Agenda Item: 9
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: March 22, 2022
SUBJECT: NEWHALL AREA MOBILITY ENHANCEMENTS, PROJECT C2025 - AWARD DESIGN CONTRACT
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
PRESENTER: Shannon Pickett
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Award a design contract to Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., for Newhall Area Mobility Enhancements, Project C2025, in the amount of $89,000 and authorize a contingency in the amount of $13,500, for a total contract amount not to exceed $102,500.
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all documents, subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
The proposed Newhall Area Mobility Enhancements project will provide bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and traffic calming measures along Walnut Street, Market Street, Newhall Avenue, and 16th Street. The project will also design intersection improvements at Lyons Avenue and Walnut Street to include a new traffic signal with marked crosswalks to improve circulation and increase safety at the intersection. The overall project will provide approximately
1.5 miles of enhanced bicycle and pedestrian facilities, linking the Old Town Newhall area to existing bicycle facilities on the South Fork Trail. This project is supported by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and is referenced by Metro as the Newhall Area Bicycle Facilities Project. This project also supports the City of Santa Clarita’s (City) adopted Non-Motorized Transportation Plan and the Public Safety theme of the Santa Clarita 2025 plan.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) for the design of the project was prepared and posted on BidNet on November 15, 2021. The RFP asked firms to identify their relevant experience with similar projects and demonstrate their design approach for this project. The bid specifications were
downloaded by 39 vendors; however, no responses were received by the set deadline of December 16, 2021. Due to the volatile bidding environment and high construction activity throughout Southern California, the City continues to receive fewer bids on projects at higher cost.
In the event the City does not receive a formal RFP response, the City of Santa Clarita Municipal Code (Municipal Code) Section 3.12.215 provides for direct negotiation from the Purchasing Officer or designee. In accordance with the Municipal Code, staff contacted qualified consultants and requested informal proposals for the design work. Staff received three proposals, and based on their evaluation, scored the firms on a 100-point scale as follows:
Rank Company Location Score
1 Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. Los Angeles, CA 94.3 2 Encompass Consultant Group, Inc. Santa Clarita, CA 90.7 3 Alta Planning + Design, Inc. Los Angeles, CA 84.3
The scoring system was based on the following criteria: project understanding, project scope, work plan and deliverables, and references, including consultants’ previous experience working on similar projects and experience working with the City. Additionally, each consulting firm was asked to provide a detailed scope of work required to prepare the plans, specifications, and engineer’s construction estimate.
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., demonstrated an in-depth understanding of the project needs and provided a detailed scope of work and approach to the project. Based on their design experience with previous City traffic projects and the completeness of their proposal for this project, staff recommends awarding the design contract to Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
Staff is requesting a 15 percent contingency to account for potential design modifications requested by the City, field investigations, including potholing for utility conflicts, which can result in additional design work, soils investigations, and coordination with utility companies and other agencies to obtain the required permits for the project.
California Government Code 4526 prescribes selection of architectural and engineering services to be based on demonstrated competence and professional qualifications necessary for the satisfactory performance of the services required and does not authorize the selection of professional architect and engineering services based on costs. Staff negotiated a final contract at a fair and reasonable price for the services requested in the RFP.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Adequate funds are available in expenditure account C2025268-516101 (Measure M ATP) to support the recommended contract and project administrative costs.
ATTACHMENTS
Location Map
Proposal for Kimley-Horn and Associates (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)