City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Utilities
Meeting Date: November 27, 2023
Staff Report: 2309-1980
TITLE
Approval of Professional Services Contract Number C24185875 With Woodard & Curran in an Amount Not to Exceed $498,866 for the Sewer Master Plan Study Services for a Period of two Years
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Council approve and authorize the City Manager or designee to execute Contract No. C24185875 (Attachment A), with Woodard & Curran, to provide the Sewer Master Plan Study and related services over a term of two years, for a total amount not-to-exceed $498,866 for basic services.
BACKGROUND
The City of Palo Alto owns and operates 206 miles of gravity sewer main pipelines that range from 6 to 72 inches in diameter; as well as one lift station that is connected to a 10-inch diameter, 900 linear foot force main in Foothills Park.
As with all cities and agencies responsible for utility systems that serve the public, the City must ensure that it is appropriately planning for, prioritizing, and making effective use of its capital funds to maintain and upgrade its sewer infrastructure. It has been nearly 20 years since the City last prepared a sewer master plan with the previous studies performed by CDM, Inc. in 1988 and by MWH in 2004. Since that time the City addressed many of the identified capacity deficiencies through capital improvement projects and has continued to make progress in rehabilitating and replacing older sewer mains with condition deficiencies. Since the 2004 master plan, private development has continued, therefore flows and flow patterns likely have changed.
The sewer master plan study will evaluate the City’s existing wastewater collection system, flows, and flow patterns to determine the adequacy of the system’s hydraulic capacity to meet current and anticipated future wastewater flow demands. Woodard & Curran will recommend and prioritize capital improvement projects, identify any capacity deficiency, and assess the condition of the lift station in Foothills Park and recommend an appropriate course of action for any needed improvements. Woodard & Curran will use modern, more advanced technologies to update the sewer master plan, which will serve as a guiding document for the City to appropriately manage
the sewer utility and help ensure that the wastewater collection system has the capacity to accommodate future development discharges.
ANALYSIS
The Utilities Department Engineering Division requested proposals from qualified engineering consultants to conduct an engineering study on the present and future needs of the City’s wastewater collection system, develop a sanitary sewer system hydraulic model, use the model to perform a capacity analysis of the sanitary sewer system, and prepare a Master Plan of recommended capital improvement projects to address identified capacity deficiencies.
Solicitation Process
A request for proposals (RFP) for the project was posted on September 26, 2022 in PlanetBids, the City’s eProcurement platform at the time. The solicitation period was posted for 29 days and 3 proposals were received. The solicitation closed on October 24, 2022.
Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description Sewer Master Plan RFP No. 185875
Proposed Length of Project 16 months
Number of Proposal Packages Downloaded 17
Total Days to Respond to Proposal 29
Pre-Proposal Meeting Yes, Non-Mandatory
Pre-Proposal Meeting Date 10/3/2022
Number of Proposals Received 3
Proposal Price Range $611,198 to $869,160
Public Link to Solicitation https://pbsystem.planetbids.com/portal/2 5569/bo/bo-detail/98350
Due to a higher priority project (i.e. Sewer System Rehabilitation #31) and staffing constraints, the sewer master plan was delayed for about a year. The proposals were evaluated and determined to be responsive to the criteria identified in the RFP. Woodard & Curran was selected because of the quality and effectiveness of their services, the experience of their field staff, prior record of performance with the City, and their ability to provide future services. Additionally, Woodard & Curran’s cost for basic services ($611,198) was significantly lower than the other proposals ($869,160 and $695,900). Woodard & Curran held the prices they submitted in their RFP response.
The City engaged Woodard & Curran in a discussion regarding their proposed scope of work.
Sewer master plan studies’ level of effort are primarily governed by the number of flow monitors deployed in the collection system to measure current flows. Given that the City maintains four permanent collection system flow meters, together with Woodard & Curran’s knowledge of the City system, the number of flow meters was reduced from 25 to 20, which reduced the flow monitoring task fee by approximately 18% and shortened the overall project duration by approximately 20%. The final, negotiated contract cost is $498,866.
This contract is on the City’s professional services template, which permits the City to terminate without cause/for convenience by providing written notice to the contractor. In the event the City finds itself facing a challenging budget situation, and it is determined that City resources need to be refocused elsewhere, the City can terminate for convenience. Other options include termination due to non-appropriation of funds or amending the contract to reduce the cost, for example, by reducing the scope of work. The contract may also be temporarily suspended by written notice of the City Manager.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding of $498,866 is available in the FY 2024 Proposed Capital Budget under WC-15002 Wastewater System Improvements.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Developing a sewer master plan is not a project under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as defined in CEQA Guidelines, section 15378, because it has no potential for resulting in either a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Any future capital improvements recommended in the new master plan will be subject to CEQA analysis at the time of approval.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment A: Woodard & Curran Contract No. C24185875
APPROVED BY:
Dean Batchelor, Director of Utilities
Staff: Nelson Schlater, Principal Wastewater Engineer