City Council Agenda Report
June 3, 2025
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: Jesus M. Gomez, City Manager
BY: Glen W.C. Kau, P.E., Director of Public Services/City Engineer Jacque Koontz, P.E., Senior Civil Engineer
Gabriela Garcia, Senior Management Analyst
Michael Jea, P.E., Assistant Engineer
SUBJECT: PROJECT NO. 7867 - AGREEMENT FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
SUPPORT FOR NEW EMERGENCY GENERATORS AT NORWALK ARTS AND
SPORTS COMPLEX AND THE SENIOR CENTER
Background:
In Fiscal Year 2023, the City was awarded grant funding from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), with support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to improve its disaster preparedness infrastructure. The City proposed the installation of two generators at the Norwalk Arts and Sports Complex (NASC) and the Norwalk Senior Center (NSC). The grant application was approved, and the City was awarded $976,696, for the procurement and installation of the two emergency generators. The grant conditions require project completion by September 2026.
The NASC and the NSC were selected for new emergency generators. These facilities serve as critical community shelters, and the addition of generators will provide a reliable and efficient power source during events such as earthquakes, heatwaves, or extreme winter conditions. To protect and extend the longevity of the equipment, the generators will be housed in underground vaults, significantly reducing exposure to natural hazards, wind-borne debris, and vandalism.
The selected engineering consulting firm was to be chosen through a qualifications-based selection (QBS) process. QBS is a procedure whereby a firm is retained based on qualifications and responses; price is not the primary factor but is considered. However, no responses were received through this process.
In January 2025, staff solicited Work Order No. 8 for design and construction support services for New Emergency Generator Sets at the Norwalk Arts & Sports Complex (NASC) and the
City Council June 3, 2025
Award of Agreement for Project No. 7867 Page No. 2
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Norwalk Senior Center (NSC) to the pre-qualified On-Call Engineering firms and no responses were received.
On March 31, 2025, staff solicited another Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 25-811 for professional design and construction support services for New Emergency Generator Sets at the NASC and the NSC on PlanetBids. Three proposals were reviewed and ranked with the following results:
Rank Company Name Fee
1 IMEG $ 165,000.00
2 Kimley-Horn $ 192,337.77
3 Bureau Veritas North America (BVNA) Unknown
The scope of work includes a load analysis of current power demand, a site review for the underground vaults, the design and development of construction documents, permit coordination and review, construction support services such as responding to Request for Information, reviewing equipment submittals, and conducting site inspections.
All three firms submitted proposals with similar technical approaches. However, the key differentiator was IMEG’s significantly stronger experience in emergency generator design. Their proposed staff, particularly the principal engineer, has over ten emergency generator projects completed. Supporting team staff also showed relevant experience with emergency generator projects. Therefore, IMEG is recommended over Kimley-Horn and BVNA since experience in generator design was more limited.
Staff reviewed and successfully negotiated a reduced fee from IMEG, for a revised amount of $140,105.
Fiscal Impact:
Adequate funding is available in the approved FY 2024-25 budget.
Citizens Advised:
N/A
Strategic Plan 2023 Implementation:
N/A
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends City Council award an agreement with IMEG Corporation to provide professional engineering services for the design and construction support services of the new emergency generator sets at Norwalk Arts and Sports Complex and the Norwalk Senior Center, in an amount not-to-exceed $140,105; and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement City Council June 3, 2025
Award of Agreement for Project No. 7867 Page No. 3
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and any amendments, provided there is funding in the budget and it is within the City Manager’s signing authority, on behalf of the City, in a form approved by the City Attorney.
Attachments:
N/A