City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: NOVEMBER 28, 2023 FROM: PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 2282 – CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION SERVICES FOR WATER UTILITY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS WITH Z&K CONSULTANTS, INC. OF CORONA, CALIFORNIA FOR A TERM TO DECEMBER 31, 2026, WITH THE OPTION TO EXTEND FOR TWO ADDITIONAL YEARS, IN A NOT-TO-EXCEED AMOUNT OF $655,000 ISSUE:
Consider approving a Professional Consultant Services Agreement from Request for Proposal No. 2282 for Construction Inspection Services for Water Utility Capital Improvement Projects with Z&K Consultants, Inc. of Corona, California, for a term until December 31, 2026, with the option to extend for two additional years, in a not-to-exceed amount of $655,000.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Approve a Professional Consultant Services Agreement from Request for Proposal No. 2282 for Construction Inspection Services for Water Utility Capital Improvement Projects with Z&K Consultants, Inc. of Corona, California, for a term until December 31, 2026, in a not-to-exceed amount of $655,000 with the option to extend for two additional years; and Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the Professional Consultant Services Agreement and any other documents necessary to effectuate the project described herein, as well as the ability to make minor non-substantive changes in accordance with all purchasing policies.
BOARD RECOMMENDATION:
On November 13, 2023, the Board of Public Utilities unanimously recommended that the City Council approve the Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Z&K Consultants, Inc. of Corona, California, for a term until December 31, 2026, in a not-to-exceed amount of $655,000.
BACKGROUND:
The Riverside Public Utilities Department Water Division (RPU) undertakes numerous capital improvement projects each year that involve the construction of new water utility facilities such as distribution pipelines, transmission pipelines, groundwater wells, booster stations, pressure reducing stations and other related facilities. Construction of these projects requires oversight by qualified inspection personnel to ensure they are constructed in accordance with RPU’s standards and the project specifications.
Generally, RPU staff provides inspection oversight for its capital improvement projects. However, due to the current and projected workload of upcoming projects and availability of existing, RPU will require the services of a Professional Consulting Firm (Vendor) to assist in the inspection of its upcoming capital improvement projects.
DISCUSSION:
Construction inspection is critical to constructing water pipelines and facilities properly. Over the next three years, RPU intends to complete multiple projects to implement its capital improvement program, requiring additional staff inspection services resources. To accomplish this, using the City’s Formal Procurement process, RPU intends to select one Vendor to perform as-needed inspection services to supplement RPU staff resources.
The selected vendor will be assigned on an as-needed basis. As staff identifies projects needing construction inspection services, a scope of work will be issued to the vendor requesting a good faith estimate for the requested scope of work based on the agreed-upon hourly rates in the contract. The vendor shall provide the estimate within one week from the date of the request before a Purchase Order will be issued for the project. The request for a good faith estimate will generally be requested at least one month before staff augmentation services are needed. Once a Purchase Order is issued, the vendor must provide the necessary personnel within one week. The Professional Consultant Services Agreement (Agreement) provides an option to extend the Agreement for two additional years beyond the initial term upon satisfactory performance and mutual agreement between both parties.
In a collaborative effort between RPU Water Engineering staff and the Purchasing Division, Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2282 was posted on the City's Online Bid System on June 6, 2023, seeking proposals for Construction Inspection Services for Water Utility Projects. The notification of the RFP release was sent to 690 City of Riverside vendors and 500 external vendors. A pre-proposal conference was held on July 11, 2023, with 18 individuals in attendance. On the RFP due date of July 25, 2023, ten (10) responses were received. The Purchasing Division reviewed the submissions and found them all to be responsive and responsible.
Under the guidance and oversight of the assigned representative from the Purchasing Division, four members of the RPU Water Engineering staff were assigned to evaluate the proposals. Each of these four individuals evaluated and ranked the proposals independently and input their scores into the online evaluation portal.
