City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: July 23, 2024
Agenda Item: 5.B
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Engineering and Street Services
Subject: Award Construction Contract for Treatment Plant Upgrades Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of categorical exemptions pursuant to Section 15301, Section 15302, and Section 15311 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Award Bid SP#2684 to Metro Builders & Engineers Group, Ltd. for the construction of the Water Treatment Plant Upgrades Project for the Public Works Department;
3. Award Request for Proposal (RFP) SP#2684 & SP#2678 to MNS Engineers, Inc. to provide construction management and observation services for the Treatment Plant Upgrades Project and the Groundwater Injection Well SM-11i and Monitoring Wells MWi-2 & MWi-3 Drilling and Equipping for the Public Works Department;
4. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a construction contract with Metro Builders & Engineers Group, Ltd. in an amount not to exceed $9,466,289 (including a 18.9% contingency);
5. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a construction management agreement with MNS Engineering, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $820,000 for a term of 5 years; and
6. Authorize the Director of Public Works to issue any necessary change orders to the construction contract, to complete additional work within contract authority.
Summary
The City of Santa Monica is making significant progress toward achieving water selfsufficiency. The proposed projects would aid in the delivery of reliable, safe and highquality drinking water at the City’s Charnock and Arcadia Water Treatment Plants (WTPs). At the Charnock WTP, the project includes the installation of two new 2 of 7
groundwater wells CH-21 and CH-22, safely decommissioning old wells CH-13 and CH18, and replacement of the aging electrical equipment to bolster groundwater production resiliency. At the Arcadia WTP, the project includes the installation of new perimeter security fencing and new safety maintenance platforms to improve operational safety.
Staff recommends Metro Builders & Engineers Group, Ltd. to provide construction services in an amount not to exceed $9,466,289 (including a 18.9% contingency) and the firm MNS Engineering, Inc., to provide construction management and inspection services in the amount not to exceed $820,000.
Discussion
The Charnock Well Field is the City’s largest source of local groundwater supply.
Charnock wells CH-13 and CH-18 account for nearly 35% of the City’s total groundwater production capacity and were constructed in 1966 and 1984, respectively.
The wells have experienced ongoing maintenance issues including extended outages of approximately nine months. Production capacity has also decreased by 35% at CH-13 and 45% at CH-18 despite attempts to rehabilitate the wells.
On May 24, 2022, Council awarded a bid to Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC to complete Phase 1 of the well replacement project (Attachment A), which included drilling two replacement groundwater supply wells - CH-21 and CH-22 to replace CH-13 and CH-18. The replacement wells were drilled and constructed in 2023. This project would implement Phase 2 of the well replacement, which is to furnish the wells with mechanical, chemical, and instrumentation equipment, in order for the new wells to become fully operational.
Additional improvements at the Charnock Well Field include electrical upgrades at the Charnock WTP, primarily the replacement of outdated variable frequency drives (VFDs).
The VFDs that are currently in operation at the Charnock WTP were installed when the treatment plant was constructed in 2010. The VFDs are no longer supported due to their age and replacement parts are becoming increasingly challenging to obtain. 3 of 7
The Arcadia WTP is the City’s primary drinking water treatment facility. Safety assessments at the facility were conducted to identify opportunities to improve operational safety. Improvements identified during the assessments include installation of new security fencing and gates around the perimeter of the facility and safety maintenance platforms atop six greensand filter vessels.
Contractor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Bidder Metro Builders & Engineering Group, Ltd.
Evaluation
Criteria
Price; the ability, capacity, and skill of the bidder to perform the services; the capacity of the bidder to perform the contract within the time specified; the sufficiency of the bidder’s financial resources; the reputation and experience of the bidder.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.180
Submittals Received
Metro Builders & Engineering Group, Ltd. $7,957,059.00
Environmental Construction, Inc. $8,031,949.00
R2B Engineering $8,217,739.98
Bid Data
Date
Posted
Posted On Advertise In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date
Publicly
Opened
04/12/2024 City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica Daily Press 116 05/28/2024
Best Bidder Justification
Staff recommends Metro Builders & Engineering Group, Ltd., the lowest bidder, as the best bidder when evaluating bid price, previous water treatment facility project experience, and completion of past projects for the City of Santa Monica.
Construction Management and Inspection Services
The firm MNS Engineering, Inc., is recommended to provide construction management and inspection services for two projects: the Treatment Plant Upgrades project and the Groundwater Injection Well SM-11i and Monitoring Wells MWi-2 & MWi-3 Drilling and Equipping. The firm would be responsible for observing the installed materials, work 4 of 7
quality and progress of the construction contractor to ensure construction adheres to project design plans and specifications, answering contractor questions in the field, installed quantities, preparing daily reports, capturing and maintaining progress photos, communicating work activities with various City departments, distributing construction notifications, and addressing questions or concerns from the public. With a significant number of City projects currently in construction, City staff does not have the capacity to inspect the construction of this type of project, which requires full-time oversight.
