AGENDA REPORT
DATE: April 14, 2025
TO:
FROM: Fermin Preciado, Director of Development Services/City Engineer ye Landon Kern, Assistant City Engineer
Item No. 12
Honorable Mayor and City Council
SUBJECT: Reject Bids - Upper Wildwood Creek Basin 4 Project - Project No. 11021 RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council:
1) Reject all bids for the Upper Wildwood Creek Basin 4 Project- Project No. 11021 (Project); and
2) Direct staff to return to Council with funding options, an analysis of the Project's viability, and the Project's alignment with the 2025 City Council goals.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
The Upper Wildwood Creek Basin Project (Project) is identified in the City's Master Plan of Drainage (MPD) Update adopted by the City Council in 2012. The Project is identified in the MPD as a local flood control facility with a storm water detention basin facility for the Wildwood Creek drainage system. The Project is intended to provide multiple benefits including flood protection, groundwater recharge opportunities and erosion/sediment control along Wildwood Creek. The Project is proposed to include a retention/detention basin with an estimated storm water capture capacity of 25 acre-feet.
The erosion and sediment control benefit component of the Project will reduce erosion, control sediment and reduce storm flows downstream along Wildwood Creek thus providing protection for the existing native habitat and mature oak trees along the natural Wildwood Creek alignment. This component of the project will also protect Wildwood Canyon Road, Wildwood Canyon City Park and private properties from erosion and flooding.
The funding sources for this Project include Drainage Development Impact Fee Funds, ARPA Grant Funds, WaterSMART Grant Funds, and Congressional Community Project Spending Funds through US Representative Obernolte's office.
The engineering design has been completed and the construction documents for the project have been prepared. Since the project is located within a waterway under the jurisdiction of the State and Federal government, the required environmental review has been completed and permits have been obtained.
The table below includes the authorized funding in the FY25 Capital Improvement Program (CIP):
Funding Source
Amount
Development Impact Fee (Drainage DIF)
$277,000
ARPA Grant
$880,000
WaterSMART Grant
$227,000
Congressional Community Project Spending
$1,800,000
Total authorized funding
$3,184,000
Of the authorized funding shown above, approximately $2,765,000 is remaining and available to complete the project.
The following phases are required to complete the project in accordance with the City's adopted MPD:
• Construction
• Environmental permit requirements (biological/tribal monitoring, testing, construction mitigation, etc.)
• Environmental impact mitigation measure implementation and monitoring.
On Jan 27, 2025, Council approved the extension of the ARPA Grant funding, extending the date for the City Council to award a construction contract to June 30, 2025. As part of this extension, the ARPA Grant funding must be expended by 2027.
Staff publicly advertised the Project for construction bids and on November 5th, 2024, three (5) bids were received from contractors as follows:
Contractor
Bid Amount
JK Excavating and Grading Co. Inc.
$3,496,787
Jeremy Harris Construction
$3,874 678
MDB General Engineering, Inc.
$4,485,353
Empire Equipment Services, Inc.
$5,243,235
Miller Equipment Co.
$5,323,004
Engineer' s Estimate
$2,600,000
Due to the costs associated with the required extensive grading and large amount of export material, the bid amounts received are significantly higher than the engineer's estimate. With the construction bids received and information gathered over the last few months related to current costs associated with the environmental permit requirements, biological/tribal monitoring and environmental impact mitigation, staff has revised the cost estimate to complete the project as follows:
Description
Cost
Construction*
$4,200,000
Environmental Permit Requirements - Biological/Tribal Monitoring $250,000
Environmental Impact Mitigation
$2,500,000
Total Estimated Cost to Complete Project
$6,950,000
Total available funding to complete the Project
$2,765,000
Additional Funding Needed
$4,185,000
*The Construction budget is an estimate based on the lowest bid received on 11/5/24. This estimate also includes contract contingency (10%), construction engineering (inspection, contract administration, materials testing, etc.), and environmental engineering required by the resource agency permits obtained for the construction phase.
Based on the estimated costs to complete the project, and the available funding, there is an approximate $4.2 million funding gap. Considering the size of the funding gap, the available reserve balance, and the grant construction timelines, staff is recommending that the City Council reject all bids for the Project at this time. If approved, staff could return to the City Council in the near future with funding options, an analysis of the project's viability and an analysis of the project's alignment with the 2025 City Council adopted goals.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact is anticipated with this item.
Approved b