REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Award of Contract for Professional Design Services of the Administration and Laboratory Building at the Water Pollution Control Plant F17-095
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Approval is requested to award a contract to MWA Architects of San Francisco in an amount not to exceed $2,390,956 for professional design services associated with the construction of a new Administration and Laboratory Building at the Water Pollution Control Plant, approval is also requested for 10% design contingency in the amount of $239,096.
Pursuant to Chapter 2.08 of the City of Sunnyvale Municipal Code, City Council approval is required for contracts exceeding $100,000.
In addition, the City evaluates civil engineering design proposals in conjunction with the Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) process established in California Government Code section 4525 et. seq. This requires that consultants be evaluated on the basis of demonstrated competence before pricing is considered.
EXISTING POLICY
Consistent with the provisions of Chapter 2.08 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code, civil engineering work is solicited through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process, unless otherwise exempt from the competitive bidding process. Contracts resulting from RFPs are awarded based on best value to the City, rather than the lowest bid price as in the case of an Invitation for Bids(IFB).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This award is for the design phase and construction support services therefore 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. However, it is expected that a CEQA memorandum will be filed, which documents the activities, impacts, and mitigation measures presented in the Sunnyvale Clean Water Program’s approved Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) (RTC No. 16-0663) that are applicable to this project. It is anticipated that the project will have no effects beyond those analyzed in the PEIR and that no new environmental document or public notice will be required. If the CEQA memorandum prepared identifies new effects not analyzed and mitigated in the Program’s PEIR, an Initial Study will be prepared, which staff expects will lead to the adoption of a Negative Declaration. The consultant will review all CEQA documentation as part of their design review.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The City is engaged in the Sunnyvale Clean Water Program (SCWP) to renovate the existing Water Pollution Control Plant (Plant) to a new facility suitable to treat and dispose of municipal sewage over the next 30 or more years. Portions of the existing Plant were built in the 1950s. With additions over the years, including the oxidation ponds in 1966 and the tertiary plant in 1978 it has grown to a tertiary treatment facility with an average dry weather flow rate of 14 Million Gallons per Day (MGD) and a permitted average dry weather flow rate of 29.5 MGD.
In August 2016, the City Council Adopted a Master Plan for the Plant, which consists of more than 30 capital improvement projects. This project is part of Phase 2 for the overall SCWP and includes providing architectural and engineering design and support services for the construction of a new Administration and Laboratory Building that will house administration, outreach, operations, and laboratory and compliance inspection functions. The new approximately 22,000 square foot, two-story Administration and Laboratory Building would replace the functionality of the existing Administration Building, Laboratory/Control Building, and Compliance Inspection Building.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) process was utilized to solicit proposals to design the project. The RFP specifications were prepared by Public Works and Purchasing staff. The RFP was directly distributed to ten Bay Area design firms and posted on the Demandstar public procurement network. Proposals were received on March 28, 2017. Two responsive proposals were received from Kappe Architects and MWA Architects.
Proposals were reviewed by an evaluation team consisting of Public Works Engineering and Environmental Services Department staff. The firms were evaluated on qualifications, experience, project overview, project approach and innovation. Following the evaluation process, both firms were invited to provide a presentation during a formal interview. Following the interview and deliberation, the City had additional questions for both teams and invited the firms to participate in a second interview consisting of informal question and answers. After the second interviews, MWA was unanimously selected as the highest ranked consulting team with the most relevant experience and proposal innovation.
The total initial fee proposal from MWA for base and optional services was $2,193,516. Subsequent scope and fee discussions with MWA resulted in clarifications to the scope due to the proximity to the adjacent landfill and the flexibility for the building foundation design. It was determined that field investigation work would be necessary to determine if the City should proceed with a shallow or deep foundation for the building. As such, the total cost for the scope was increased. WMA has prepared two cost proposals to address the two foundation options. The two cost proposals are within 0.2% of each other. Considering it is unknown which option will be chosen, the higher cost proposal option is recommended for award (Option 2).
The project budget was established during the Master Plan process for the SCWP which was adopted by City Council in August 2016. This project was budgeted to meet LEED Gold 2009 standards, accordingly.
Staff recommends awarding a contract for the design of the new Administration and Laboratory Building, including the base and optional services, for a total of $2,390,956.
FISCAL IMPACT
Project costs are as follows:
Project design (including bid and construction support) $2,046,122
Optional Services $344,834
Contingency (10%) $239,096
Total Cost $2,630,052
Funding Source
Capital Project 833240 (SCWP Administration and Laboratory Building) has budgeted funds from the Wastewater Management Fund in the amount of $2,630,052 for the design services.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the City 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
1) Award a contract in substantially the same form as Attachment 1 to the report in an amount not to exceed $2,390,956 for Professional Design Services Associated with the construction of a new Administration and Laboratory Building at the Water Pollution Control Plant and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract when all necessary conditions have been met; and 2) approve a 10% contract contingency in the amount of $239,096.
Staff
Prepared by: Gregory S. Card, Purchasing Officer
Reviewed by: Timothy J. Kirby, Director of Finance
Reviewed by: Manuel Pineda, Director of Public Works
Reviewed by: Walter C. Rossmann, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENT
1. Draft Consultant Services Agreement