Item Number: 1
City Council / Board of Directors
Public Hearing(s)
Meeting of: April 15, 2025
Submitted By:
Fredy Bonilla, City Engineer
Subject:
Doris Davies Ribbon Gutter Reconstruction Project – Notice of Exemption and Award of Construction Contract
Recommendation:
That the Honorable City Council;
(1) Open and conduct a public hearing, and receive testimony regarding the proposed project;
(2) Close the Public Hearing;
(3) Approve the Notice of Exemption and authorize staff to file the notice with the Office of Planning and Research and the County Clerk;
(4) Adopt Resolution No. 25-036 to amend the Fiscal Year 2024/2025 budget to reflect an additional appropriation of $110,100.00 from Fund 202 and additional expenses in the amount of $110,100.00 from Fund 202; and
(5) Award a construction contract to Kelley’s Underground Construction, Inc. in the amount of $206,720.
Fiscal Impact:
The recommended actions require an additional appropriation of $110,100 from Fund 202 Storm Drain, and will result in a fiscal impact of $206,720 for the construction contract, and $28,280 for project management and support costs, estimated Lahontan State Water Board permit fees, and On-Call Geotechnical and Engineering Testing Services. This project will be funded by Storm Drain, Fund 202. This Capital Improvement Project was included in mid-year budget for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023/2024 budget and was rolled over into the current fiscal year. Resolution No. 25-036 (Attachment A) has been prepared to amend the FY 2024/2025 budget accordingly. There are sufficient funds in Fund 202 for the additional appropriation, the estimated cash balance is $5,358,585.23. Please refer to Table 1 that shows the fund account number, available budget amount, additional appropriation, and the total funding for the project.
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Table 1
Budget Account No. Available
Budget
Additional
Appropriation
Total Available
2024500-55325-61037 $124,923.30 $110,100.00 $235,023.30 Strategic Plan Goal:
This project aligns with Goal E “Invest in Infrastructure” in the City of Victorville Strategic Plan 2023-2026 as the proposed improvements will restore the flow path through the park protecting the public and existing infrastructure.
Background:
A summer storm event in August 2023 (Tropical Storm Hilary) caused severe damage to existing improvements along the Oro Grande Wash in Doris Davies Park resulting in damage to and displacement of the concrete valley gutter. The gutter was undermined, broken up and displaced, requiring the disposal of the unrecoverable concrete and reconstruction of the valley gutter. Additionally, stormwater erosion of soils adjacent to the gutter upstream at Pebble Beach Drive and along the flow path through the park have resulted in unsafe conditions for anyone attempting to cross the wash. Soil was eroded from the grass areas of the park, transported downstream and deposited over a small portion of valley gutter that was not damaged in front of the entrance to an improved San Bernardino County Flood Control District channel within the park. This erosion and deposition of soil requires grading to restore the flow path along the gutter through the park. See Attachment B for the location of the project and Attachment F for photographs of the storm water damage to the existing park improvements.
Construction projects that may result in a significant and adverse change in the environment require an environmental review per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). It is a routine requirement to comply with CEQA before construction starts on a CIP. The City must review all public works projects to determine how they will comply with CEQA requirements before making a discretionary recommendation of approval of a construction project prior to award of a construction contract.
The California Code of Regulations Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 provides guidelines for the implementation of CEQA. Article 5 of such guidelines identifies certain types of projects which have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and which are exempt from the provisions of CEQA. City staff evaluated the scope of work and determined this project is Categorically Exempt under Article 19, Section 15301(c): Existing Facilities (Class 1) of the CEQA guidelines. Doris Davies Park is developed with existing concrete pavement, and landscaping. The reconstruction of the valley gutter and restoration of the open space grass area existing improvements are considered minor as they do not propose any capacity increases or disturbance of existing native natural habitat.
Pursuant to Article 5, Section 15061, after determining that a project is exempt from CEQA, and once the project is approved by its governing body, the Notice of Exemption will be recorded to initiate a 35-day statute of limitations for any appeals submitted from 4 0
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a party feeling a categorical exemption is being improperly used to limit the possibility of legal challenge. See Attachment C, the Notice of Exemption to be recorded.
Discussion:
The project plans, specifications and engineer’s estimate for the project were prepared in-house by the Engineering Department. Construction management of this CIP will be performed by Engineering Staff.
This project was bid using informal bid procedures in accordance with Victorville Municipal Code §2.28.200 for Public Works contracts with an estimated cost in excess of sixty thousand dollars, but no more than five hundred thousand. Staff solicited bids from pre-qualified on-call contractors. The request for bids was issued on March 27, 2025. On April 8, 2025, five (5) bids were received. The bid results are shown below.
Company Base Bid Amount
1) Kelley’s Underground Construction, Inc. $206,720.00
2) Christensen Brothers General Engineering, Inc. $236,452.00 3) DM Contracting, Inc. $273,581.00
4) High Desert Underground, Inc. $295,846.75
5) Kirtley Construction, Inc. dba TK Construction $456,782.00 After a careful review and tabulation of the bid proposals, staff determined that the lowest responsive, responsible bidder is Kelley’s Underground Construction, Inc. with a bid amount of $206,720.00. A minor error in the multiplication of the unit cost, quantity and subtotal in the difference of $620 for one line item on Kelley’s bid resulted in the adjustment of their submitted bid from $206,090.00 to $206,720.00. This minor error was corrected and accepted by staff in accordance with the bidding procedures and instructions included in the bid.
The Engineer’s estimate for the project was originally $125,000 when the storm first caused damage to the wash and the project was budgeted. Subsequent storm events resulting in additional damage and erosion to this section of the wash increased the scope of work to restore the valley gutter and adjacent grass landscaping. The current low bid came in at approximately 62% above the original estimate. The difference in cost is attributed to the additional storm damage and cost increases for construction labor and materials.
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the Notice of Exemption, adopt Resolution No. 25-036 and award a construction contract to Kelley’s Underground Construction, Inc. in the amount of $206,720.00 for the Doris Davies Ribbon Gutter Reconstruction Project.
Staff is available for any questions Council may have.
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Attachments: A. Resolution 25-036
B. Vicinity Map
C. Notice of Exemption
D. Proposals Received
E. Contract
F. Site Photographs