EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: April 4, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Melvin E. Gaines, City Manager
BY: James Colin, City Clerk
Humza Javed, Public Works Director
SUBJECT: University Avenue/101 Pedestrian Overcrossing Project Contracts: Construction Contract with MCM Construction, Inc.; Construct Management Services Contract with Ghirardelli & Associates; and Amendment to a Professional Engineering Services Contract with AECOM, Inc.
Recommendation
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to:
1. Award and execute a construction contract to and with MCM Construction, Inc. in the amount of $11,966,203.00 in a form approved by the City Attorney that:
a. Establishes a 10% construction contract contingency with authority to execute future change orders in an amount not-to-exceed the appropriated construction contingency of $1,196,620.30; and
b. Establishes a construction budget in an amount not to exceed $13,162,823.30.
2. Execute a professional services agreement for Construction Management, Inspection, and Material Testing Services, in a form approved by the City Attorney, with Ghirardelli & Associates in an amount not-to exceed $1,685,735.30 for construction management and material testing services that provides for a 10% contingency and authorizes the execution of future change orders in the amount of $168,573.53, for a total construction management of $1,854,308.83; and
3. Execute Contract Amendment No. 3 to the Agreement with AECOM Technical Services, Inc., in a form approved by the City Attorney, in an amount of $485,000 for design support services during construction and extends the contract term until project completion, for a total amended contract not-to-exceed amount of $1,809.949.00; and
4. Appropriate $15,502.132.10, including $836,632.10 in the City Matching funds; and
5. Approve a transfer from General Fund to Capital Improvement Fund in the amount of $836,632.10 for the City Matching Funds; and
6. Negotiate and execute a funding agreement, in a form approved by the City Attorney, with the San Mateo County Transportation Authority for the awarded Measure “A” funds and Measure “W” funds in the amounts of $4,892,500 and $5,700,000, respectively.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
· Implement the comprehensive transportation and mobility plan · Promote public health and safety
Background
The US 101 / University Avenue Interchange Improvements Project (Project) will construct a bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing over US 101 and a bicycle/pedestrian path to connect Woodland Avenue to Donohoe Street will be constructed to provide a safe crossing over US 101 for cyclists and pedestrians. Improvements to University Avenue and the northbound and southbound off ramps from US 101 to University Avenue will be constructed.
The University Avenue/101 Pedestrian Overcrossing Project (project) proposes to improve the connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as relieving traffic congestion for the motorists at the interchange. On September 2, 2014, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 4544 approving a contract with URS (now known as AECOM) in the amount of $924,979 to perform design services related to the project. The project was environmentally cleared in November 2017.
The project would construct a 12-foot-wide Class I pedestrian and bicycle facility that includes a new pedestrian/bicycle overcrossing (POC) along the north side of the US 101/University Avenue overcrossing. The overcrossing would be a 4-span structure approximately 560 feet long. On the east side of the freeway, a Class I facility would be constructed from the south side of the northbound US 101/University Avenue loop off-ramp to the new structure. The facility would be constructed over a new embankment with side slopes of 4 to 1 or flatter. On the west side of the interchange, a 12-foot-wide Class I facility would be constructed from the structure to the northeast corner of the intersection of University Avenue and Woodland Avenue. The existing sidewalk would be converted to a landscaped buffer between the Class I facility and University Avenue. To minimize right-of-way impacts, the project proposes to narrow the southbound University Avenue left and right turn lanes at Woodland Avenue from 12 feet to 11 feet wide and reduce the minimum median width from 6 feet to 4 feet.
The northbound US 101 to southbound University Avenue loop off-ramp would be realigned to square up with University Avenue with a tighter radius-curve for pedestrian and bicyclist safety enhancement. Additionally, the project includes improvements to the southbound 101 off-ramp to improve traffic flow and reduce traffic conflicts.
The City Council, at its March 1, 2022 meeting, adopted Resolution No. 21-2022 approving the plans, specifications, and estimates (PS&E) for the project and authorized the City Manager to advertise the project to solicit bids for construction.
Analysis
Prior to start of construction of the project, the City must: 1) Award the construction contract; 2) Execute a professional services agreement for construction management, inspection, and testing services; and 3) Execute an amendment to a professional engineering services agreement to provide design support during construction.
The Project was advertised to solicit bids for construction on January 14, 2023. On March 9, 2023, bids were submitted, opened and read aloud by the City Clerk. Four contractors submitted bids and the bid results are as follows:
No. Contractor Bid
1 MCM Construction, Inc. $11,966,203.00
2 Gordon N. Ball, Inc. $12,867,310.00
3 Viking Construction Company $13,991,100.00
4 Beador Construction Company, Inc. $14,625,300.00
The bid tabulation for each bid is included as Attachment No. 2 to this report. The Engineer’s Estimate for the project is $11,100,000.00 million.
MCM Construction, Inc. submitted the lowest bid in the amount of $11,966,203.00. (after $3,000 math error correction on bid schedule). City staff performed a bid analysis, verified qualifications, the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) requirements of Caltrans oversight projects and checked references for the lowest bidder.
