EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: April 19, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Jaime M. Fontes, City Manager
BY: Adrian Biggs, Associate Engineer
Glen March, Senior Engineer
Humza Javed, City Engineer
SUBJECT: RFP for On-Call Construction Management, Inspection, and Material Testing Services
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for on-call construction management, inspection, and material testing services related to capital improvement, private development, and other projects, including the University Avenue/101 Pedestrian Overcrossing Project.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 3: Increase Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Priority No. 4: Improve Public Facilities and Infrastructure Priority No. 5: Improve Communication and Enhance Community Engagement Background
The City has several upcoming construction projects that will require construction management, inspections, and/or materials testing services. These projects include the University Avenue/101 Pedestrian Overcrossing Project, the University/Cooley Avenue 12-inch Water Main project, the water main gap at University Avenue/Woodland Avenue, as well as others. Some of these projects have extensive requirements which will require daily inspections and quality control.
Additionally, many private development projects within the City are expected to start construction in the coming years. These projects will require a significant number of inspections by Public Works as part of their on-site and off-site improvements. Additional inspection coverage will be necessary to meet the inspection needs of the pending developments.
Analysis
Staff is expecting numerous projects, both private development, and capital improvements, in the coming years that will require construction management, inspection, constructability reviews, and/or material testing services. Currently, the Public Works Department has one public works inspector to cover all public works and engineering inspections. This work includes inspection of utility work, encroachment permits, capital improvements as well as engineering and grading inspections pertaining to development projects.
City staff is seeking to create an on-call construction management, inspection, and materials testing contract and issue task orders for each project or assignment as they occur. Instead of hiring a new full-time employee, a multi-year on-call services contract will allow staff flexibility to utilize the technical services of a construction management firm for various constructionrelated and material testing services as needed for the various upcoming projects. This will also create efficiency in the Public Works Department by eliminating the administrative burden for proposals, contracts, purchase orders, and invoice processing for individual projects.
Complex projects such as the University Avenue/101 Pedestrian Overcrossing project require a full-time Construction Manager (Resident Engineer) during the duration of the construction phase of the project. Having the Resident Engineer perform a detailed constructability review before a project is bid out for construction is crucial to address design details that may create constructability issues in the field during construction.
Staff intends to advertise the RFP to the public as well as reach out to the firms currently listed on the City’s on-call list. The firms that submit RFPs will be rated by a panel of at least three members consisting of City staff as well as Caltrans staff. Staff will negotiate scope and fee with the highest rated proper. Once a firm is selected, staff will return to the City Council with a recommendation.
Fiscal Impact
There is no cost to advertise the RFP. Once a firm is selected, staff will bring a report back to the City Council for a contract award. The costs for construction management, inspection, and/or material testing services will be paid out from a combination of Grant Funds, Development Impact Fees, Water Funds, and Inspection fees.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and at City Hall located at 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The action being considered does not constitute a “Project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), under CEQA Guideline section 15378 (b)(5), in that it is a government administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
Attachments
1. Resolution