (66) interconnected signalized intersections that are maintained and operated by the City of Diamond Bar. There are two hundred twenty-nine (229) IISNSs that will be procured and installed as part of this Project. Each IISNS housing assembly features front-and-back street name sign panels, which means that there are four hundred fifty-eight (458) panels to be manufactured and installed with the new design and sign hardware. There are three hundred seven (307) existing TSSLs that will be replaced/upgraded as part of this Project.
Additionally, there are two (2) existing signalized intersections that do not feature any sign hardware: Sprouts/CVS driveway on Diamond Bar Boulevard and the Plaza at Diamond Creek on Golden Springs Drive.
State law (CVC § 21366) requires the City to install street name signs at all signalcontrolled intersections. Therefore, as part of this Project, the following new illuminated street name signs will be installed as follows:
Traffic Signal at the Sprouts/CVS driveway on Diamond Bar Boulevard:
• NB/SB Signs: “Diamond Bar Blvd”
• EB/WB Signs: “Town Center”
Traffic Signal at the Plaza at Diamond Creek on Golden Springs Drive:
• NB/SB Signs: “Diamond Creek”
• EB/WB Sign: “Golden Springs Dr”
The proposed new IISNSs will have an updated design to reflect the City’s current streetscape theme and palette, including the replacement of the City seal with the windmill logo, a white Highway Gothic typeface, over a standard green background.
Attachment 3 shows several samples of the illuminated street name sign panel design.
On September 1, 2022, the Public Works Department released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Project through the City’s online bidding platform (PlanetBids). On October 6, 2022, five (5) bid proposals were received. One bid was determined to be non-responsive to the City’s specifications per the RFP, and the four responsive bids are as follows:
Firm Price
Yunex LLC $967,795 Recommended
Crosstown Electrical & Data, Inc. $1,249,973
PTM General Engineering Services, Inc. $1,523,023
California Professional Engineering, Inc. $1,919,060
Staff evaluated all of the proposals and determined Yunex LLC (“Yunex Traffic”) to be the lowest responsible bidder, with a negotiated cost of $967,795 for all bid items. A short form of the bid submitted by Yunex Traffic is provided in Attachment 2. A copy of the full proposal can be obtained from the Public Works Department.
Yunex Traffic holds a valid State of California contractor’s license and has recently performed similar work in nearby communities, like the City of Chino, City of Norco, City of Huntington Beach, City of Santa Ana, and several other municipalities throughout Southern California. Furthermore, Yunex Traffic (formerly SIEMENS) continues to serve as the City of Diamond Bar’s on-call traffic signal maintenance contractor for more than twenty years.
A tentative Schedule of the Project is set as follows:
• Award of Contract November 15, 2022
• Notice to Proceed November 2022
• Construction Start January 2023
• Notice of Completion June 2023
Yunex will phase the work at each intersection to minimize any traffic impacts.
CEQA Determination
The proposed project is Categorically Exempt (Class 2) from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to section 15302 of the CEQA Guidelines. Class 2 exemptions include replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site and have substantially the same purpose and capacity. The project will replace existing illuminated street name signs and traffic safety lights at existing signalized intersections throughout the city and therefore qualifies for a Class 2 exemption.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved the Agreement as to form.
PREPARED BY:
REVIEWED BY:
Attachments:
1. 5.7.a Construction Agreement with Yunex LLC
2. 5.7.b Yunex LLC's Bid Proposal - Short Form
3. 5.7.c Street Name Sign Design Samples