City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: May 12, 2025
Report #:2502-4227
TITLE
Approval of Professional Services Contract No. C25193532 with Biggs Cardosa Associates Inc. in an Amount Not to Exceed $750,000 for On-Call Structural Engineering Services for City Structures including Bridges, Buildings, and Other Structures over a Period of Three Years; CEQA status – Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Contract No. C25193532 with Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc. to provide on-call structural engineering services for a term of three years in the amount of $250,000 per year, for a total not-to-exceed amount of $750,000.
BACKGROUND
The proposed on-call contract will use funding from the City Bridge Improvements capital improvement program (CIP) project (PE-20001) for as-needed structural inspections, evaluations, and design services for bridges, culverts, and guardrails, and funding for other City structures will be encumbered as task orders assigned to specific CIP projects, funded through those projects’ budgets as approved by Council.
The City owns and maintains about 173 bridge and culvert structures located in the public right- of-way and in parks and preserves. Of these, Caltrans inspects 26 structures and the City is responsible for inspecting the remaining 147 structures. In 2017, an assessment project inspected 50 City-owned bridges and culverts and recommended recurring inspections and short and long-term improvements. The City established a recurring bridge inspection and repair program in fiscal year 2020 which includes recurring inspections, structural evaluation, and recommendations for repairs and maintenance for the structures to meet functional and structural standards. Typically, the recommended recurring inspection frequency of the structures varies from two to four years depending on age and structural conditions. As part of the recurring bridge inspection and repair program, the City entered into a 3-year on-call
structural engineering contract1 with Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc. (Biggs Cardosa) in 2021 in the amount of $85,000 per year. The proposed contract replaces the previous on-call structural contract that has expired. Biggs Cardosa inspected a total of 42 bridge structures and prepared designs for repairs to 7 bridge structures under the previous on-call structural contract. The City’s contractor completed the repairs to the 7 structures in 2024. Biggs Cardosa also provided as-needed structural evaluation for other Public Works CIP projects.
Continuing the inspection and repair program will allow the City to maintain up-to-date inventory of bridges and culverts, identify potential safety and integrity issues, and implement recommended improvements. The on-call contract will also be used for structural needs for other Public Works CIP projects. Work can be authorized on a task order basis rather than requiring a separate contract each time the need for such services arises. The increase in the on-call contract amount from $85,000 per year to $250,000 per year accounts for structural evaluation and design services for other as-needed Public Works capital projects in addition to the bridge structures. The $250,000 on-call contract capacity will only be used if needed.
ANALYSIS
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was posted on OpenGov Procurement, the City’s eProcurement platform, and 3,406 vendors were notified. The solicitation period was for 28 days. Two proposals were received, but one proposal was deemed non-responsive due to not having a current DIR registration, a material requirement of the RFP. The solicitation closed on January 30, 2025.
Table #1: Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description
On-Call Structural Engineering Services for
Bridges and Other City Structures, RFP No.
193532
Proposed Length of Project 3 years
Number of Vendors Notified 3,406
Number of Proposal Packages Downloaded 40
Total Days to Respond to Proposal 28 days
Pre-Proposal Meeting No
Number of Proposals Received 2
Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/palo- alto-ca/projects/138514
1 Biggs Cardosa Associates Inc. Professional Services Contract for On-Call Structural Engineering Services S21180444; https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/public-works/engineering-services/s21180444- bca_psa_fully-executed.pdf
The proposals were evaluated and one proposal was determined to be responsive to the criteria identified in the RFP. Biggs Cardosa was selected based on the quality and effectiveness of their proposal, the experience of their assigned project staff with similar projects, and prior record of performance with the City. Interviews were not conducted for this evaluation. The hourly rates in the proposed contract are generally 6-12% higher than the 2023-2024 hourly rates in the previous contract for similar job classification. The hourly rates will remain firm for the first two years of the contract and the anticipated escalation in the third year is 3.5% to 6%, which is within the current industry standards. Rebidding the project would delay the contract and would be unlikely to produce more competitive rates. Therefore, staff recommends approval of Contract No. C25193532 (Attachment A) with Biggs Cardosa.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for the on-call structural work will be encumbered as task orders assigned to specific CIP projects, funded through those CIP projects’ budgets as approved by Council.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Although work under this contract is anticipated to address preventive and corrective maintenance for bridges and other ongoing structural needs, staff will engage the community and relevant Boards, Commissions, and Committees as necessary based on the specific nature of the work identified.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council approval of the proposed on-call structural contract does not constitute a project under CEQA.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc. Contract C25193532 APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer