Agenda Item: 7
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: July 9, 2024
SUBJECT: BACKFLOW PREVENTION DEVICE TESTING AND REPAIRS
CONTRACT
DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services
PRESENTER: Andrew Adams
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Award a two-year contract to Backflow Prevention Device Tester to provide testing, maintenance, and repair services for all City-owned backflow prevention devices in the annual amount of $245,372, for a total two-year contract in an amount not to exceed $490,744.
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute up to three annual renewal options, not to exceed the annual contract amount, contingent upon the appropriation of funds in the annual budget for such fiscal years.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contracts and associated documents, subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clarita (City) maintains approximately 850 backflow devices across various Landscape Maintenance District (LMD) Zones and City-owned facilities. These devices protect the potable water supply by preventing the reverse flow of water used for irrigation, aquatics, and fire prevention systems from contaminating the local water supply.
By law, the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health require annual testing of all backflow devices. The City must submit test reports to the respective water suppliers to demonstrate compliance.
The current process involves initial certification and annual re-certification of backflow devices, maintenance of a database of all devices and test results, and contracting specialized services to avoid maintaining full-time staff for testing.
On May 28, 2024, the City published bid number LMD-23-24-36 on its e-procurement platform, BidNet. Prospective bidders were required to provide costs for inspecting, calibrating, and certifying 850 backflow devices in a one-year period. Additionally, bidders were asked to submit pricing for 11 different as-needed repair and service scenarios based on the City's historic operational experiences. A total of 749 vendors were notified via BidNet, with 15 expressing interest by downloading the bid specifications. Upon bid close, the City received one bid submission, with the result outlined below:
BID # COMPANY LOCATION BID AMOUNT
1 Backflow Prevention Device Tester Santa Clarita $245,372
Staff performed outreach to several bidders who downloaded the bid documents during the bid process, but did not submit a bid. It was determined that these firms chose not to submit bids due to commitments to other projects that would not afford them the time and effort required by the scope of work outlined by the City.
Following staff’s review of the bid received, including the proposed pricing for the various scenarios listed in the bid, staff recommends awarding a two-year contract to Backflow Prevention Device Tester (BPDT), the City’s incumbent contractor, for a total contract amount of $490,744.
Overall, BPDT’s pricing proposed for the various services requested reflects a 31 percent increase compared to their current contract pricing. This increase is primarily due to the annual inspection fee per backflow device rising from $48 to $60, as well as supplier material price hikes. Notably, these increases, along with other contractual fees for calibrating and certifying backflow devices, have not been raised by BPDT over the past five years.
Finally, it is important to note that while the total recommended contract amount is based on required annual inspection services and predicted maintenance and repair events, the entire amount is not guaranteed compensation for BPDT. Moreover, they will only be authorized to perform repairs upon City approval.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
The recommended action requires a total budget of $245,372 from the Landscape Maintenance District fund (Fund 357), Areawide fund (Fund 367), Transit fund (Fund 700), Public Library fund (Fund 309), Recreation Facilities fund (Fund 120), and the General fund (Fund 100) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25. Sufficient funds were appropriated by the City Council during the
FY 2024-25 annual budget process. Funding for future years is contingent upon the appropriation of funds by the City Council during the FY 2025-26 budget adoption process.
ATTACHMENTS
Bid LMD-23-24-36 (available in the City Clerk's Reading File) LMD-23-24-36 - BPDT Response (available in the City Clerk's Reading File) LMD-23-24-36 REVISED EXHIBIT 3 (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)