BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☐ No ☒
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT:
Title
Receive Report of Bids, Ratify Addenda, Approve the Contingency Fund, and Award the Construction Contract to Con-Quest Contractors Inc., for the Snell Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Project, as part of the 10-Year Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Project, Project No. 95084002, Contract No. C0698 in the sum of $14,988,500 (San Jose, District 1, 4, 6, 7).
(Continued from June 27, 2023)
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
A. Ratify Addenda No. 1, 2, and 3 to the Contract Documents for the Snell Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Project;
B. Award the Construction Contract to Con-Quest Contractors Inc., located in San Francisco, in the sum of $14,988,500; and
C. Approve a contingency of 10% in the amount of $1,498,850 and authorize the Chief Executive Officer or designee to approve individual change orders up to the designated amount.
Body
SUMMARY:
The objective of the Snell Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Project (Project) is to increase the reliability and to extend the useful life of this pipeline.
The Project scope of work includes dewatering and inspecting the Snell Pipeline, repairing and rehabilitating miscellaneous pipeline appurtenances, replacing line valves and flowmeters, installing an Acoustic Fiber Optic (AFO) monitoring system, installing supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) components, installing corrosion protection systems, providing support of internal pipeline inspections, performing internal pipeline repair work as identified by the internal inspections, and installation of new line valve.
Project Background
Snell Pipeline is included in the District’s Pipeline Maintenance Program (PMP) and is an identified capital effort under the 10-Year Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Program. The PMP defines the activities associated with maintenance and repair of water supply conveyance systems including pipelines, appurtenances, electrical systems, control systems, and structures throughout Santa Clara Valley Water District’s (Valley Water) jurisdiction.
The purpose of the 10-Year Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Project is to maintain the integrity of the approximately 150 miles of large diameter raw and treated water transmission pipelines, extend their useful life, and address infrastructure reliability concerns. Other projects completed as part of the 10-year Inspection and Rehabilitation Project include: Almaden Valley Pipeline, Pacheco Conduit, Cross Valley and Calero Pipelines, Central and Parallel East Pipelines, and Santa Clara Conduit Rehabilitation & Pacheco Sectionalizing Vault Replacement Project.
Snell Pipeline
Snell Pipeline consists of approximately 8.5 miles of 60-inch to 72-inch prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP), reinforced concrete cylinder pipe (RCCP), embedded cylinder pipe (ECP), and welded steel pipe (WSP). It conveys treated water from Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant (STWTP) to Evergreen and Parallel East Pipelines. Snell Pipeline was constructed in two phases and was completed in 1990. It begins at the end of the Santa Teresa Outlet Tunnel which connects to the Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant in South San Jose, runs northeast through the urban streets of San Jose, and connects to Evergreen and Parallel East Pipelines in East San Jose.
Addenda Ratification
Three (3) addenda were issued during the bid advertisement period to clarify the Project Contract Documents and answer bidder’s questions. To formally incorporate the Addenda into the Project Contract Documents, staff recommends that the Board ratify the addenda.
Snell Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Project Specifications were provided by separate communication to the Board for their review prior to taking the recommended action to adopt the Plans and Specifications for bid advertisement. The addenda were also provided by separate communication to Valley Water’s Board of Directors for their review prior to taking the recommended action to ratify. To protect sensitive information related to the project, all parties interested in accessing the Plans and Specifications, and Addenda were registered as a vendor at the Valley Water Vendor Portal and submitted a completed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to access the Contract Documents.
Contract Award
A report of bids received at the bid opening for the Project on May 24, 2023, is summarized in Table 1.
Staff reviewed the bid proposal and recommends that the construction contract for the Project be awarded Con-Quest Contractors, Inc. for the following reasons:
1. All bid entries and requirements in the proposal submitted by Con-Quest Contractors, Inc. are in order;
2. Con-Quest Contractors, Inc. license is current, active, and in good standing;
3. Con-Quest Contractors, Inc. is in compliance with the requirements of the California Labor Code §1771.1 because Con-Quest Contractors, Inc. and their subcontractors are registered with the California Department of Industrial Relations and qualified to perform public works pursuant to Section 1725.5 of the Labor Code.
|
TABLE 1 Bid Summary |
|
Contractor, Location |
Bid Price |
Award Amount |
|
Con-Quest Contractors, Inc. |
$14,988,500 |
$14,988,500 |
|
Engineer’s Estimate: $14,647,750 |
The busy San Francisco Bay Area construction landscape resulted in a less than average number of participating bidders. Staff conducted outreach to 55 planholders listed in PlanetBids, including a survey of nine (9) planholders that identify as general contractors. A total of five (5) general contractors attended the mandatory pre-bid meeting. Only one (1) bid was received in response to the solicitation for this Project. The general response from contractors who decided not to bid on the project was that they had other ongoing project commitments and not enough available resources.
Staff recommends the Board award the construction contract to Con-Quest Contractors Inc., as the responsible bidder, submitting a bid proposal that is 2% above the engineer’s estimate.
Contingency Funds
The proposed Contract award sum for the Project is $14,988,500. To allow staff to quickly address unforeseen or changed site conditions and other unanticipated occurrences, without causing unnecessary delays or consequential costs to the Project, staff recommends the Board approve encumbering a contingency amount of $1,498,850 which amounts to 10% of the contract amount.
