Fremont City Council Meeting: 05/09/23 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Public Works
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Agreements and Contracts
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 4856) DOC ID: 4856
Updated: 5/5/2023 9:17 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 1 2023 CAPE AND SLURRY SEAL PROJECT - Reject Apparent Low Bid as Non- Responsive; Reject Bid Protest by Fourth Lowest Bidder; Approve Plans and Specifications and Award Contract to VSS International, Inc. in the Amount of $5,451,000 (Including 3% Contingency) for the 2023 Cape and Slurry Seal Project (PWC8195-V2); Appropriation Action; Make Findings of CEQA Exemption.
Contact Persons:
Name: Edward Nakayama Hans Larsen
Title: Senior Civil Engineer Public Works Director
Div/Dept: Public Works Public Works
Phone: 510-494-4775 510-494-4722
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: The purpose of this report is to initiate a project to perform pavement preventive maintenance work at various locations citywide, consisting of 153 street segments and totaling 26 miles in length.
BACKGROUND: The City’s Public Works Engineering and Street Maintenance divisions jointly monitor the pavement condition of all streets and annually perform two types of pavement treatments:
• Preventive maintenance treatments – Treatments include cape seals, slurry seals, and crack seals, which involve the application of sealant materials over pavements to extend the pavement life at a relatively low cost. • Rehabilitation treatments – Treatments include pavement overlays and pavement base repairs, which involve the replacement of all or portions of pavements at a relatively high cost.
The City has allocated a greater amount of the available resources towards the more economical preventive maintenance treatments in order to address needs on more of the City’s streets. The preventive maintenance treatments cannot address every defect that may exist on a particular street segment, but they do improve and extend the life of the pavement before having to resort to more costly rehabilitation work.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Pavement Preventive Maintenance Project: This project will perform preventive maintenance in the form of cape and slurry seal treatments to 153 street segments, consisting of approximately 26 centerline miles of roadway and covering 5.3 million square feet of pavement surface. The pavement area covered equates to approximately 5% of the entire street network. A project web page has been created to present a map and a list of locations.
Bid Results: Bids were received on April 18, 2023. The bidders with their respective bid amounts are shown below. The Engineer’s Estimate is $4,200,000.
Bidder Bid Amount
1. DRYCO Construction, Inc. $5,211,991.87
Council Staff Report (ID # 4856) Meeting of May 9, 2023 Updated: 5/5/2023 9:17 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 2
2. VSS International, Inc. $ 5,311,000.00
3. Doolittle Construction, LLC $ 5,349,349.00
4. American Pavement Systems, Inc. $ 5,423,874.00
5. Northwest Paving, Inc. $ 5,613,219.95
6. Pavement Coatings, Inc. $ 5,929,036.60
Nonresponsive Bid: Staff reviewed the bid documents for all bids and considered their base bids and responsiveness. DRYCO Construction (“DRYCO”) submitted the apparent lowest bid. However, after review of the bids received, staff recommends that Council reject DRYCO’s bid as nonresponsive and award the contract to VSS International, Inc. (“VSS”), the second lowest responsive and responsible bidder (Fremont Municipal Code, Section 3.20.210). The nonresponsive bid did not conform to the following requirements and City instructions:
• Addendum: Bidder did not use the revised bid schedule that was provided in an addendum, causing a material change that affected the bid. • Subcontractor List: Bidder reported an amount of subcontract work that would have not allowed the prime contractor to perform the minimum percentage of work required. (Instructions to Bidders, Section 20, pg. 11).
Bid Protest: American Paving Systems, Inc. (“APS”), the fourth apparent low bidder, submitted a bid protest within the applicable time period (see letter in Attachment 1). VSS responded to the bid protest (see letter in Attachment 2). APS submitted a follow up response to VSS’ response (see letter in Attachment 3). Staff has reviewed the bid protest and, as discussed below, finds it without merit.
The City had issued an addendum to the project that required an acknowledgement of receipt in the bid. APS claims that VSS did not fill in the proper date in Section 2 of the bid form stating when the addendum was received, and there is no way to know whether VSS considered and agreed to be bound by the terms of the addendum at the time the bid was submitted. Staff’s review of VSS’ bid found that VSS had used the updated bid schedule provided in the addendum and that a copy of the addendum letter was also inserted with the bid. In Section 2 of the bid form, VSS had entered the addendum number rather than the date the addendum was received. After review of the entire bid, staff has determined that the entry of the addendum number rather than the date is a minor irregularity that may be waived.
Award: For reasons set forth above, the lowest responsible and responsive bidder for this project is VSS International. VSS International submitted a responsive bid, and all documents are in order. The contractor is a responsible bidder experienced in this type of work and has satisfactorily completed contracts of this nature with the City and other nearby local agencies.
The bid submitted by VSS International is higher than the Engineer’s Estimate due to the increase of current market costs for striping components which is a significant component of this project.