The proposals, along with their respective scores, submitted for RFP No. 2282 are summarized in the table below:
Vendor Name
City Location
Proposed Fee
Weighted Score Evaluations
Project Understanding
(10%)
Approach and Methodology (25%)
Qualifications and Experience of Company Personnel
(35%)
References
(5%)
Pricing
(25%)
Total Proposal Score
Rank
Z&K Consultants, Inc.
Corona, California
$655,000
9.4 23.6
28.6 4.4
25.0 91.0
1 Lee & Ro, Inc.
City of Industry, California
$833,000
8.6 23.4
27.4 4.0
19.7 83.1
2 Kreiger & Stewart, Inc.
Riverside, California
$805,100
8.9 21.4
27.3 4.6
20.3 82.5
3 Engineering Resources of Southern California, Inc.
Redlands, California
$718,500
8.1 20.6
24.5 3.6
22.8 79.7
4 GK & Associates
Diamond Bar, California
$869,800
8.9 21.6
26.8 3.0
18.8 79.1
5 KOA Corporation
Monterey Park, California
$740,500
8.4 19.4
24.0 3.0
22.1 76.9
6 Dudek
Encinitas, California
$750,000
7.1 19.8
24.1 3.8
21.8 76.6
7 Willdan Engineering
Anaheim, California
$690,000
9.0 18.4
17.4 3.5
23.7 72.0
8 Ladayu Consulting Group
Palos Verdes, California
$750,000
7.9 17.3
18.3 1.8
21.8 67.0
9 AKM Consulting Engineers
Irvine, California
$800,000
7.4 11.9
23.1 3.3
20.5 66.1
10 The top three Vendors were invited to participate in an interview held at RPU offices on September 14, 2023. The interview with each Vendor provided an opportunity for them to make a presentation to the selection committee and included a question-and-answer session. An assigned representative from the Purchasing Division proctored each interview.
The Vendors who were selected for interviews, along with their respective interview scores and proposal scores, are summarized in the table below:
Vendor Name
City Location
Interview Score
Proposal Score
Overall Score
Overall Rank
Z&K Consultants, Inc.
Corona, California
23.0 91.0
114.0
1 Kreiger & Stewart, Inc.
Riverside, California
19.4 82.5
101.9
2 Lee & Ro, Inc.
City of Industry, California
18.3 83.1
101.4
3 Upon a review of the scores by the assigned representative from the Purchasing Division, Z&K Consultants, Inc. ranked highest overall based on their proposal submitted and interview performance.
The Purchasing Manager concurs that the recommended actions comply with Purchasing Resolution No. 23914.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item contributes to Strategic Priority No. 6 Infrastructure, Mobility and Connectivity and Goal No. 6.2 – Maintain, protect, and improve assets and infrastructure within the City’s built environment to ensure and enhance reliability, resiliency, sustainability, and facilitate connectivity.
This item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – RPU takes the initiative to replace high priority infrastructure which will enhance the reliability of the overall water system, demonstrating RPU’s commitment to the customers it serves and building community trust.
Equity – RPU endeavors to provide safe and reliable water service to all its customers. Since RPU’s water system is an interconnected network, investments made to individual parts of the system improve the reliability of the overall system, thereby providing an equitable benefit to all customers.
Fiscal Responsibility – The lowest price for these services was ensured through a competitive procurement process.
Innovation – The latest technology and methods for constructing water utility facilities will be employed, helping to ensure effective and efficient operation of the facilities.
Sustainability & Resiliency – This item will help ensure RPU can provide reliable water service to its customers.
FISCAL IMPACT:
As the contract approval is for a Master Contract and any work will be performed under a project specific bid, there is no fiscal impact associated with adding this vendor to the contractor panel. Budgetary approval for the required services will be sought along with the respective project approvals.
Prepared by: Todd M. Corbin, Utilities General Manager
Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
Award Recommendation – RFP No. 2282
Professional Consultant Services Agreement
Presentation
RFP No. 2282 – Construction Inspection Services ● Page 2