Item 6-F

Santa Monica, California

Council Meeting: September 28, 1999

 

TO: Mayor and City Council

FROM: City Staff

SUBJECT: Recommendation to Reject Bids Received on August 2, 1999, Waive Formal Bidding Procedures and Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate a Contract on the Open Market to Construct the New Youth Office at Christine Reed Park

Introduction

This report recommends that City Council reject bids received on August 2, 1999 in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) Section 2.24.071(d)(3), waive formal bidding procedures in accordance with SMMC Section 2.24.071(e)(1 and 3), and authorize the City Manager to negotiate a contract on the open market to construct the new Youth Office at Christine Reed Park.

Background

During the FY 1998-99 and the FY 1999-2000 budget process, City Council approved funding for a new Youth Office at Christine Reed Park. Reed Park is a vital community gathering place that includes the Miles Playhouse, various parks, sports and community activities and the existing Youth Office. The Youth Office administers the after-school CREST Program, along with other weekend and summer recreation and sports programs for elementary and middle school age youth and their families. The Youth Office currently receives 4,000 annual youth registrations, which is expected to increase with the addition of the CREST Program, a collaborative pilot project with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

The Youth Office currently occupies a 345 square foot space which is inadequate for the five full time employees and the 55 as-needed staff who need to access the office frequently. While the office is regularly visited by the public, there is no counter space nor an area where the public can complete necessary paperwork. Youth Office staff are often temporarily displaced while members of the public occupy employee desks to complete registration forms.

The scope of this project includes constructing an addition to the existing card room in Reed Park to house a new Youth Office of 984 square feet that will include new heating, ventilation, air conditioning, roofing, lighting, and electrical services. In addition to the new Youth Office, a portion of the card room addition will be used as a public multi-purpose room totaling 1,304 square feet. Joslyn Hall will also be expanded into the existing fenced-in storage area, creating a new conference room, a new table and chair storage room, and a new ground keeper=s storage area.

Discussion

A Notice Inviting Bids to construct the new Youth Office at Christine Reed Park was published on July 22 and 29, 1999, in The Argonaut, as well as in four construction journals. Bid documents were sent to six women/minority business enterprise associations (WMBE). Bid packages were requested by five companies and three sealed bids were submitted to the City Clerk=s Office at the prescribed time. The bids were publicly opened and read aloud on August 2, 1999, by the Deputy City Clerk.

 

The bid results were as follows:

Precise Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 426,000

Spilat Construction Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 454,600

Alfa 26 Construction Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 476,226

City Engineer=s Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 350,000

Staff reviewed the project costs and verified that the project price can be negotiated on the open market and completed within the available budget. Section 2.24.071(e)(1) of the SMMC states that by 2/3 affirmative vote, the City Council may forego the bidding procedures if work can be completed more economically on the open market. This staff report recommends that the formal bidding requirements be waived as indicated and the City Manager be authorized to negotiate and execute a contract on the open market in order to attain a more competitive price and to complete this work within the City=s budget.

Staff will return to City Council at a subsequent meeting with a recommendation to award a contract to complete this work based on negotiations.

Budget/Financial Impact

There are no budget or financial impacts associated with the recommendations made in this report.

Recommendation

Staff recommends that the City Council:

1. Reject all bids received on August 2, 1999; and

2. Find that due to the City=s ability to negotiate and attain a more competitive price on the open market, that formal bidding procedures be waived; and

3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate a contract on the open market to construct the new Youth Office at Christine Reed Park. After the contract is negotiated, authorization to execute the contract will be sought from the City Council.

Prepared by:

Craig Perkins, Director of Environmental & Public Works Management

Barbara Stinchfield, Director of Community and Cultural Services Karen Ginsberg, Assistant Director of Community and Cultural Services

Anthony Antich, P.E., City Engineer

Julie Rusk, Human Services Manager

Lauren Friedman, Sr. Architect

Sam Aslanian AIA, Civil Engineer Associate