RFP Recommendation
Best Bidder MNS Engineering, Inc.
Evaluation
Criteria
Price; the ability, capacity, and skill of the bidder to perform the services; the capacity of the bidder to perform the contract within the time specified; the sufficiency of the bidder’s financial resources; the reputation and experience of the bidder.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
Proposals Received
MNS Engineering, Inc,
Willdan Engineering
RFP Data
Date
Posted
Posted On Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
04/18/2024 City’s Online Bidding Site 2 05/07/2024
RFP Justification
Two firms submitted proposals in response to the RFP for construction management and inspection services. The proposals were evaluated by staff from the Engineering and Street Services Division. Staff recommend MNS Engineering, Inc. as the best qualified firm to provide construction management and inspection services, based on its qualifications, price, and its directly related experience providing similar services for municipal agencies.
Public Outreach
The Charnock Well Field is in West Los Angeles on property owned by the City of Santa Monica. The property is currently being leased to Windward School, a private college 5 of 7
preparatory school. The Water Resources Division has previously coordinated with Windward School representatives throughout the development of this project and during the well drilling construction in Phase 1. Staff conducted a project site walk with the Windward School representative on December 4, 2023, and discussed the construction timing and logistics. The new replacement wells CH-21 and CH-22 would be in the Windward School parking lot and perimeter of the sports field, respectively. Temporary access restrictions to the parking are necessary for safe construction operations during the project. The City in working with the school and the contractor would minimize the access restrictions to the parking, by shortening the work duration and adjusting the timing of the construction around the school schedule when feasible.
Environmental Review
The project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15301 (Class 1 - Existing Facilities), Section 15302 (Class 2 – Replacement/Reconstruction), and Section 15311 (Class 11 - Accessory Structures).
Section 15301 exempts Class 1 (Existing Facilities) projects from CEQA, which include the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. Section 15302 exempts Class 2 projects, consisting of the replacement/reconstruction of existing facilities, including the replacement of existing utility systems involving negligible or no capacity expansion. The replacement wells would be designed to the original design capacity of CH-13 and CH-18 and would not represent an increase in the City’s groundwater production capacity, and therefore, would be exempt pursuant to Section 15301 and Section 15302. The new security fencing is also exempt pursuant to Section 15311, which exempts construction of minor structures accessory to existing commercial, industrial or institutional facilities.
In addition, none of the exceptions specified in Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines would apply that would preclude use of this CEQA exemption. The project site is not located in a sensitive environment, would not have a significant effect on the 6 of 7
environment, would not damage scenic resources, would not be located on a hazardous waste site, and would not cause a change to a historical resource.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Description
05/24/22
(Attachment A)
Award bid to complete Phase 1 of the well replacement project, which included drilling two replacement groundwater supply wells CH-21 and CH-22 to replace CH-13 and CH-18
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the Water (50) Fund to award an agreement with Metro Builders & Engineering Group, Ltd. for the construction of new wells #21 and #22, including the provision of mechanical, chemical, and instrumentation equipment, as well as the necessary safety and electrical upgrades at both the Charnock and Arcadia treatment plants.
Contract Request
FY 2024-25
Request
Amount
CIP Account # Account Description Total Contract
Amount
$1,606,000 C5008530.689000 Arcadia Plant
Fencing
$1,606,000
$ 2,000,000 C5008540.689000 Electrical – Arcadia
& Charnock
$ 2,000,000
$ 2,000,000 C5008550.689000 Green Sand and
Filter Scaffolding
$ 2,000,000
$3,610,289 C5007760.689740 Ground Water
Resiliency
$3,610,289
$250,000 C5004840.689000 Water Main
Replacement
$250,000
Total $9,466,289
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the Water (50) Fund to award a contract with MNS Engineering, Inc. to provide construction management and observation services for the Treatment Plant Upgrades Project and Groundwater Injection Well SM-11i and Monitoring Wells MWi-2 & MWi-3 Drilling and Equipping. 7 of 7
Contract Request
FY 2024-25
Request Amount
CIP Account # Account Description Total Contract
Amount
$ 320,000 C5007760.689740 Ground Water
Resiliency
$320,000
$300,000 C5004840.689000 Water Main
Replacement
$300,000
$200,000 C5007750.689740 Olympic Wellfield
Restoration
$200,000
Total $820,000
Prepared By: Jonathan Maldonado, Civil Engineering Associate Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. 5/24/22 Staff Report Phase 1
B. Oaks Initiative Form - MBE
C. Levine Act Disclosure Form - MBE
D. Oaks Initiative Form - MNS
E. Levine Act Disclosure Form - MNS