January 10, 2024| Page 1
February 12, 2024
Mohamed Alaoui, Public Works Director
Nancy Humphrey, Environmental Programs Supervisor
City of Emeryville
1333 Park Avenue
Emeryville, CA 94608
Subject: Emeryville City-Wide Tree Planting Program Proposal Mohamed and Nancy:
We appreciate the opportunity to submit this proposal for preparing a comprehensive tree planting program for the City of Emeryville (City) by late fall of 2024. PlaceWorks willserve as the prime consultant for this project and oversee all aspects of the project through completion.
Following completion of the Emeryville Tree Planting Opportunity Inventory and Planting Guide (Tree Planting Guide), the City Public Works Department has decided to utilize available funding to expedite the preparation of design documents (plans, specifications, and estimates) and installation of as many trees as feasible located within designated opportunity sites. Preliminarily the priorities, in tiered order, are:
Tier 1. “Bang for Your Buck” – Equity, utility ease, sufficient space, no major pavement/structural alterations, 33 sites
Tier 2. Equity ‐ with utility challenges if feasible, possible paving changes and/or structural alterations (could get unreasonably expensive‐infeasible), 14 sites Tier 3. Marina ‐ replace what was lost, to the extent feasible, approximately 80 sites We have assembled a highly qualified team of subconsultants to support the design process, including:
TranSystems will provide civil engineering support services for the project and brings considerable experience with public parks, streets and roadways, Caltrans specifications, and will oversee the civil related tasks and budgeting, and participate in QA/QC tasks. SBCA, arborists on the Tree Planting Guide, will assist the design team in developing appropriate design solutions, especially where sufficient rooting volume is lacking, and monitor tree selection, installation, structural pruning, and staking.
The following scope of work describes our understanding of your project goals. Note that we can modify the tasks as necessary to best meet the project needs.
Project Work Plan/Approach
This section describes the scope of services to be completed by the PlaceWorks team for the Emeryville City‐ Wide Tree Planting Program. Our proposed, preliminary schedule is included below, as Table 1. All Exhibit A
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deliverables will be submitted electronically in pdf format unless otherwise noted. We recognize that it may be necessary to alter the scope as the project progresses and are happy to work with you to ensure the successful completion of the project, as feasible, by the end of Fall 2024.
Note that infill planting in urbanized settings, such as Emeryville, poses complex challenges and unknown conditions, particularly underground utilities. As such, it is anticipated that this process will be iterative and tactical, adjusting to ongoing findings and discoveries.
Task 1 – Project Initiation
In this task, the PlaceWorks team will work to initiate the project as noted below:
1. Project Orientation Meeting/Site Visit
The PlaceWorks team (project team) will attend a project kick‐off meeting with the City and subconsultants to discuss project goals and overall approach to document preparation, timelines, and establish communication protocols. We will also verify available data and discuss additional needs, and discuss potential layout and phasing zones for the project. Following this meeting, we will visit a few key locations near City Hall, with staff present, to discuss our preliminary strategies for addressing various tree planting situations and challenges.
2. Base Map Development/Preparation
The PlaceWorks team will develop a variety of base maps for use in preparing the project plans, using a combination of available aerial photography, utility company maps, existing City base maps and the GIS layers from the Tree Planting Guide. The plans will be segmented into logical, biddable zones as determined with City and submitted to the City for review.
3. Project Management
PlaceWorks will provide project management and quality control (QC) services throughout the duration of the project. We will maintain frequent contact with the City to provide project updates and review all designs, cost estimates, and related documents.
Task 2. Site Reconnaissance
In this task the project team will conduct more detailed analysis of all tree planting opportunity sites to verify and identify:
1. Accuracy of plan information and additional data needed a. Driveways, curb cuts and ramps, etc.
b. USA will be contacted to mark all utilities within all of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 planting sites prior to conducting soils tests.
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2. Utility information
a. Potential utility conflicts – these sites will be deleted from the project . b. Any sites where underground utility locating or potholing may be needed, will be omitted from the project.
