Agenda Item: 9
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: June 24, 2025
SUBJECT: NEWHALL AVENUE RAILROAD SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS,
PROJECT C2029 - DESIGN CONTRACT
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
PRESENTER: Shannon Pickett
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Award a design contract to Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. for the Newhall Avenue Railroad Safety Improvements, Project C2029, in the amount of $951,036 and authorize a contingency in the amount of $95,104, for a total contract amount not to exceed $1,046,140.
2. Appropriate one-time funds in the amount of $640,000 from the Miscellaneous Federal Grants (Fund 229) to expenditure account C2029229-516101 and increase Miscellaneous Federal Grants revenue account 229-442409 by $640,000.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contracts and associated documents, subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
The Newhall Avenue Railroad Safety Improvements project will design improvements at the Newhall Avenue crossing for vehicular and pedestrian access. The proposed improvements include a new pre-signal, modified traffic signal operations, roadway surface rehabilitation, new medians, sidewalk pedestrian approaches, modified signing and striping for an additional southbound lane from Railroad Avenue, and the closure of Pine Street from Newhall Avenue.
The City of Santa Clarita (City) is partnering with the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), the California Department of Transportation Division of Local Assistance (Caltrans), and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to improve the Newhall Avenue at-grade railroad crossing, as shown on the attached Location Map. The crossing was identified by the CPUC as a candidate location for the Federal Section 130 Program (Section
130) for hazard elimination and crossing improvements.
The Section 130 program will provide grant funds to the City for the full cost to design and construct improvements as identified by the CPUC and the City, as supported by a traffic study.
This project supports the Public Safety theme of the City’s five-year strategic plan, Santa Clarita 2025.
The scope of work for this design contract includes a traffic study, civil engineering design, pavement analysis, land surveying, and landscape architect design services required to prepare construction documents. These documents will consist of complete plans, specifications, and engineer’s estimates for construction. As part of the agreement, bid assistance will also be provided to support the solicitation for a construction contract.
The City conducted a Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit proposals from qualified consulting firms to provide design services for the Newhall Avenue Railroad Safety Improvements project.
The RFP was published and circulated via the City’s e-procurement system, BidNet, on February 4, 2025. The City transmitted the solicitation to 3,469 vendors on BidNet, of which 115 vendors downloaded the RFP. A total of four companies provided proposals for consideration.
These proposals were reviewed and evaluated based on each company’s ability to meet the specific needs of the City. An evaluation panel, comprised of staff from the Capital Improvement Projects division, scored the responses on a 100-point scale using the following categories of weighted criteria:
• Consultant qualifications and overall project team experience (25 points) • Organization and approach (25 points)
• Scope of services to be provided (20 points)
• Schedule of work (20 points)
• References (10 points)
During evaluations, the City requested the top three candidates to participate in a follow-up oral interview on April 2, 2025, for this project. The interviews were averaged and scored separately on a 25-point scale using the following categories of weighted criteria:
• Question and answer response to interview panel (20 points total) o Understanding of the work
o Experience with similar kinds of work
o Quality of staff
o Demonstrated technical ability
• Interview preparedness (5 points)
After the oral interviews, the evaluation panel added the interview scores to the initial response scores, with the results following:
Rank Company Location Score
1 Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. Santa Clarita, CA 115 2 Mark Thomas Los Angeles, CA 113
3 JMD, Inc. City of Industry, CA 102
4 TKDA San Bernardino, CA 76
In reviewing proposals and interview responses, the evaluation panel awarded the highest score to Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. The evaluation panel determined that the proposal from Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., offered the best overall value to meet the design needs.
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 design experience with similar projects, completeness of the proposal for this project, and the quality of staff shown during the interview, staff recommends awarding the design contract to Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. The proposal is available in the City Clerk’s Reading File.
California Government Code 4526 prescribes the 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 cost. City staff was able to reach an agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., at a fair and reasonable price.
The requested contingency will cover design modifications, field investigations including potholing for utility locations and foundations, permits required by Caltrans or Metrolink, and coordination with other agencies.
The City Council appropriated $670,000 for this project upon adoption of the Fiscal Year 2024- 25 budget. The City received additional Section 130 funds - the requested budget appropriation of $640,000 brings the total project budget to $1,310,000, representing $1,046,140 in design contract costs and $263,860 in project administrative costs. Project administrative costs include staff time, project management, permit fees, and all associated plan approvals necessary for construction.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Upon approval of the recommended actions, adequate funds will be available in project expenditure accounts C2029229-516101 (Miscellaneous Federal Grants) and C2029233-516101 (TDA Art 8 Fund) to support the recommended contract and project administrative costs.
ATTACHMENTS
Location Map
Proposal from Kimley Horn (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)