Town of Yountville
Staff Report
6550 Yount Street
Yountville, CA 94599
Agenda Item #: 11A
Yountville Town Council Staff Report
DATE: June 17, 2025
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: John Ferons, Public Works Director
PREPARED BY: John Ferons, Public Works Director
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt Resolution Number 25-4371 adopting a policy governing design-build project procurement and conflict of interests in design-build projects.
DISCUSSION/BACKGROUND
Public agencies are bound to various state and local codes when contracting for “public works” and “public projects”. The Town of Yountville follows strict California state laws when selecting contractors for these projects, utilizing a competitive and transparent public bidding process outlined in California Public Contract Code section 22000 et seq. (the “Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act”) and Yountville Municipal Code Chapter 3.32 (“Purchase of Supplies, Equipment and Services and Procedures for Public Works Projects”). The process is central to how government agencies contract for public works projects and is intended to ensure fairness and guard against favoritism, fraud and corruption; prevent misuse of public funds; and ensure that the Town is receiving the appropriate level of service for the optimal price. This process is traditionally designated the “design-bid-build” process.
Design-bid-build has long been the typical project delivery method for local agency public construction. Under this process, the Town contracts with an architectural or engineering firm, who designs the project and prepares a complete (100%) set of construction documents. The Town solicits bids from contractors based on the completed documents via a publicly bidding process and awards the construction contract to the "lowest responsive and responsible bidder".
During construction of the project, the Town administers the project, including communications between the contractor and the design team for things such as requests for information and design revisions. The Town is responsible for the project and as such the contractor will seek contract change orders for additional time, materials and/or money for any revisions beyond the original bid documents
The “design-build” contracting method is an alternative to the design-bid-build process and is authorized by California Public Contract Code section 22160 et seq. Design-build can only be used for projects over $1,000,000 and only after the Town Council adopts certain procedures and policies, discussed in more detail below. Under design-build, the Town contracts with a single entity for both design and construction services. The design-build contract is based on the Town's “program,” a statement of project requirements. The program materials may include preliminary design documents & performance specifications, and identifies the Town's specific project needs, such as size, special uses, adjacencies, and appearance. The Town would issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to pre-qualify design-build firms. The Town would then issue an Request for Proposals (RFP) that the pre-qualified firms could respond to based on the program.
The Town Council then selects the successful design-build team based on best value, which includes price, features, functions and life-cycle costs. The selected design-build entity completes the project design and prepares construction documents. Once the Town has approved the design, the design-build contractor builds the project. Unlike the design- bid-build method, the design-build contractor is responsible for its design documents and cannot seek additional time and/or money for defects in its own design documents.
Thus, design-build differs from traditional design-bid-build in two ways. First, the design and construction components are packaged into a single contract. Second, the single contract is not necessarily awarded to the low bidder. Both processes contain a solicitation process although each differs in the steps and other requirements that lead to selection of a contractor or firm.
In addition to the Town’s authorization for projects over $1,000,000, design-build is expressly authorized as a project delivery option for certain state agencies, the University of California, California State University, local school districts, designated counties, and some transit agencies.
The benefits of design-build over design-bid-build are as follows:
• Greater flexibility in the contract award process
• A single point of accountability (eliminates finger-pointing between designer and contractor) • Higher quality construction work
• Fewer change orders
• Fewer claims, faster project completion
• Lower project cost
• Greater cost certainty
• More opportunities for innovation and collaboration on design during construction Design-build could provide the Town greater flexibility in selecting a process that would allow delivery of the highest quality product for a project such as the Yountville Commons.
In order for the Town to take advantage of the design build opportunity, the Town Council would need to adopt a policy governing design-build project procurement and conflicts of interest in design build projects addressing the ability of a person or entity performing services for the Town relating to solicitation of a design-build project to submit a proposal as a design-build entity or join a design-build team.
California Government Code section 1090 generally prohibits officers of the Town, which may include independent contractors or consultants already acting on behalf of the Town, from having any financial interest in a contract made by them in their official capacity. This includes providing preliminary work on a project and then contracting for additional work on a later phase of the project. However, Government Code section 1097.6 provides an exception to this general prohibition to permit an independent contractor who has performed one phase of a project to bid on and enter into a subsequent contract for a later phase of the same project if the independent contractor’s duties and services related to the initial contract did not include engaging in or advising on public contracting on behalf of the Town and the other requirements in the statute are satisfied.
In order for the Town to utilize the design-build procurement method for the development of a public works project such as the Yountville Commons, the Town Council needs to establish a standard policy for procurement and conflicts of interest governing design-build projects and the ability of a person or entity performing services for the Town relating to the solicitation of a design-build project to submit a proposal as a design-build entity or join a design-build team. This will allow greater flexibility for the various design professionals and consultants that participated in the conceptual, preliminary, and initial planning discussions for the Yountville Commons Project to participate in future design-build efforts if they meet the requirements of state law and the Town’s adopted policy.
The attached Resolution, if approved by the Town Council, would adopt a policy governing design-build project procurement and conflict of interest in design-build projects. This resolution does not commit the Town to using design-build for any particular project. It merely creates a process the Town Council would use if design-build is chosen for a future project.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Exempt per California Environmental Act (CEQA) Guideline, Section 15061(b)(3).
FISCAL IMPACT
Is there a Fiscal Impact? No
Is it Currently Budgeted? N/A
Where is it Budgeted? N/A
Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? Discretionary
Is there a Staff Resource Impact? Nominal
STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL
Is item Identified in Strategic Plan? Yes
If yes, Identify Strategic Goal and Objective.
Briefly Explain Relationship to Strategic Plan Goal and Objective.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution 25-4371