Contingent upon completing all insurance and bonding requirements of the Contract Specifications, staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to (1) award and execute a construction contract with MCM Construction, Inc., the lowest responsible bidder, in the amount of $11,966,203.00; (2) establish a construction contract contingency in the amount of $1,196,620.00 (10% of the base construction contract amount); and (3) execute contract change orders up to the construction contract contingency amount.
It is anticipated that construction, excluding the plant establishment period, will be completed in July 2024.
Construction Management, Inspection, and Materials Testing Services Contract The construction of this Project requires dedicated professional staff to oversee the construction, administer the construction contract, and perform inspections and materials testing. The construction duration is anticipated to be 13 months of full-time oversight, preconstruction preparation, and post-construction project closeout.
On April 19, 2022, the City Council adopted Resolution No.44-2022 which authorized the City Manager to release a request for proposal for On-Call Construction Management, Inspection, and Materials Testing Services.
On May 11, 2022, the City received proposals from Ghirardelli Associates; Zoon Engineering, and CPM Associates.
An evaluation panel comprised of two City employees and one Caltrans employee reviewed the proposals and determined that Ghirardelli Associates was the most qualified firm to perform the work described in the request for proposals. Ghirardelli received the highest score of all three panelists.
The average ranking of each firm was as follows:
No. Company Name Average Score
1 Ghirardelli Associates 92
2 Zoon Engineering 86
3 CPM Associates 76
Staff reviewed and negotiated the scope of work and associated costs in the proposal submitted for the US 101 / University Avenue Interchange Improvements Project and determined the scope of work and associated costs were reasonable. The cost of this contract is $1,685,735.30 with a 10% contract contingency for a not-to exceed contract amount of $1,854,308.83. The cost proposal is included as Attachment 3 to this report.
Design Support Services during Construction - Contract Amendment On September 2, 2014, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 4544, which authorized a contract with URS (now known as AECOM Technical Services, Inc. Or AECOM) in the amount of $924,979 to perform design services related to the US 101 / University Avenue Interchange Improvements Project which includes a pedestrian overcrossing over US 101.
On July 16, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 5153, which authorized the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 1 adding $72,970 to the contract, increasing it to a not-toexceed contract amount of $1,067,949.
On July 20, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 101-2021 which authorized the City Manager to execute a Second Amendment to the AECOM Technical Services, Inc. contract, in a form approved by the City Attorney, in an amount of $257,000 for a contract not-to-exceed total amount of $1,324,949 for design services for the University Avenue-Highway 101 Interchange Improvements Project.
The work required from AECOM for design preparation has been completed. The proposed Amendment No. 3 to their current contract is primarily for design support services during the construction phase. The original contract and Amendments 1 and 2 were only pertaining to the Design phase. Now that the project has moved into the construction phase, additional construction support services by the Design Team are necessary. This includes, communication, coordination, answering of RFI (Request for Information), and addressing any design changes in the field if necessary. It also includes an allowance for the sub-consultants in the design team for the following work: landscaping, electrical, traffic, and geotechnical services.
The cost of this contract is $485,000. The cost proposal is included as Attachment 4 to this report.
Fiscal Impact
The estimated cost estimate of the construction phase of the Project is as follows:
Cost Estimate for Construction Phase Amount
Construction Contract 11,966,203.00
10% Construction Contingency 1,196,620.30
Design Services During Construction 485,000.00
Construction Management 1,854,308.83
Estimated Cost of Construction Phase 15,502,132.10
The funding sources for the construction phase of the Project are as follows:
Funding Sources Amount
San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) Measure A (F202) 4,892,500 TA Measure W (F234) 5,700,000
LLP Discretionary (F303) 2,302,000
Federal Earmark (F303) 771,000
Stanford Recreation Mitigation Grant (F303) 1,000,000
City Match (F303 - by way of General Fund) 836,632.10
Total 15,502,132.10
Staff recommends appropriating a total of $15,502,132.10 from the respective funds in the table above including $836,632.10 of City matching funds and authorizing a transfer from General Fund to CIP Fund in the amount of $836,632.10.
Staff recommends authorizing the City Manager to execute a funding agreement with the San Mateo Transportation Authority for the awarded Measure “A” funds and Measure “W” funds in the amounts of $4,892,500 and $5,700,000, respectively. The funding agreement is included as Attachment 5 to this report.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and at the San Mateo County Library at 2415 University Ave., East Palo Alto, CA 94303.
Environmental
NEPA
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the lead agency under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), filed a NEPA Determination finding the project exempt from NEPA [Categorical Exclusion under 23 CFR 771.117(c): activity 27.] CEQA
The proposed action-awarding contracts for the construction and oversight of a public works project-is not a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15378(b)(4) and (5), in that it is a governmental fiscal, organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
Further, the underlying project obtained environmental clearance back in 2016. In accordance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), on March 14, 2016, the Planning Commission approved Resolution No. PC 2016-04, adopting a mitigated negative declaration, mitigation monitoring program (18 mitigations), and an architectural supervision entitlement, for the underlying project.
Attachments
1. Resolution
2. Construction Bid Tabulation
3. Ghirardelli Construction Management Cost Proposal
4. AECOM Design Support During Construction Cost Proposal
5. Funding Agreement for the US 101 University Ave Project