3. Soils testing
a. SBCA will obtain soils tests for 40 planting areas in the Tier 1 and Tier 2 sites, with two samples from each site, 0‐12” and 12‐30”. Since often the surface soil may be contaminated with heavy metals that don’t leach down, the lower soil is fine, which only requires removal of the top contaminated soil.
b. City will conduct up to 10 test pit excavations at the Marina to verify topsoil and rock fill depths, and salt waterintrusion, if visible. PlaceWorks will observe the test pits and submitsoilssamples from selected sites to the lab.
c. Turnaround time for testing is usually 1‐2 weeks.
d. Soil contaminants
i. City will review the information documented in the Tree Planting Guide regarding areas with potential soil and/or groundwater contamination and provide the project team with specific recommendations for planting sites requiring more than heavy metal testing or other safety concerns. These sites will be omitted from the project. ii. See Project Assumptions and Exclusions page 6, Item 3 Contaminated Soils, for more information.
4. All installation details to be prepared, based upon preliminary site analysis investigation, including:
a. Existing tree wells: as is or enlarged
b. Structural alterations: Under‐pavement treatments including structural soil, soil cells and/or clean crushed rock layer. If there are additional soil volumes available adjacent to a planting site, using structural soil to bridge across hardscape so roots can access.
5. Proposed tree sizes and planting conditions
a. Confirm preliminary preferred tree sizes per site
b. Tree protection: Fencing, cages, etc.
c. Tree grates and alternatives
d. Irrigation methods: water truck with perforated water tubes, ‘gator’ bags, etc. e. Wind and root protection /stabilization: guy wires, staking, strapping, etc.
The goal of this task is to verify the “easiest” sites/areas for proceeding with design and those that need more information, which may be deleted from the project.
Task 3. Preliminary Design ‐ 30% Plans, Technical Specifications and Estimates (PS&E) The project team will prepare 30% level concept plans, anticipated technical specifications table of contents, and cost estimate including:
1. Staff Meeting: To review all findings, confirm next steps, and priorities.
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2. Prioritization: Using all data gathered from the activities mentioned above, the Project Team will review the categorization of all potential tree sites and update as necessary.
3. 30% PS&E: Develop preliminary plans, details, technical specs table of contents. The cost estimate will include research on costs for structuralsolutions (Silva Cells, Structural Soil, etc.) and preliminary estimated constructions costs for City review. The estimate will be used to determine final direction for details, layout and implementation.
4. Tree Species Selection by Site: Develop species list by location and per optional sizes.
5. Staff Meeting: After a 1‐week City review of 30% PS&E, meet with staff to verify next steps, modifications to 65% PSE.
Task 4. Design Development – 65% PS&E
In this task, the project team will refine the 30% PS&E, including:
1. 65% PS&E: Refine planting details for various situations. Specifications will be developed in Caltrans format with distinct pay item defined for each detail. The penalty costs for change orders over 25% will be omitted. The intent of these specifications is to define/obtain costs for all potential unknown field conditions. The City will prepare Division 1 and boilerplate Bid Documents. Costs will be updated including refined details and structural solutions (Silva Cells, Structural Soil, etc.)
2. Staff Review: After a 2‐week City review, meet with staff to obtain comments and further direction for 100% PS&E.
Task 5. Design Development – 95% PS&E
In this task, the project team will incorporate feedback received on the 65% PS&E to develop the 95% PS&E submittal package.
1. 95% PS&E will be updated.
2. Staff Review: After a 1‐week City review, meet with staff to obtain comments and further direction for 100% PS&E.
Task 6. Final Construction Documents – 100% PS&E
The project team will finalize the PS&E to a 100% level for final estimating, review and approvals.
1. 100% PS&E: Finalize plans, details, technical specifications and cost estimate, and address City comments.
2. Bid Form: City will develop Bid Form with “menu of options”, tied to each specification section.
3. Submittal Review: The 100% PS&E will be submitted for City review and required permits. plans and specifications will be modified, if needed, following this review.
