BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Report of Bids Received and Award of Construction Contract to Dixon Marine Services Inc. - for Construction of the Palo Alto Flood Basin Tide Gate Structure Improvements Project, Project No. 10394001, Contract No. C0630 (Palo Alto) (District 7). (Continued from 07/25/2017)
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
A. Ratify Addenda No. 1 through No. 3 to the Contract Documents for the Palo Alto Flood Basin Tide Gate Structure Improvements Project, Project;
B. Waive minor irregularities in Dixon Marine Services Inc. bid;
C. Award the Construction Contract to Dixon Marine Services Inc. in the sum of $579,081.07; and
D. Approve a contingency sum of $60,000 and authorize the Interim Chief Executive Officer or designee to approve individual change orders up to the designated amount.
Body
SUMMARY:
The Palo Alto Flood Basin (PAFB) Tide Gate Structure Improvements Project was initiated following emergency repair work on the Palo Alto tide gates which was completed in September 2012. The repair work addressed water flow occurring beneath the tide gate structure. The temporary repair arrested significant under flow; however, additional and permanent improvements are required to avoid future fluvial flooding in the lower reaches of Matadero, Adobe, and Barron creeks and impacts to wildlife and aquatic habitats in the flood basin.
The PAFB Tide Gate Structure was built in 1956. The purpose of the structure is to control the downstream water surface elevation for Matadero Creek, Adobe Creek, and Barron Creek, which all drain to the PAFB. The PAFB controls the downstream boundary condition (starting water surface elevation) for these creeks by keeping the high tide out and allowing the Basin to empty out during the twice daily low tides. Of the current 16 tide gates, 15 are operated by the District and one is operated by the City of Palo Alto. The latter is operated to allow some tidal inflow to the Basin, subject to an elevation limit to provide PAFB flood protection capacity. Since Bay waters have limited access to the PAFB, it has developed a brackish habitat, different from adjacent saltwater wetlands. This habitat would be changed if the tide gates would become ineffective.
The PAFB and tide gate structure provide significant flood protection benefits during low tidal events and, as mentioned above, the tide gates protect significant brackish marsh habitat. The tide gates have outlived their initial 50-year structural life and exhibit signs of aging such as spalling concrete and exposed reinforcement steel, as well as the very significant seepage problem that was addressed by an emergency project in 2012. This seepage may reoccur at any time.
Staff has conducted a preliminary planning study for replacing the tide gate structures. The problem and alternatives evaluation of the Project identified a two-phased approach to improving the PAFB. The scope of this first phase will be to immediately repair the tide gate structure and ensure the hydraulic performance of Adobe, Barron, and Matadero Creeks.
The second phase scope of work will be to coordinate District resources during the intermediate term with ongoing external efforts that include the PAFB. These projects include the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority’s (SFCJPA) Strategy to Advance Flood protection, Ecosystems, and Recreation along the Bay (SAFER Bay) Project, the District’s South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project, the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, and projects under development by the City of Mountain View. The Project team expects that this intermediate term and collaborative project would likely result in a more efficient alternative to improve the PAFB and maintain the current level of flood protection in Matadero, Adobe, and Barron creeks. A Project Map is provided at Attachment 1.
The work in this Project will include dewatering of each cell of the tide gate, repairing spalled concrete surfaces, injecting epoxy into cracks in concrete, placing a polyester concrete overlay on the tide gates structure deck, and replacing the existing 36” chain link railing with a new 48” chain link railing at each side on existing deck.
Addenda Ratification
3 addenda (Attachment 2) were issued during the bid period to clarify the Project Contract Documents. To formally incorporate the addenda into the Project Contract Documents, staff recommends that the Board ratify the addenda.
Waiver of Minor Irregularities in Dixon Marine Services Inc.’s Bid
Per the Notice to Bidders paragraph 14, Errors or Discrepancies in the Bid, the District reserved its right to reject any and all bid proposals and to waive minor defects and irregularities in any submitted bid form; Dixon Marine Services Inc.’s Bid contained a minor error.
On the Proposal and Bid Items, Bid Form 1, the Bidder rounded the Bid Item extensions. The corrected total, $579,081.07 resulted in Dixon Marine Services Bid being decreased by $8.93 from the amount shown as its Total Bid.
