REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Award of Five (5) On-Call Service Agreements for the Purchase of Wastewater Treatment Enhancer Chemicals for the Water Pollution Control Plant (F24-010)
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Approval is requested to award five (5) on-call service agreements for the purchase of wastewater treatment enhancer chemicals for the Water Pollution Control Plant for an initial three-year period and authorize the issuance of Service Agreements to Jenfitch, Inc. (Jenfitch), Chemtrade Chemicals US, LLC (Chemtrade), Veolia WTS USA, Inc. (Veolia), SNF Polydyne, Inc. (Polydyne), and Thatcher Company of California, Inc. (Thatcher), with each contract having a not-to-exceed amount of $500,000. Approval is also requested to authorize the City Manager to increase any individual contract amount as long as the total expenditures remain within budget and to authorize the City Manager to renew each contract for up to three (3) additional years, subject to available budgeted funding, need, and acceptable pricing and service.
EXISTING POLICY
Pursuant to Section 2.08.040 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code (SMC), City Council approval is required for contracts exceeding $250,000.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b) as it has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably seeable indirect physical change in the environment, and instead consists of continuing maintenance activities, such as purchase for supplies.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The nature of the oxidation pond effluent has changed dramatically over the last several years. The new dominant single cell algae species are extremely difficult to remove in the downstream treatment processes. Due to these ongoing issues, chemical use at the City’s Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) has increased to nearly twice as much as in past years. In FY 2022/23, the WPCP responded to the changing conditions in the quality of the oxidation pond effluent by utilizing an additional chemical coagulant aid (alum) to supplement (and partially substitute for) the primary chemical coagulant (polymer) used to remove algae and other solids from the pond effluent stream. Existing multi-year vendor contracts are in place for purchase of polymer and alum. In 2023, the WPCP tested additional “enhancer chemicals”, each with a different chemical makeup, to improve solids removal. The goal is to strategically utilize these enhancer chemicals in combination with the existing chemicals to maximize treatment and minimize overall chemical cost.
Through experience over the past several years and testing conducted in 2023, the WPCP has determined that the optimal chemical coagulant “blend” changes over time. This has led to the WPCP’s need to have a variety of chemicals available via multiple supply contracts.
The City issued an Invitation for Bids No. F24-010 for Wastewater Treatment Enhancer Chemicals in November 2023. Interested suppliers were asked to conduct optional bench testing and mandatory full-scale trials of prospective chemicals.
The Invitation for Bids requested that multiple suppliers identify one or more products that could be used to optimize solids removal.
Five (5) vendors participated in the full-scale trials that took place in January and February of 2024. The vendors, products tested and test dates are as follows:
|
Vendor |
Product Tested |
Trial Dates |
|
Jenfitch |
JC 1697 |
Jan. 16-17 |
|
Chemtrade |
Hyperion 1090 |
Jan. 24-25 |
|
Veolia |
Klaraid CDP-1337 |
Feb. 12-13 |
|
Polydyne |
WE-2694 |
Feb. 21-22 |
|
Thatcher |
3510 |
Feb. 27-28 |
All five (5) vendors’ products were found to be successful as supplemental chemical aids for meeting turbidity requirements. The “treatability” of the pond effluent varied over the two-month period. Such variability is not unusual and may have impacted the dosages required for the last two tests relative to the earlier tests. This supports the idea that selection of a single vendor based on apparent lowest cost based on a single point in time is not appropriate. The WPCP needs flexibility to respond to changing conditions in its efforts to meet treatment needs and minimize treatment costs.
For these reasons, and because the solicitation documents included the option to award to multiple bidders, the WPCP recommends entering into non-binding supply contracts with all five (5) vendors. This will maximize operational flexibility in responding to situations when treatability is most difficult and specialty products are needed to meet National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit effluent limits and/or to produce recycled water. At any given time, the WPCP will strive to meet treatment requirements using the least expensive product or mix of products available.
FISCAL IMPACT
Chemical costs are funded in Program 14600 in the Wastewater Management Fund. The current annual chemical budget for pond solids removal is approximately $3 million. Although the total value of the five (5) contracts is $2.5 million, it is anticipated that only up to $500,000 of the budget may be utilized for the enhancer chemicals that are the subject of this procurement.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council meeting agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board at City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and this report are available at the NOVA Workforce Services reception desk located on the first floor of City Hall at 456 W. Olive Avenue (during normal business hours), and on the City's website.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Take the following actions:
- Award five (5) three-year On-Call Service Agreements to the following firms: Jenfitch, Inc. with a contract amount not-to-exceed $500,000, Chemtrade Chemicals US, LLC with a contract amount not-to-exceed $500,000, Veolia WTS USA, Inc. with a contract amount not-to-exceed $500,000, SNF Polydyne, Inc. with a contract amount not-to-exceed $500,000, and Thatcher Company of California, Inc. with a contract amount not-to-exceed $500,000 in substantially the same formats shown in Attachments 2 to 6 to the report;
- Authorize the City Manager to execute the agreements when all conditions have been met; and
- Authorize the City Manager to amend the not-to-exceed amounts and to renew the contracts for up to three (3) additional one-year periods, subject to available budget, need and if pricing and services remain acceptable to the City.
Levine Act
LEVINE ACT
The Levine Act (Gov. Code Section 84308) prohibits city officials from participating in certain decisions regarding licenses, permits, and other entitlements for use if the official has received a campaign contribution of more than $250 from a party, participant, or agent of a party or participant in the previous 12 months. The Levine Act is intended to prevent financial influence on decisions that affect specific, identifiable persons or participants. For more information see the Fair Political Practices Commission website: www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/pay-to-play-limits-and-prohibitions.html
A check or “Y” in the checklist below indicates that the action being considered falls under a Levine Act category or exemption:
SUBJECT TO THE LEVINE ACT
___ Land development entitlements
___ Other permit, license, or entitlement for use
__Y Contract or franchise
EXEMPT FROM THE LEVINE ACT
___ Competitively bid contract
___ Labor or personal employment contract
___ General policy and legislative actions
Staff
Prepared by: David Battaglia, Purchasing Officer
Reviewed by: Tim Kirby, Director of Finance
Reviewed by: Ramana Chinnakotla, Director of Environmental Services
Reviewed by: Jaqui Guzmán, Deputy City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Bid Summary
2. Draft On-Call Service Agreement - Jenfitch, Inc.
3. Draft On-Call Service Agreement - Chemtrade Chemicals US, LLC
4. Draft On-Call Service Agreement - Veolia WTS USA, Inc.
5. Draft On-Call Service Agreement - SNF Polydyne, Inc.
6. Draft On-Call Service Agreement - Thatcher Company of California, Inc.