3. Final Approvals: The project team will work with the City to obtain final approvals and signatures. At this point, the City will package the final Bid Set for bid, and issue notices to bid.
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Task 7 – Bid Phase Support
PlaceWorks will attend the pre‐bid meeting and assist the City with reviewing questions and preparing content for the City to issue in Addenda, if required. The City will lead the bidding process – drafting and issuing notices, submitting bid documents to online bid sources, processing addenda, reviewing bids, processing contracts, and issuing a notice to proceed. An allowance of hours is noted on the cost table. Additional hours, if needed, will be billed on a time and materials basis.
Task 8 ‐ Construction Administration
PlaceWorks will support the City throughout the construction phase as follows: review submittals/shop drawings, respond to RFIs, prepare clarification drawings, and coordinate regularly with the Contractor, and project team. As a part of this task, we will enlist SBCA to inspect trees delivered to the site for pests and disease, health/vigor, structural integrity of scaffold, and root structures. The specifications will identify mandatory requirements for tree and root quality and health. Should the trees delivered to the site not meet these specifications, contractor will be required to contract with a different, qualified nursery, to be approved by SBCA. We are including three site inspections for this project. Contractor will be required to establish a secure staging area for delivery and holding trees until planting.
We will also visit the site to assess project status and will keep the city informed of progress. SBCA will work with contractor during the first planting(s) to demonstrate proper planting practices, including root ball treatment, application of sugar solution, backfill, and staking treatments. If structural soil is mixed on site, the Arborist will work with the contractor so that the proper ratio of soil and rock are used. Periodically, the arborist will conduct inspections to review work and make sure activities are carried out according to specifications.
The contractor will be responsible for the planting, watering, staking, maintenance, structural care, and, if the arborist deems necessary, replacement, of each tree for the first 3 years after the planting date.
Preliminary Schedule
As shown in Table 1, we anticipate that the project can begin construction 8 months following award of our contract. We will develop a detailed project schedule, including all milestones, meetings, and review periods during Task 1.1 to allow for effective project team coordination and production.
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Table 1. Proposed Schedule (DRAFT)
TASK ESTIMATED SCHEDULE*
Task 1 – Project Initiation 3/4/24 – 3/18/24
Task 2 – Site Reconnaissance (Includes City tasks – see scope) 3/11/24 – 4/1/24 Task 3 – Preliminary Design – 30% PS&E 3/25/24 – 4/22/24 City Review and Team Meeting (1 week) 4/22/24 – 4/29/24 Task 4 – Design Development – 65% PS&E 4/29/24 – 5/31/24 City Review and Team Meeting (2 weeks) 5/31/24 – 6/14/24 Task 5 – Design Development – 95% PS&E 6/14/24‐6/28/24 Ciry Review and Team Meeting (1 week) 6/28/24 ‐ 7/5/24 Task 6 – Final Construction Documents – 100% PS&E/Bid Set (2 weeks) 7/5/24 – 7/19/24 Final PS&E Updates and Required Approvals/Signatures (2 weeks) 7/19/24 – 8/2/24 Task 7 – Bid Phase Support (assumes 2‐month Bidding/Award period) 8/2/24 – 9/27/24 Task 8 – Construction Administration (Start date) October 2024 *Assumes project start date before March 1, 2024
Project Assumptions and Exclusions
1. Omit irrigation consultant entirely – this was originally an optional task to review Marina irrigation to ensure trees get sufficient coverage. The specifications will require the contractor to coordinate with the City to verify irrigation coverage and identify any deficiencies, but will not be responsible for correcting these deficiencies assuming the City can make these repairs. The contractor could make the repairs as a change order, asrepair costs are difficult to price in advance as part of a bid process without knowing the conditions. Contractor will be required to ensure trees receive sufficient water throughout installation and 3‐year maintenance period to establish.
2. Soils tests – SBCA scope is now limited to 40 sites/trees and will include most of Tier 1 and 2 locations.
These tests will identify soil planting suitability, and define appropriate structural interventions (Silva Cell, Structural Soil, jetting, etc.), if required. The City will dig ten test pits at the Marina to determine soil and fill substrate depths and materials, as well as salt water intrusion, if visible. Soil from these test pits will be sent to the same soil lab for testing soil properties. Note that additional tests, if requested, can be taken at $300/site.
