BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:Title
Approve the Standard On-Call Consultant Agreement with Cotton, Shires and Associates, Inc. for On-Call Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering Services in Support of the Penitencia Creek Landslide and Calaveras Fault Crossing Monitoring Project, Project No. A4666A, PB File VW0041 for a Not-to-Exceed Fee of $500,000.
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RECOMMENDATION:Recommendation
Approve the Standard On-Call Consultant Agreement with Cotton, Shires and Associates, Inc., for On-Call Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering services in support of the Penitencia Creek Landslide and Calaveras Fault Crossing Monitoring Project for a not-to-exceed fee of $500,000.
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SUMMARY:
The objective of this Standard On-Call Agreement is to provide as-needed Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering services to augment and support Santa Clara Valley Water District’s (Valley Water) existing Penitencia Creek Landslide and Calaveras Fault Crossing Monitoring Project.
Valley Water monitors and analyzes the active landslides, seismic faults, earth deformations, and seismically induced movements of the Penitencia Creek Landslide and Calaveras Fault geologic hazards and the respective impacts on the South Bay Aqueduct, Penitencia Delivery Main, Penitencia Force Main, and the Santa Clara Conduit.
Valley Water does not currently have permanent staff with the discipline specific Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering competencies and/or bandwidth to fully and effectively support these efforts given the complexity of the geologic hazards under consideration.
The Consultants were required to meet following minimum qualifications to be considered responsive:
• The Proposer and its employees shall have a minimum ten (10) years of experience in Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering Consulting Services relating specifically to landslide and seismic fault monitoring and analysis for water utility and facility condition assessment and mitigation.
• The Proposer and its employees shall have the following certifications, licenses, or affiliations:
a) State of California Contractor License
b) State of California Professional Engineering License
i. Geotechnical Engineering (GE)
ii. Certified Engineering Geologist (CEG)
c) State of California Professional Land Surveyors License
• The Proposer shall possess knowledge of regulations and codes regarding Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering and shall be familiar with local conditions relating to Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering in Santa Clara County.
The Consultant selected to perform the on-call Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering services will not be eligible to bid on future design services or bid on future Valley Water construction projects for which they provided services.
Background
Valley Water implements a number of capital, maintenance and operational projects and programs to meet its mission and goals in water supply, flood protection and watershed stewardship. The services provided pursuant to this Standard On-Call Agreement will augment the services of Valley Water staff and provide additional Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering and support services as needed.
Valley Water has installed extensive site-specific surveillance and monitoring instrumentation at each facility to continually document and monitor potential adverse geologic hazards and their threat to the safe performance of these critical facilities. As a result, important data is continually collected that requires specialized Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering competencies to analyze, interpret, and report on the geohazards effects on critical infrastructure.
Consultant Selection Process
Prior to publishing the Request for Proposal (RFP), staff conducted outreach to 360 firms that were registered using the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (NIGP) Category Codes; under category code 92546 - Geotechnical Engineering Service category, which is a targeted category within Valley Water’s Procurement Portal - PlanetBids (PB). Staff also issued advertisements in the SJ Post and SBEINC.com prior to publishing the RFP.
On February 15, 2022, an RFP for Penitencia Creek Landslide and Calaveras Fault Crossing Monitoring Support was published on Valley Water’s Procurement Portal - PB. The RFP notification was sent to 395 firms registered in PB, under the Geotechnical Engineering Service category.
Valley Water received proposals from following two (2) qualifying consultant firms: Cal Engineering & Geology and Cotton, Shires and Associates, Inc. Of the total 395 firms informed of the solicitation, 35 firms were registered as prospective bidders in PB.
An Evaluation Committee, consisting of five (5) Valley Water subject matter experts ranked the written proposals and subsequently invited both firms to participate in the virtual interview presentation conducted on April 27, 2022. Based on the combined (written and interview) rating scores, the Evaluation Committee recommended staff to proceed with the highest ranked firm, Cotton, Shires and Associates, Inc., for contract negotiations.
Staff recently completed successful negotiations with Cotton, Shires and Associates, Inc. and recommends Board approval of the Standard On-Call Consultant Agreement with Cotton, Shires and Associates, Inc. to provide Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering Services for a not-to-exceed fee of $500,000 for a five-year term.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
There are no Environmental Justice impacts associated with this item.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The not-to-exceed fee for this Standard On-Call Agreement is $500,000. The term of this Agreement is five (5) years. No funds will be encumbered at this time. The on-call services will be charged via approved task order to the budgeted funds for the respective projects of benefit.
CEQA:
The recommended action to approve the Agreement does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it does not have the potential to result in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Agreement
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:Manager
Greg Williams, (408) 630-2867