REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Award of Contract in the Amount of $823,972.80 to VSS International, Inc. for Annual Slurry Seal 2025 and Finding of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Categorical Exemption Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c) (PW25-02)
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Approval is requested to award a construction contract in the amount of $823,972.80 to VSS International, Inc. of West Sacramento for Annual Slurry Seal 2025 and for approval of a 10% construction contingency in the amount of $82,397.
EXISTING POLICY
Pursuant to Chapter 2.09.040(e) of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code (SMC), City Council approval is required for public works contracts exceeding $250,000.
In accordance with SMC 2.09.120(b), in the event an identical price is received from two or more responsive and responsible bidders, and in the judgement of the Purchasing Officer, the public interest will not be served by re-advertising for bids, the Purchasing Officer may determine the successful bidder by the casting of lots with the tie bidders in public at a date and time set by the Purchasing Officer.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This project is exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c), for the repair, maintenance, or minor alteration of existing facilities, including highways, streets and similar facilities, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The Annual Slurry Seal 2025 project consists of the installation of 3,915,680 square feet of slurry seal on various residential street segments and parking lots throughout the City (Attachment 3). This project includes City-owned parking lots on McKinley Ave and Sunnyvale Ave, which together consist of 84,000 square feet of the total square footage.
The Project was advertised on DemandStar on February 7, 2025. Twelve (12) contractors requested bid documents. Sealed bids were opened on February 26, 2025, with five (5) responsive bids received.
The bids submitted by Graham Contractors and VSS International, Inc. were identical in pricing. After the evaluation of the bids, City staff deemed both bids to be responsive and responsible. In accordance with the SMC Section 2.09.120(b), both bidders were invited to City Hall on March 13, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. for the “casting of lots” in order to break the tie and award the contract. It was decided that a coin toss would be used to break the tie, and neither party objected to the method. VSS International, Inc. was subsequently awarded the contract as a result of the coin toss.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted funding is available for slurry seal treatment for City streets and City parking lots under the following projects:
|
Project |
Amount |
|
828030 - Annual Slurry Seal of City Streets |
$682,627.18 |
|
825290 - Pavement Rehabilitation |
$204,422.62 |
|
827570 - Downtown Parking District Major Maintenance |
$19,320.00 |
|
Total (construction contract and contingency) |
$906,369.80 |
Funding sources include the General Fund, the Measure B - Santa Clara VTA Fund, the SB83 Vehicle Registration Fee Road Improvement Program, Gas Tax, the SB 1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Act funds, and Downtown Parking District assessments paid by downtown businesses.
Project Summary pages are included as Attachment 4 to this report.
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 in substantially the same form as Attachment 2 to the report in the amount of $823,972.80 to VSS International, Inc. of West Sacramento, CA;
- Approve a 10% construction contingency in the amount of $82,397;
- Authorize the City Manager to execute the contract when all necessary conditions have been met; and
- Make a finding of a categorical exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c).
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. Bid Summary
2. Draft Construction Contract
3. Street Segments
4. Project Budget Sheets