Item 6-L

City Council Meeting: 03-23-99 Santa Monica, California

TO: Mayor and City Council

FROM: City Staff

SUBJECT: Award of Contract for the 1997-98 Street Resurfacing Project to Sylvia Construction, Inc. and Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Professional Services Contract with C.M.I. Engineering Consultants for Construction Management Services

Introduction

This report recommends that the City Council award a contract to construct street improvements at various locations within the City to Sylvia Construction, Inc. in the amount of $2,445,717 and authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a professional services contract with C.M.I. Engineering Consultants for construction management services in the amount of $129,220.

Background

Each fiscal year, the City Council authorizes the implementation of street improvements identified by the Environmental and Public Works Management Department which include street resurfacing, slurry sealing, and repairs to curbs, gutters, curb ramps, bus pads and sidewalks. The priority projects for the year are selected from among those streets that rank highest in the "Pavement Management System" Report. This report, required since 1989 to qualify for federal funding, is updated periodically and ranks the condition of all streets, sidewalks, curbs, and gutters in the City.

During the annual on-site inspection of these priority locations, staff further evaluates streets for type and schedule of repair by age, surface and subsurface conditions, complaints received, type of use (i.e., commercial, industrial or residential), current traffic volume, and projected change of use or volume. Financial considerations are also factored into the scheduling of the street resurfacing projects.

Every effort is made to repair and recycle existing pavement rather than unnecessarily incur the expense of total pavement replacement. Badly damaged streets are resurfaced by heating and scoring the top 1 inch, adding oil to rejuvenate the pavement and then adding 1 inch of new rubber- asphalt. For streets with more limited traffic and/or where the pavement is not as badly damaged, an asphalt slurry coating of approximately 1/8" thickness is applied over the old pavement. This seals the cracks and prevents storm water intrusion, and smooths surface irregularities. Sidewalks, curb ramps, bus pads, curbs, gutters, driveways and parkway pavements in need of repair are also typically replaced at the time of resurfacing or slurry sealing.

Historically, a portion of the sidewalk replacement was funded through the formation of an assessment district which is permitted by the Improvement Act of 1911. Proposition 218, adopted by California voters in November,1997, significantly changes the procedures associated with the establishment of assessment districts. Specifically, Proposition 218 requires extensive noticing and a majority vote by affected property owners who submitted their ballots on the proposed assessment district. Each vote is weighted in proportion to the amount of the assessment to be paid.

In the case of the 1997/98 project, the affected property owners did not vote in favor of the assessment. The contract award recommendation consequently includes only the portion of the work required to resurface the streets.

Sidewalk and parkway work, which represents over 80% of the originally contemplated assessment work (approximately $499,482), and curb and driveway replacements not required to complete the resurfacing work will not be constructed. City staff is currently developing recommendations on funding strategies for post Proposition 218 sidewalk and parkway repairs. These recommendations will be presented to the City Council for consideration within the next three months.

Construction

A Notice Inviting Bids was published in the Los Angeles Times on August 27 and 28, 1998. A Notice Inviting Bids, plans, and specifications were also submitted to seven construction journals/plan rooms, and were sent to six women/minority business enterprise (WMBE) associations. Bidding packages were requested by twelve contractors. The City Clerk's Office received four sealed bids, which were publicly opened and read aloud on September 22, 1998, by the Deputy City Clerk. The bid results for the originally contemplated project and for the street work alone were as follows:

The lowest bidder, Sylvia Construction, Inc., supplied the City with three references and all references reported that the Contractor's work was satisfactory. Other similar projects recently completed by Sylvia Construction, Inc. include resurfacing projects for the City of Thousand Oaks, City of Corona and the County of Los Angeles. Representatives from other agencies on their client list also report that their work is satisfactory. The State Contractors' License Board verified that the Contractor's license is current, active, and in good standing.

Construction Management

The professional services construction management contract includes inspection and management of the construction work detailed above. Requests for Proposals were sent to six firms. The City received four replies and each firm was interviewed by a staff committee of three engineers/inspectors resulting in the selection of C.M.I. Engineering Consultants. C.M.I. Engineering Consultants has satisfactorily completed similar projects for the City, including the 1996-97 Street Resurfacing Project.

BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT

CONSTRUCTION FUNDS REQUIRED
		Contract	$2,445,717
		Contingency	$ 354,283
		TOTAL FUNDS REQUIRED..................	$2,800,000