3. Contaminated soils – As noted above, soils tests will only test for 40 sites/trees and include testing for heavy metal contamination, presence of lime, pH, salt content, soil texture, compaction, nutrient levels.
The City will need to review locations of proposed planting sites where potential contaminants have been noted and identify if there are any other potentialsoil or groundwater pollutants of concern. These locations will be eliminated from the planting scope. See attached map and matrix from the Emeryville January 10, 2024| Page 7
Tree Planting Opportunity Inventory and Planting Guide, as well as pertinent pages from the CalEnviroScreen 4.0: Groundwater cleanup sites and Environmental Cleanup Sites document.
4. Bid Support and Construction Administration – The hours noted on the cost table are an allowance. We assume the City’s construction manager will take the lead on these tasks and that our hours are utilized just to respond to RFI’s, review submittals and conduct occasional site visits as requested.
5. Tree Tagging at Nursery – SBCA will not go to the identified nurseries and tag trees. They will provide detailed specifications regarding requirements for tree size, vigor, shape, root condition and then inspect trees upon delivery to the site. We are assuming up to 3 visits/inspections. Note that contractor will need a fenced‐in staging area to store trees for planting, rather than deliver individual trees to multiple sites over multiple days.
6. Planting Details – we originally assumed we’d photo each site and include in plans, with specific notes, per each site, but will now prepare a more streamlined layout plan with a matrix identifying each site, listing tree species and size, keyed to a specific planting detail.
7. Bulb‐outs – We have eliminated investigation, survey and design for any bulb‐outs in our scope. Each potential location would need to be carefully evaluated, detailed and would also be the highest installation cost due to work in the paved roadway and not just sidewalk ROW. Note that the potential bulb‐out locations are not included in the final tree count on the Tree Planting Guide as the number and location had not yet been determined.
8. Utilities – SBCA will contact USA to mark all utility locations in areas that will receive soil sampling. Our civil engineer will conduct a very limited site reconnaissance to review these locations and advise the team of any areas of concern. We will not map these utilities on our plans, but will include requirements for the contractor to contact USA to mark all utilities in the vicinity of all planting sites prior to construction and notify the City of any additional areas of concern for resolution.
We very much look forward to working with you to create this comprehensive set of documentsthat willsupport your goal of implementing street tree plantings throughout the City, and fully utilizing the funds available in 2024.
Sincerely,
Sarah Sutton, ASLA, Rescape Rater, RFQP
Landscape Architect PLA 4219 | Senior Landscape Advisor The PlaceWorks Team
Emeryville City-Wide Tree Planting Program
COST PROPOSAL-Revised February 8, 2024
Sutton Koehler ArellanoGaribay Giffin Transystems SBCA PIC PM Designer GIS
Hourly Rate: $265 $155 $125 $180
TASK 1. Project Initiation
