REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Award of Contract to MCK Americas Inc. in the Amount of $6,570,795.85 for Construction Management Support Services for the Sunnyvale Cleanwater Center Project (F25-258)
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Approval is requested to award a contract in the amount of $6,570,795.85 to MCK Americas Inc. of Oakland, CA for construction management support services related to the Sunnyvale Cleanwater Center project. Approval is also requested for a 10% contingency of $657,080.
EXISTING POLICY
Pursuant to Chapter 2.08 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code, contracts for this type of service are awarded following a Request for Proposals (RFP) best value process, unless otherwise exempt from the competitive bidding process. Additionally, City Council approval is required for the procurement of goods and/or services exceeding $250,000 in any one transaction.
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(a) as it has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The City of Sunnyvale’s Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) was initially built in 1956. With additions over the years, it has evolved into a tertiary treatment facility that receives an average dry-weather flow of 12 million gallons per day. In 2016, the City prepared a Master Plan (RTC No. 16-0663) for the Sunnyvale Cleanwater Program to guide improvements to the WPCP facilities over the next 20 years or more. The Master Plan, developed between 2013 and 2016, addresses several challenges facing the WPCP today and into the future, while also supporting City policies.
The Master Plan identified the Administration/Lab Building to be located on the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Site (HHW), which is underlain by residual municipal waste. To the west, south, and east of this site is an above-grade closed landfill (Sunnyvale Landfill). To the north is Carl Road, which is the primary vehicular access to the WPCP. The HHW site was selected to minimize interference with ongoing WPCP operations and to take advantage of the underutilized storage area.
During the conceptual development and validation of the Master Plan, it was determined that the HHW site being on an unclosed landfill presented regulatory risks and cost uncertainties associated with constructing a facility underlain by municipal waste were greater than initially anticipated in the master planning documents. Additionally, the HHW site was located outside the planned perimeter flood wall surrounding the rest of the WPCP, necessitating further efforts to protect the Administration/Lab Building from potential floodwaters. Ultimately, geotechnical, environmental, cost, and risk considerations deemed the site infeasible and did not validate the Master Plan recommendation of building the Administration/Lab Building on the HHW site.
City staff identified an alternative location from the Master Plan by implementing a multi-step process to evaluate sites for the Administration/Lab Building. These locations had been previously considered, but due to the quantity and cost of relocating existing utilities, the alternatives were deemed infeasible during the Master Plan process. However, due to the risks and challenges associated with the HHW site, these alternative locations were revisited. Building and site layouts were assessed for feasibility and functionality. This detailed analysis employed a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria developed by City staff and MWA Architects of San Francisco, ultimately resulting in the selection of a preferred alternative.
The alternative site is north of Carl Road, where the existing Administration Building and parking lot are located. Initially identified in the master planning as the location for the new Maintenance Building, the site will now serve as the location of a combined Administration, Lab, and Maintenance Building. The combined building, named the Cleanwater Center, is within the proposed perimeter flood wall, eliminating the need for an elevated structure and more complex flood protection.
Consistent with the approach presented to the Council during the November 11, 2020, Study Session (RTC No. 20-0052), design for the Cleanwater Center was brought to 90% completion and paused in April 2021 due to construction bids coming in higher than expected for Sunnyvale Cleanwater Program Existing Plant Rehabilitation (Rehab) and Secondary Treatment and Thickening/Dewatering - CAS Stage 1 (Secondary). Staff resumed the projects once costs for the Sunnyvale Cleanwater Program Rehab and Secondary projects stabilized and other cost-saving opportunities were explored. Since then, additional low-interest loan funding has been made available through a $50,000,000 State Revolving Fund Loan for the Rehab Project (RTC No. 25-0602) and a $322,060,000 State Revolving Fund Loan for the Secondary Project (RTC No. 24-0189), which made existing Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) low-interest loan funding available to fund and resume the Cleanwater Center project.
To help support review of the final design and construction of the project, a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) for construction management services was posted on the City’s DemandStar public procurement network on March 13, 2025, and directly emailed to eight Bay Area firms. Thirty-six firms requested RFP documents, and four responsive and responsible proposals were received on April 24, 2025. The proposals were reviewed by an evaluation team comprised of Public Works staff, who assessed qualifications, experience, and the programmatic approach. All four firms were invited to participate in an interview and discussion with the City.
Following the initial interviews, City staff conducted a final round of interviews with the two highest-ranked proposers, Griffin Structures and MCK Americas Inc. (MCK) to verify the teams' knowledge regarding the plant’s control systems and their implementation. As a result of the evaluation process, staff unanimously recommends awarding the contract to MCK.
The contract includes a 3% annual increase to the proposal fees, effective January 1 of each year the contract is active. Staff recommends that the Council grant the City Manager the authority to amend the contract annually to accommodate those increases, within budget availability.
A breakdown of the negotiated contract is as follows:
|
Base Contract Cost |
$5,150,795.85 |
|
Optional Tasks |
$1,420,000.00 |
|
Contingency (10%) |
$ 657,080.00 |
|
Total Contract and Contingency |
$7,227,875.85 |
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding is available in Fund 6085 - Wastewater Infrastructure Subfund under Project 831470 - SCWP Construction Management.
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 City Hall 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 a contract to MCK Americas Inc. for Construction Management Support Services for Cleanwater Center in substantially the same form as Attachment 1 to the report in an amount not-to-exceed $6,570,795.85;
- Authorize the City Manager to execute the contract when all the necessary conditions have been met;
- Approve a 10% contingency in the amount of $657,080; and
- Authorize the City Manager to amend the contract annually through FY 2029/30, subject to budget availability, provided that total contract expenditures do not exceed the not-to-exceed amount of $7,227,875.85 and that 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 $500 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
An “X” 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
___ Contract or franchise
EXEMPT FROM THE LEVINE ACT
_X_ Competitively bid contract*
___ Labor or personal employment contract
___ Contract under $50,000 or non-fiscal
___ Contract between public agencies
___ General policy and legislative actions
* "Competitively bid" means a contract that must be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
Staff
Prepared by: David Battaglia, Purchasing Officer
Reviewed by: Matthew Paulin, Director of Finance
Reviewed by: Chip Taylor, Director of Public Works
Reviewed by: Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Tim Kirby, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft Consultant Service Agreement