City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: December 17, 2024
Agenda Item: 5.F
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Engineering and Street Services
Subject: Award Bids and Master Service Agreements for Construction Services Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of categorical exemptions pursuant to Section 15301 and Section 15302 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Award Bid #SP2524-2024 to fifteen California-based general contractors as follows; CSI Electrical Contractors Inc, DECOMA Industries, Estate Design and Construction, Global Builders Inc, Jilk Heavy Construction, Metro Builders & Engineers, Olympos Construction, Inc., Omega Construction Company, Palp Inc. dba Excel Paving Company, RAMCO General Engineering, Sully Miller Contracting, Swinerton, Tiger Construction, Waisman Construction, W.A Rasic Construction; to provide as-needed construction, maintenance, or repair services on various projects for the Public Works Department; and
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute as-needed services agreement(s) with fifteen general contractors as follows; CSI Electrical Contractors Inc, DECOMA Industries, Estate Design and Construction, Global Builders Inc, Jilk Heavy Construction, Metro Builders & Engineers, Olympos Construction, Inc., Omega Construction Company, Palp Inc. dba Excel Paving Company, RAMCO General Engineering, Sully Miller Contracting, Swinerton, Tiger Construction, Waisman Construction, W.A Rasic Construction; in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000 for each agreement, over a five-year period, subject to Council budget approval projects and project funding.
Executive Summary
The City of Santa Monica is committed to timely delivery of high-quality projects at the most competitive prices, reflecting its long-standing approach to public construction contracting, and utilizing alternative contracting/procurement methods such as master services agreements as part of the City’s Procurement System. This alternative 2 of 7
contracting procurement method is stipulated in Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
2.24.150(b)(4) (Purchasing System, Public Works Contracts) and allows the City Council to award master services agreements (MSA) to prequalified contractors for construction, maintenance, or repair services in amounts not to exceed $5.0 million each over a five-year period. Each construction, maintenance, or repair service project would be authorized under an MSA with a task order – a written instrument, governed by the executed MSA which describes a specific time frame, budget, and construction work scope for Contractor to execute - each not to exceed $1.47 million. Since the City Council's initial approval in October 2018, a total of sixteen MSAs have been executed. All sixteen contracts are set to expire by February 2025.
Staff recommends awarding fifteen new MSAs to the pre-qualified contractors listed in Table A, below, in amounts not to exceed $5.0 million each, over a five-year period for various citywide planned and future construction, maintenance, or repair services projects. The recommended agreements would only be utilized, on an as-needed basis, if funding is available and approved by Council, as reflected in the Adopted Operating and Capital Program Budget. These citywide projects are funded by various sources, including grants, local return funds, City enterprise funds, such as Water and Wastewater, Beach, Pier, BBB, as well as General Fund when funding is available. In addition, Public Works staff is required to provide the City Council with an annual report on the implementation of MSAs and the task orders issued.
Discussion
MSAs, also referred to as as-needed services agreements, are an alternative contracting/ procurement method as part of City’s Procurement System and as described in Santa Monica Municipal Code Sections 2.24.150(b)(4) and
2.24.220(g) enable the City to complete administrative procedures for procurement and contracting ahead of time and subsequently allow for timely delivery of capital and maintenance projects as service needs occur. The proposed MSAs would enable the Public Works Department to expedite the commencement of work by an estimated 20- 27 weeks for various capital and maintenance projects that are already approved in the City Budget. This is achieved by conducting most of the administrative work in the 3 of 7
procurement process upfront, including vendor evaluation, prequalification, authorization, and contract execution. This mechanism would accelerate the commencement of small, relatively simple Public Works projects, decrease the risk of potential cost escalations, and reduce the amount of staff time spent on procurement for each individual project. The City of Santa Monica has successfully utilized MSAs over the past five-years, which were awarded by Council in 2018 and 2019. Other municipalities such as the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Anaheim have similar forms of as-needed contracting ordinances in place to improve and expedite project delivery. Contractors are not guaranteed work, and all funding is contingent on approval by Council within each fiscal year’s adopted budget.
After the City Council's initial approval in October 2018, a total of fifty-nine task orders for $17 million, collectively, were issued from sixteen existing MSAs utilizing Council approved City Budget. Public Works staff were able to successfully execute and complete 59 projects such as Belmar Art and Signage, emergency bluff removal, window replacement at Fairview Library, and the reconfiguring of a small interior space at Fire Station #7. All sixteen contracts are set to expire by February 2025. Staff conducted a process to pre-qualify contractors to provide general construction services for various Public Works projects for work such as: interior remodels/tenant improvements, exterior building renovations, parks/playgrounds/site work, general engineering, and pier work. Staff recommends awarding fifteen new MSAs to the prequalified contractors listed in Table A, below, for various construction, maintenance, or repair services for the Public Works Department. The recommended agreements are funded by various sources, including grants, local return funds, City enterprise funds, such as Water and Wastewater, Beach, Pier, BBB, as well as General Fund when funding is available. In addition, Public Works staff is required to provide the City Council with an annual report on the implementation of MSAs and the task orders issued.