1 Project Orientation Meeting/Site Visit 6 8 6 20 $72 $3,652 2,038 1,050 $309 $3,397 $7,049 2 Base Map Development/Preparation 1 4 8 4 17 $52 $2,657 1,840 400 $224 $2,464 $5,121 3 Project Management 8 24 32 $117 $5,957 0 1,000 $100 $1,100 $7,057 Task 1. Subtotal 15 36 14 4 69 $241 $12,266 $3,878 $2,450 $633 $6,961 $19,227 TASK 2. Site Reconnaissance
1 Accuracy of Base Map Site Visit 2 8 8 1 19 $59 $3,009 1,909 600 $251 $2,760 $5,769 2 Utility information - GIS/USA verification (PW or SBCA photo?) 2 8 8 1 19 $59 $3,009 0 1,000 $100 $1,100 $4,109 3 Soils Testing 4 8 4 16 $56 $2,856 0 12,000 $1,200 $13,200 $16,056 4 Installation details - Coord with SBCA 6 8 4 18 $67 $3,397 1,909 1,000 $291 $3,200 $6,597 5 Proposed tree type/sizes and planting approach 6 8 4 18 $67 $3,397 0 2,000 $200 $2,200 $5,597 Task 2. Subtotal 20 40 28 2 90 $308 $15,668 $3,818 $16,600 $2,042 $22,460 $38,128 TASK 3. Preliminary Design - 30% PS&E
1 Staff Meeting 2 4 2 8 $28 $1,428 340 700 $104 $1,144 $2,572 2 Prioritization - Update tree location sites no drafting 2 4 0 2 8 $30 $1,540 0 200 $20 $220 $1,760 3 30% PS&E - Key Map, Plant Matrix, plus Preliminary Details, and Costs 12 30 24 66 $217 $11,047 3,393 200 $359 $3,952 $14,999 4 Tree Species Selection by Site 4 8 16 28 $86 $4,386 0 0 $0 $0 $4,386 5 Staff Meeting 2 4 2 8 $28 $1,428 340 2,400 $274 $3,014 $4,442 Task 3. Subtotal 22 50 44 2 118 $389 $19,829 $4,073 $5,200 $927 $10,200 $30,029 TASK 4. Design Development - 65% PS&E
1 65% PS&E - Key map, Matrix, Details, costs, and Specs here 18 40 50 108 $344 $17,564 4,622 1,600 $622 $6,844 $24,408 2 Staff Review 2 4 2 8 $28 $1,428 340 700 $104 $1,144 $2,572 Task 4. Subtotal 20 44 52 0 116 $372 $18,992 $4,962 $2,300 $726 $7,988 $26,980 TASK 5. Design Development - 95% PS&E
1 95% PS&E 12 24 32 68 $218 $11,118 3,942 400 $434 $4,776 $15,894 2 Staff Review 2 4 2 8 $28 $1,428 340 700 $104 $1,144 $2,572 Task 5. Subtotal 14 28 34 0 76 $246 $12,546 $4,282 $1,100 $538 $5,920 $18,466 TASK 6. Final Construction Documents - 100% PS&E
1 100%/Bid Set PS&E 6 16 12 34 $111 $5,681 1,971 1,000 $297 $3,268 $8,949 2 Bid Form - Input only, City CM will prepare document 1 2 3 $12 $587 0 400 $40 $440 $1,027 3 Coordinate final submittal with City 2 6 12 20 $59 $3,019 549 400 $95 $1,044 $4,063 4 Final Approvals 2 4 2 8 $28 $1,428 0 400 $40 $440 $1,868 Task 6. Subtotal 11 28 26 0 65 $210 $10,715 $2,520 $2,200 $472 $5,192 $15,907 TASK 7. Bid Phase Support
1 Bid Phase Support 8 16 8 32 $112 $5,712 855 400 $126 $1,381 $7,093 Task 7. Subtotal 8 16 8 0 32 $112 $5,712 $855 $400 $126 $1,381 $7,093 TASK 8. Construction Administration
1 Construction Administration 16 40 24 80 $269 $13,709 2,433 5,100 $753 $8,286 $21,995 Task 8. Subtotal 16 40 24 0 80 $269 $13,709 $2,433 $5,100 $753 $8,286 $21,995 Labor Hours Total 126 282 230 8 646
Labor Dollars Total $33,390 $43,710 $28,750 $1,440 $2,147 $109,437 $26,821 $35,350 $68,388 $177,825 PlaceWorks Percent of Total Labor 20% 44% 36% 1%
EXPENSES
PlaceWorks Reimbursable Expenses $1,400
Subconsultants' Reimbursable Expenses $0
EXPENSES TOTAL $1,400
GRAND TOTAL $179,225
PLACEWORKS
Subconsultant
Total
Total Task
Budget
PlaceWorks
Hours
PlaceWorks
Total
SUBCONSULTANTS
Engineering Arborist
PlaceWorks 2%
Office Expenses
10%
Subconsultant
Markup
PLACEWORKS