Project Costs and Funding:
Estimated Project Costs:
Construction Contract - Low Bid $5,311,000
Council Staff Report (ID # 4856) Meeting of May 9, 2023 Updated: 5/5/2023 9:17 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 3 Construction Contract Contingency $140,000
Construction Inspection and Administration $200,000
Construction Materials Testing $20,000
TOTAL ESTIMATED PROJECT COSTS $5,671,000
Source of Funding:
PWC8195-501 Capital Improvements Fund $2,363,000
PWC8195-514 ACTC VRF Local Streets $5,000
PWC8195-515 & 520 ACTC Measure BB funds $3,200,000 *
PWC8195-518 ACTC Measure B 2012 Local Streets $5,000
PWC8234-134 SB1 RMRA State Gas Tax 2103 $90,000 **
PWC8234-136 HUTA State Gas Tax $12,000
PWC8234-501 Capital Improvements Fund $5,000
TOTAL FUNDS AVAILABLE $5,680,000
* Amount adjusted to reflect an additional appropriation of $1,200,000 of unallocated ACTC funds as discussed in the Fiscal Impact section.
** Amount adjusted to account for 2023 Pavement Rehabilitation Project contract cost referenced in 4/18/23 Council Agenda item 2C. Of the $4.070 million available in this fund, $3.980 million is planned to be used for the Pavement Rehabilitation project contract leaving $90,000 available for this Cape and Slurry Seal project.
Based on the contract amount, project cost estimates, and proposed funding reallocations there are sufficient funds budgeted and appropriated for this project.
Safe and Complete Streets: This project includes modifications to provide multi-modal roadways consisting of narrower vehicular lanes, buffered bike lanes, enhanced crosswalks, bulb out treatments at intersections, and other improvements in conformance with current design practices for safe and complete streets. The streets where these modifications are planned include the following:
1. Alvarado Boulevard from Merganser Drive to Lowry Road
2. Paseo Padre Parkway from Decoto Road to Sequoia Road
3. Blacow Road from Eggers Drive to Mowry Avenue
4. Boyce Road from Stevenson Boulevard to Auto Mall Parkway
5. Durham Road from Sabercat Road to Paseo Padre Parkway
6. South Grimmer Boulevard from Technology Drive to Business Center Drive
7. South Grimmer Boulevard from Parkmeadow Drive to Mission Boulevard
8. Warm Springs Boulevard from Warren Avenue to City limit
9. Niles Boulevard from Hillview Drive to Sullivan Underpass
Traffic Control: Due to the size and scope of this project, City residents and the traveling public will experience some inconvenience during construction. To minimize exposure of vehicles to the work, staff and the contractor will limit access and use of the roadways during construction. Individual traffic lanes and, if necessary, the entire width of the street will be closed to traffic briefly in order to perform the pavement work. To mitigate the impact of traffic delays on the public, the contractor is required to prepare traffic control plans. City staff will review and approve all traffic control plans prior to construction and will monitor traffic control work during construction to minimize the impact to the public.
Nearby businesses and residences will also receive notices informing them of the work and Council Staff Report (ID # 4856) Meeting of May 9, 2023 Updated: 5/5/2023 9:17 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 4 any parking restrictions that may be implemented. The contractor will be required to post signs for parking restrictions on project streets no less than 72 hours before the start of work. For locations near schools the contractor will be required to perform the work when school is either not in session or during periods outside of the peak hours when the school pick up or drop off is occurring.
FISCAL IMPACT: The pavement preventive maintenance work and safe and complete streets elements on public streets are funded by the Pavement Maintenance account (PWC8195) and the Pavement Rehabilitation account (PWC8234). These funding sources were appropriated for these purposes through the Capital Improvement Program process.
Additional funding is required for the construction of the project. Staff recommends appropriation of $1,200,000 of unallocated fund balance in ACTC Fund 515 and 520.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: This project is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301 as the repair, maintenance or minor alteration of existing facilities involving no or negligible expansion of the use beyond that presently existing.
WEBLINK: https://www.fremont.gov/government/departments/public-works/public- works-projects
ATTACHMENTS:
• 1. Bid Protest Letter from American Pavement Systems, Inc. • 2. Bid Protest Response Letter from VSS International, Inc. • 3. Follow-up Response from American Pavement Systems, Inc.
RECOMMENDATION: Approval of the following actions related to the 2023 Cape and Slurry Seal Project (PWC8195-V2):
1. Find this project is exempt from CEQA review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301 as the repair, maintenance or minor alteration of existing facilities involving no or negligible expansion of the use beyond that presently existing.
2. Reject the bid proposal submitted by DRYCO Construction, Inc. as non-responsive on grounds the bid did not reflect the material changes made by the addendum and the subcontract work exceeded the maximum allowed.
3. Reject the protest submitted by American Pavement Systems, Inc. on grounds the error made by VSS International, Inc. constitutes a waivable, minor irregularity.
4. Approve the plans and specifications for the project.
5. Accept the bid and award the construction contract to the second apparent lowest responsive and responsible bidder, VSS International, Inc. in the amount of $5,311,000, allocate a 3% construction contingency in the amount of $140,000 for a total construction contract amount of $5,451,000, and authorize the City Manager or designee to execute the contract.
6. Appropriate $900,000 of unallocated ACTC Fund 515 to PWC8195-515.
7. Appropriate $300,000 of unallocated ACTC Fund 520 to PWC8195-520.