REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Rejection of Bids for Sanitary Sewer Lift Stations Rebuild (PW14-03)
Report
BACKGROUND
Approval is requested to reject the four bids received in response to Invitation for Bids No. PW14-03 for the Sanitary Sewer Lift Stations Rebuild (Public Works Project No. UY-12/03-13) so that staff can rebid the project.
The City currently operates five (5) sewer lift stations at various locations throughout the sanitary sewer collection system. Each lift station uses pumps with electric motors to lift sewage to a higher point in the system where it can flow by gravity to the Water Pollution Control plant for treatment. The five lift stations are: Sunken Gardens, Baylands, Kifer, Arques and Lawrence. Each station was designed and constructed at different times and have undergone various maintenance and upgrades over the years, but most of the equipment and components are now worn beyond their useful life.
A thorough condition assessment of each lift station was conducted during the design phase of this project. The rehabilitation work necessary varies from station to station, but generally includes overhaul or replacement of pumps and motors, rehabilitation of
wet-wells and associated piping, as well as upgrades to the electrical and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. Other improvements to increase energy efficiency and lower maintenance and operations costs are also planned. Another project objective is to standardize as many features as possible such as vault hatches, safety components, backup power connections, and motor control/monitoring equipment. This will facilitate the implementation of standard operating procedures to ensure proper operation and maintenance of the facilities going forward.
Bid specifications were developed as a base bid consisting of rehabilitation of four of the stations (Sunken Gardens, Baylands, Kifer and Lawrence), with the Arques Avenue station listed as an additive alternative. This would allow for the award of the bulk of the work if bid pricing came in higher than expected.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
N/A
DISCUSSION
The project was bid as follows:
Bid Notice: Advertised in The Sun on November 8, 2013;
18 Bay Area Builder's Exchanges;
Onvia Demandstar public procurement network; and
Published on the City's website.
Bid Response: 31 contractors requested bid documents.
Bid Results: Sealed bids were publicly opened on December 4, 2013;
Four bids were received.
The lowest bid was from Koch & Koch, Inc. of Penn Valley in the amount of $887,500. The bid amount is approximately 5.6% above the engineer's estimate of $840,000. The bid summary is attached.
On December 4, 2013 the City received a bid protest letter from Casey Construction, the third low bidder, claiming the low and second low bidders (Koch & Koch and Anderson Pacific respectively) did not identify a SCADA supplier as a subcontractor for the project as required by the City's bid instructions, therefore rendering those bids nonresponsive. As Casey did list an SCADA supplier, their claim was that as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, the City should either award the contract to them or reject the bids.
According to the City's bid instructions (which are patterned after State law), in order to be considered responsive, each bid must include a list of all subcontractors whose portion of the work exceeds one half of one percent of the total bid amount. Several of the bidders considered the SCADA supplier to be a materials vendor rather than a subcontractor and did not list them on their bid.
A review of the bid specifications describing the work to be performed by the system integrator indicates that the SCADA supplier/integrator should be considered a subcontractor and therefore identified on the bid form as instructed. Staff recommends rejecting the bids received so that the subcontractor identification requirements can be clarified. Staff will then reissue the bid.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with rejecting the bids and re-bidding the project. However, it is important to note that based on the results of this bid, the adopted budget is insufficient to cover improvements to all five lift stations.
The low bid from Koch & Koch exceeds the available budget by approximately $50,000, with the other three bids coming in significantly higher (see attached bid summary). If the bids are rejected and the project rebid, a budget modification to appropriate funds from the Wastewater Management Fund Rate Stabilization Reserve may be necessary to complete the base bid work. The Arques Lift Station will be removed from the project at this time and reconsidered during the next projects budget cycle.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Senior Center, Community Center and Department of Public Safety; and by making the agenda and report available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Reject all bids received in response to Invitation for Bids No. PW14-03 for Sanitary Sewer Lift Stations Rebuild.
Staff
Prepared by: Pete Gonda, Purchasing Officer
Reviewed by: Grace Leung, Director, Finance
Reviewed by: Kent Steffens, Director, Public Works
Approved by: Robert A. Walker, Interim City Manager
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
1. Bid Summary