Threshold Increase
In 2018, the thresholds for MSAs and task orders were established at $5.0 million and 4 of 7
$1 million, respectively, as described in the Santa Monica Municipal Code
2.24.220(g)(5), which allows the thresholds to increase based on the difference between the July 2018 and the current Construction Cost Index (CCI) published by the California Department of General Services. The CCI increased from 6643 in July 2018 to 9785 in October 2024, indicating a 47.28% increase. At this time, staff recommends that the threshold for the task orders be increased from $1 million to $1.47 million for the next five years, but maintain a $5.0 million authorization for each MSA. If necessary, staff will return to Council to request that the threshold for any MSA be increased per municipal code if it is anticipated that the current requested $5 million authority for any of the agreements will be exceeded prior to the end of the five years.
Vendor Selection
Table A - Pre-qualified Contractor List
(As-Needed Services Agreement Request)
CSI Electrical Contractors Inc Palp Inc. dba Excel Paving Company DECOMA Industries RAMCO General Engineering
Estate Design and Construction Sully Miller Contracting Global Builders Inc Swinerton
Jilk Heavy Construction Tiger Construction
Metro Builders & Engineers Waisman Construction
Olympos Construction, Inc. W.A Rasic Construction
Omega Construction Company
Selection Criteria
Evaluation
Criteria
Previous experience/technical competence, responses to a questionnaire, references, resumes of relevant staff, and Department of Industrial Relations project experience (labor compliance).
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
RFQual Data
Date
Posted Posted On
Advertised In
(City Charter
& SMMC)
Firms
Downloaded
Submittals
Received
Date
Publicly
Opened
08/22/2024 City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica
Daily Press 93 15 09/19/2024
Justification to Short-List
A panel of staff from the Engineering and Street Services and Architecture Services 5 of 7
divisions of the Public Works Department rated all fifteen firms’ statements of qualifications for general construction services. Staff deemed all statements acceptable and placed them on a pre-qualified list. Staff recommends awarding an ASA to each of these fifteen pre-qualified vendors. Staff would solicit bids from all pre-qualified contractors prior to commencing work valued at more than $25,000.
Environmental Review
The ASAs are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15301 (Class 1 - Existing Facilities) and Section 15302 (Class 2 – Replacement/Reconstruction). 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. The ASAs for the general contractor services would allow for various construction, maintenance, or repair services for the Public Works Department. The ASAs would not expand or materially change existing facilities or operations. Therefore, the award agreements are categorically exempt as set forth in Section 15301 and Section 15302 of the CEQA State Guidelines.
Past Council Actions
10/10/2023 (Attachment GG) Introduction and first reading of Ordinance Amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 2.24.110 and
2.24.220(g) (Master Services Agreements).
08/27/2019 (Attachment FF) Award bids to nine California-based general contractors to provide as-needed general construction services.
09/11/2018 (Attachment EE) Award bids to eight general contractors to provide asneeded general construction services.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to award as-needed services agreements as an alternative contracting/procurement method and to approve available funding from various existing funds in the Council-approved City Budget to award as-needed services agreements with each of the fifteen pre-qualified general contractors listed in Table A above.
Awarding the recommended agreements does not negatively impact any previously 6 of 7
unfunded or future projects, as the agreements would only be utilized for funded City projects, as reflected in the adopted operating and capital improvement program budgets. Each agreement amount is not to exceed $5,000,000 and covers a five-year period. Expenditures would be incurred upon the issuance of a task order by the Public Works Director.
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Selim Eren, Principal Civil Engineer
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. CSI - Oaks
B. CSI - LevineAct
C. Estate Design - LevineAct
D. Global - LevineAct
E. JILK - Oaks
F. JILK - LevineAct
G. Metro - Oaks
H. Metro - LevineAct
I. Olympos - Oaks
J. Olympos - LevineAct
K. Omega-Oaks
L. Omega - LevineAct
M. PALP - Oaks
N. PALP - LevineAct
O. RAMCO - Oaks
P. RAMCO - LevineAct
Q. Sully Miller - Oaks
R. Sully Miller - LevineAct
S. Swinerton-Oaks
T. Swinerton - LevineAct
U. Tiger - Oaks
V. Tiger - LevineAct
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W. W.A. Rasic - Oaks
X. W.A. Rasic - LevineAct
Y. Waisman - Oaks
Z. Waisman - LevineAct
AA. 9.11.18 Council Report
BB. 8.27.19 Council Report
CC. 10.10.2023 Council Report
DD. Decoma-Oaks
EE. Decoma-LevineActDisclosure
FF.EstateDesignConstruction-Oaks
GG. Global-Oaks