REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Authorize Amending an Existing Contract with Carollo Engineers, Inc. for the Sunnyvale Cleanwater Program Plant Rehabilitation Project for Engineering Design Services (F22-006)
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Approval is requested to amend an existing design and construction support contract with Carollo Engineers, Inc. of Walnut Creek for the Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) Plant Rehabilitation Project related to design work for pond pipeline rehabilitation, increasing the not to exceed contract amount from $7,452,610 to a new not to exceed contract amount of $8,399,192, and approval to increase the contingency amount from $731,562 to $1,079,176.20.
EXISTING POLICY
Pursuant to Section 2.08.040 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code, 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. Environmental review regarding the Pond Pipeline Rehabilitation Project will be performed prior to the award of the construction contract for the Project.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
On July 29, 2020, WPCP operators discovered a leak in the pipe that runs between the Oxidation Treatment Ponds and the Plant. The pipe carries sewage water (effluent) that has undergone two out of three stages of treatment and is substantially treated.
Effluent from the primary treatment process at the Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) undergoes secondary treatment using two Oxidation Ponds that have a combined surface area of 440 acres. Following treatment in the Oxidation Ponds, secondary effluent is then pumped through a 36-inch welded steel Secondary Effluent (SE) pipeline that runs approximately 8 feet below the water surface of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Channel (FWS) Channel.
Staff responded to the SE pipeline failure by utilizing procurement authority for emergencies with City Manager approval as granted under Sunnyvale Municipal Code Chapters 2.08 (goods and services), and 2.09 (Public Works Contracts). An intermediate pipeline repair solution was designed and constructed in order to return the SE Pipeline back to normal operation as soon as possible. It was reported to City Council on August 25, 2020 (RTC No. 20-0765). The intermediate SE pipeline repair design was procured through a change order to Carollo Engineers’ existing contract for professional design services associated with the Sunnyvale Cleanwater Project 2.1: Existing Plant Rehabilitation-Split Flow (RTC No. 19-0706).
The intermediate SE pipeline repair begins at the existing SE Pump Station and includes approximately 1,200 ft of two floating 24-inch HDPE pipelines that cross the FWS Channel and then cross Moffett Channel with a newly constructed utility bridge that spans the channel. The dual pipelines are then routed to the fixed growth reactor distribution structure inside the WPCP. Construction in the channels was permitted under an Emergency Permit from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, a Notification of Emergency Work to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regional General Permit (RGP) No. 5 for Repair and Protection Activities in Emergency Situations. The RGP requires the City to replace the intermediate repair with a permanent SE pipeline.
Preliminary evaluation of conceptual permanent solutions conducted by staff and Carollo Engineers identified a preferred alternative that incorporates the newly constructed 24-inch piping and utility bridge into the permanent SE pipeline solution. The 48-inch Pond Return Pipeline parallels the SE pipeline and conveys backwash and other tertiary Plant flow from the FGR distribution structure back to the oxidation ponds. During evaluation of the SE intermediate pipeline repair, it was recognized that Pond Return Pipeline is of similar material and vintage as the SE pipeline and may also need to be repaired or replaced.
This First Amendment is to increase the total contact amount with Carollo Engineers to cover the professional services for the work described above. Approval for the budgetary amount was received from the City Council on June 29, 2021 (RTC No. 21-0679).
A proactive approach to addressing the existing Pond Return Pipeline includes an alternatives analysis to evaluate the environmental, cultural and operational impacts, as well as the design of repair or replacement of the pipeline. An assessment, to validate the need for repair or replacement, will be conducted during the SCWP WPCP Condition Assessment (Project 834390), scheduled to begin in 2022.
FISCAL IMPACT
Sufficient funds are available in Project 833150 - Plant Rehabilitation to support the additional $946,582 contract amendment and the contingency in the amount of $347,604.20.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, Sunnyvale Public Library and Department of Public Safety. In addition, the agenda and report are available at the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Take the following actions:
- Authorize the City Manager to execute the First Amendment to an existing contract with Carollo Engineers, Inc., in substantially the same format as Attachment 1 to the report, increasing the not-to-exceed contract amount by $946,582 for a new not-to-exceed contract amount of $8,399,192; and
- Approve an additional contingency for the Carollo Engineers, Inc. contract in the amount of $347,604.20 for a new contingency amount of $1,079,176.20.
Staff
Prepared by: Gregory S. Card, Purchasing Officer
Reviewed by: Tim Kirby, Director of Finance
Reviewed by: Ramana Chinnakotla, Director of Environmental Services
Reviewed by: Chip Taylor, Director of Public Works
Reviewed by: Jaqui Guzmán, Deputy City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft Amendment to Consultant Service Agreement