The above-contingency amount was estimated due to known and unknown risks, such as:
1. Unforeseen conditions and field conditions that may be different from the baseline and as-built information used in preparation of the Project Contract Documents;
2. Unanticipated variances in quantities and cost of various lump sum items estimated in the Bid Proposal;
3. Differing site conditions;
4. Coordination issues and risks associated with weather conditions;
5. Coordination issues with operations and maintenance activities; and
6. Unforeseen internal pipeline condition.
Approval of individual change orders for the Project will be subject to approval at the following designated amounts:
Engineering Unit Manager: $100,000
Deputy Operating Officer: $250,000
CEO: Up to the Total Amount of the Contingency
Relevant Prior Board Actions
On November 13, 2007, the Board certified the Pipeline Maintenance Program Environmental Impact Report (PMP EIR) and adopted the Mitigation Monitoring Plan.
On March 9, 2010, the Board adopted Resolution 10-24 specifying intent to consider undertaking the Project and setting the time and date for a public hearing on the Engineer’s Report for the subject Project.
On April 13, 2010, the Board held a public hearing and adopted Resolution 10-29 approving the PMP Engineer’s Report and approving the PMP.
On January 8, 2019, the Board approved a sole source purchase of equipment and services from Pure Technologies U.S. Inc. to provide electromagnetic inspection, acoustic fiber optic (AFO) monitoring system, and AFO system services for the 10-Year Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Program. The construction contract scope provides for the contractor to support and provide physical access to Pure Technologies U.S. to install the monitoring system. The purchase order with Pure Technologies U.S., Inc. was extended to January 17, 2027, and includes the Snell Pipeline in its scope of work.
On April 11, 2023, the Board adopted the Project plans and specifications and authorized advertisement for bids for construction.
Regulatory Permits
Valley Water received a Lake Stream Alteration Agreement (LSAA) from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in June 2023.
Valley Water also received conditional encroachment permits from the City of San Jose, Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), and CalTrans.
Conditional encroachment permits will be finalized after contract award by the construction contractor and relevant public entities when submittals for the encroachment permits are approved.
Right of Way
Valley Water has received the necessary permits-to-enter. These permits-to-enter will provide more direct Project access routes to vaults along the pipeline.
Valley Water is negotiating easement acquisitions. These easement acquisitions are not crucial for the Project to move forward as they are associated with Supplemental Bid Items, which are not essential to Project completion and, can therefore be deleted should the necessary easements not be secured.
Public Outreach
During construction, appropriate measures will be taken to minimize impacts associated with the Project, such as traffic, noise and dust. Residents and businesses in the Project area will be informed of construction impacts through multiple outreach strategies including social media such as Nextdoor and Facebook, mailers, and signs, and coordination with the City of San Jose. The construction Contract Documents include requirements and mitigations to minimize impacts to the public during construction.
Outreach to Bidders
The Notice to Bidders was sent to certified Contractors that have the appropriate license. Chambers of Commerce, plan rooms (Builder Exchanges), and Valley Water’s own website were used to solicit interest in the Project work from prospective Contractors. Contractors were contacted using Valley Water’s own Vendor Contractor Database through PlanetBids Vendor Portal.
Next Steps
If the Board approves the recommendations, staff will proceed with administering Project construction, which is anticipated to begin in July 2023 and be completed by November 2024.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
The Project has incorporated noise-mitigating measures into the design. Measures include requiring the contractor to install sound-mitigating panels and to adhere to stringent noise levels per City and County Regulations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The Snell Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Project (Snell Pipeline Project) is part of the 10-Year Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Project, Project No. 95084002. Also contributing to the Snell Pipeline Project is the IRP2 - Additional Line Valve Project, Project No. 26764001. Both contributing projects are included in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Fiscal Years (FY) 2024-28 Five-Year Plan, the Board approved FY 2022-23 Adjusted Budget, and the recent Board approved FY 2023-24 Adopted Budget. The total cost for the recommended construction contract, including the change order contingency of $1,498,850, is $16,487,350, which does not change the overall Total Project Cost reflected in the CIP Final FY 2024-28 Five-Year Plan.
A Mid-Year budget adjustment was approved by the Board on February 28, 2023, increasing the 10-Year Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Program budget by $2.1 million. This budget increase provides additional funds to encumber planned expenditures for 10-Year Pipeline Inspection and Rehabilitation Project construction activities to be incurred during Fiscal Year 2022-23.
There are adequate funds in the IRP2 - Additional Line Valve Project FY 2022-23 Adjusted Budget to encumber approximately $600,000 to initiate construction activities this year. The Board approved FY2023-24 Adopted Budget has sufficient funds in both the IRP2 - Additional Line Valve Project and the 10-Year Pipeline Project for construction. Funds to cover any additional funding needs will be recommended by staff during the biennial budget process or through budget adjustment(s).
The Project is funded by Water Utility (Fund 61) with 96.3% of the costs allocated to Zone W-2 (North County), 2.9% to South County Zone W-5, 0.8% to South County Zone W-7, and 0.1% to South County Zone W-8.
CEQA:
On November 13, 2007, the Board certified an Environmental Impact Report for the Pipeline Maintenance Program (PMP EIR) (accessible via <<https://fta.valleywater.org/dl/qRvvY7YPH2>>). The Pipeline Maintenance Program (PMP) provides the routine inspection, rehabilitation, and maintenance of Valley Water’s raw and treated water pipelines, and the PMP EIR evaluates the environmental impacts of the PMP activities. All proposed activities for the Project have been evaluated in the PMP EIR, except construction of a new underground line valve and vault on the Snell Pipeline which were not evaluated in the PMP EIR.
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15164, Addendum No. 1 was prepared by staff to evaluate the Project activities associated with construction of the line valve and vault. On April 11, 2023, the Board considered the addendum prior to adopting the plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for the Project.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Project Delivery Process Chart
Attachment 2: Project Overview Map
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Emmanuel Aryee, 408-630-3074