This error is not material. It does not affect Dixon Marine Services Inc.’s ability to fulfill the contract, or give the firm an unfair advantage in the competitive bidding process for the Project. Staff recommends that the Board waive this minor irregularity.
Contract Award
A report of bids received at the bid opening for the Project on June 28, 2017 is summarized in Table 1, Bid Results. The apparent low bid was submitted by Dixon Marine Services Inc. In accordance with the Bid Documents, all bids submitted will expire forty-five (45) days after the public bid opening.
Staff has reviewed the bid proposals and, for the reasons stated below, recommends the Board award the contract to Dixon Marine Services Inc. (Dixon Marine) as the responsible bidder submitting the lowest responsive bid:
1. All bid entries and requirements in the proposal submitted by Dixon Marine are in order or can be waived as a minor irregularity;
2. Dixon Marine’s license is current, active and in good standing;
3. Dixon Marine has complied with the District’s Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Outreach program; and
4. Dixon Marine is in compliance with the requirements of the California Labor Code §1771.1. Dixon Marine and its 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 Results
|
Company, Location |
Bid Amount |
Award Amount |
|
Dixon Marine Services Inc., Inverness, CA |
$ 579,081.07 |
$ 579,081.07 |
|
Cazadoro Construction, Inc., San Francisco, CA |
$ 803,060 |
|
|
Engineer’s Estimate: $ 286,820 |
There is a $300,000 difference between the lowest bid and the engineer’s estimate. The discrepancy is mainly due to the bid items for mobilization, dewatering cell, concrete overlay, and metal structures. Per our design consultant all their projects’ bids this month came in much higher than expected. Recent District’s Permanente Creek Channel Improvements and Lower Silver Creek projects bids were also over the engineer’s estimate by $1.1 and $1.3M respectively. Our engineer cost estimate was based on 2016 Caltrans Cost Data and did not account adequately for recent changes in market conditions.
Contingency Funds
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 a total contingency amount of $60,000 which amounts to approximately 10% of the contract award amount.
The contingency amount is estimated due to known and unknown risks, such as concealed conditions and/or field conditions that may be different from the baseline or as-built information used in preparation of Project Contract Documents;
Approval of individual change orders up to the designated amounts are as follows:
Engineering Unit Manager: $50,000
Deputy Operating Officer: up to the total amount of the contingency
Outreach to Bidders
As part of the District’s customary small and local business outreach, the following routine steps were taken: the Notice to Bidders was sent to 20 minority business Chambers of Commerce and small business groups. In addition, the Notice was sent to certified small business contractors and local and regional firms that have the appropriate license for this type of work. The Notice was provided to the Santa Clara and San Benito Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, which maintains contacts with at least 500 contractors and 70 union representatives, for distribution to their members.
Public Outreach
The District will lead the public outreach and communication for the Project and serve as the main Project contact for the community and media. The District will use a variety of outreach activities to keep the community informed of the Project progress and important milestones. Outreach efforts will include physical site and trail closure signage, social media Nextdoor posts as needed, website posts as needed, and coordination with the District’s partners at the City of Palo Alto, Bay Trail, Baylands Nature Preserve and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. During construction, the outreach messages will focus on the Project benefits and impacts to trail and park users, and will be targeted to the surrounding neighborhoods and businesses.
Next Steps
If the Board approves the recommendations, staff will proceed with administering construction of the Project. The construction work is anticipated to be completed in December 2017.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The total cost for the recommended construction contract, including the change order contingency sum of $60,000, is $639,081. Adequate funding for this contract is included in the FY 2017-18 budget, Project #10394001.
CEQA:
Staff has determined that the implementation of this Project will meet the requirements of the minor maintenance in-kind repair activity under the District’s Stream Maintenance Program (SMP). The construction of this Project has been included in the Notice of Proposed Work (NPW) to the permitting regulatory agencies for 2017 instream work season.
All the necessary permits for the Project have been obtained.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Project Map
Attachment 2: Addenda Nos. 1 through 3
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Ngoc Nguyen, 408-630-2632