June 23, 2026
Agenda Item No. 15
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
Zachary Gentry, Municipal Operations Director - 949-644-3055, [email protected] PREPARED BY:
Kevin Pekar, Public Works Superintendent - 949-644-3069, [email protected] TITLE:
Irrigation Controllers Replacement Phase 4 – Award of Contract No. 10128-1 ABSTRACT:
The City of Newport Beach (City) received construction bids for Phase 4 of the Irrigation Controller Replacement project. Staff request City Council approval to award the construction contract to EMTS, Inc. (EMTS) of Clovis. This project replaces and upgrades 65 outdated controllers at various parks and right-of-way locations.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; b) Award Contract No. 10128-1 to EMTS for the total bid price of $739,596 for the Irrigation Controller Replacement Phase 4 project, and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the agreement; and c) Establish a contingency of $37,000 (approximately 5% of total bid) to cover the cost of unforeseen work not included in the original contract.
DISCUSSION:
The City’s Fiscal Year 2025-26 Park Maintenance Master Plan (PMMP) includes Phase 4 of updating the City’s irrigation controllers. This project replaces 65 outdated controllers at various locations and continues the City’s conversion to a cloud-based system that allows staff to monitor and control irrigation and its programming from any location via computer, tablet or cell phone.
The Public Works Department issued the Request for Bids (RFB) for replacement of 65 irrigation controllers through the City’s electronic bidding portal. One hundred seventy-seven vendors were notified and at 2 p.m. on May 12, 2026, the City Clerk opened and read the bids for this project.
BIDDER
BID AMOUNT
Low
EMTS, Inc.
$739,595.70
2nd
Superb Engineering
$744,722.00
3rd
SGD Enterprises
$810,000.00
4th
Southern California Landscape
$1,045,186.81
The City received four bids for these services. The lowest responsible bidder, EMTS, possesses a California State Contractor’s License Classification C-27, as required by the project specifications, and a review of its references shows satisfactory completion of similar projects, including Irrigation Controller Replacement Phase 2 for the City.
Pursuant to the contract specifications, the contractor will have 90 consecutive working days to complete the work. Work is scheduled to start in July 2026 FISCAL IMPACT:
The adopted Capital Improvement Program budget includes sufficient funding for this contract. It will be expensed to the PMMP account in the Public Works Department, 57001-980000-26P02. The following funds will be expended:
Account Description
Account Number
Amount
PMMP
57001-980000-26P02
$
776,595.70
Total:
$
776,595.70
Proposed fund uses are as follows:
Vendor
Purpose
Amount
EMTS
Construction Contract
$
739,595.70
EMTS
Construction Contingency
$
37,000.00
Total:
$
776,595.70
Staff recommend including $37,000 (approximately 5% of total bid) for contingency purposes and unforeseen conditions associated with construction.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section [insert exemption section number (short description of section)] of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential to have a significant effect on the environment.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
Irrigation Controllers Replacement Phase 4 – Award of Contract No. 10128-1 June 23, 2026
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