Title
Transportation Department recommending Chairman be authorized to sign Agreement 07-1421 with PSOMAS in the amount of $2,450,000 for a term commencing April 17, 2007 to provide construction engineering and construction support services for the Missouri Flat Road / U.S. Highway 50 Interchange Project.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve.
FUNDING: State Traffic Impact Mitigation Fee.
Body
BUDGET SUMMARY: |
|
|
Total Estimated Cost |
|
$2,450,000 |
|
|
|
Funding |
|
|
Budgeted |
$315,000 |
|
New Funding |
$ |
|
Savings |
$ |
|
Other * |
$2,135,000 |
|
Total Funding Available |
$ |
|
Change To Net County Cost |
|
$2,450,000 |
* to be included in FY 07-08 budget
Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost:
The Department included $315,000 in its Fiscal Year (FY) 2006/2007 budget for this Agreement and anticipates budgeting the remaining amount in FY 2007/2008 and FY 2008/2009. There is no cost to the County General Fund.
Background:
Based on direction resulting from ongoing discussions at meetings of the Board of Supervisors (Board) and County executive management, the Department of Transportation (Department) has revised its strategy for obtaining construction support services to assist in implementation of the Department's Capital Improvement Program (CIP). This revised strategy will combine the use of the subject Agreement, future project-specific agreements, and the agreements that were brought before your Board on April 10, 2007.
The subject Agreement will be utilized for construction support services on Phase 1A of the U.S. 50 - Missouri Flat Interchange Project (Project).
Reason for Recommendation:
Determination of Need for Consultant Services:
The Department typically administers and inspects $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 worth of construction projects per season. Over the next two construction seasons, the Department is projecting the execution of construction contracts in excess of historical amounts. This proposed Agreement will play a large role in assisting our Department in meeting the immediate challenges presented by a limited staff facing a record amount of construction management work over the next two construction seasons.
Over the past several months, the Department has been unable to fill key vacancies in its West Slope Construction (WSC) Unit. As of March 23, 2007, the WSC Unit had the following vacant allocations:
· five Senior Civil Engineers
· two Chief Engineering Technicians
· one Principal Engineering Technician
· three Seasonal Senior Engineering Technicians
The Department has interviewed several applicants for the vacant engineering positions, most often without yielding any candidates with the construction experience that is commensurate with our needs. The Department is in the process of recruiting for the vacant technician positions, but it is not anticipated that all of the vacancies will be filled prior to the onset of the Project or the 2007 construction season. In addition, if any of the technician vacancies are filled by current WSC Unit personnel, then a need will arise for the positions left open by their promotions.
Based on the unprecedented amount of work the Department has slated for construction over the next several years and the high number of vacancies in the Department's WSC Unit, the Department has determined that the most efficient manner for administering and inspecting the Project is to utilize an outside consulting firm.
Selection of Consultant Firm:
On March 8, 2006, the Department sent Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) to 20 consulting firms that provide construction engineering and construction support services. Thirteen firms responded, and four firms were short listed by the consultant selection committee (committee), consisting of Department staff. In February of 2007, Luis Rivas, Resident Engineer for Caltrans, reviewed and concurred with the committee's RFQ analysis methods and results. The short listed firms were CALTROP Corporation, PB Americas, Inc., PSOMAS, and Vali Cooper & Associates, Inc.
In February 2007, the four firms short listed as a result of the RFQ process each interviewed for the opportunity to provide construction engineering and construction support services for the Project. Bob Slater (Deputy Director, Engineering), John Kahling (Supervising Civil Engineer), and Luis Rivas conducted the interviews. Mr. Slater, Mr. Kahling, and Mr. Rivas unanimously agreed that PSOMAS had the best qualified staff to successfully administer and inspect the Project. Additionally, PSOMAS (Consultant) was able to commit their staff for the entire duration of the Project.
Consultant Duties:
Under this Agreement, the Consultant will perform various construction engineering and construction support services on the Project. Tasks will include but are not limited to the following: construction inspection, administration, and engineering services; analysis of claims and schedules; welding inspection and testing; construction staking; storm water pollution prevention services; and, public relations and office administration services.
Some of the services to be performed under this Agreement require expertise that County staff does not have. These services include certified welding inspection and providing destructive and non-destructive laboratory testing on welds performed on the Project, as well as performing analyses of surface and ground water samples related to storm water runoff from the Project site.
The Department recommends the Board make findings pursuant to Article II, Section 210 b (6) of the El Dorado County Charter that, in part, there are specialty skills required for the work performed under this Agreement that are not expressly identified in County classifications and in part, an independent contractor can more economically and feasibly perform the due to the existing vacant allocations within the Department's WSC Unit.
The El Dorado County Employees Association, Local #1, has been informed of this proposed Agreement.
Action to be taken following Board approval:
1) The Chairman will sign the two originals of the Agreement.
2) The Board Clerk will forward one original of the fully-executed Agreement to the Department for further processing.
Contact:
Richard W. Shepard, P.E.
Director of Transportation
Concurrences: Approved by County Counsel and Risk Management