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Chief Administrative Office, Facilities Division, recommending the Board authorize the Purchasing Agent to sign Amendment II to Agreement for Services 383-S1610 with Christenson Consulting to increase compensation by $158,137 (for an amended not-to-exceed of $466,937), extend the term an additional year (for an amended expiration of May 30, 2020) and increase the hourly rate from $150 to $160 per hour (effective June 1, 2019) for continued services related to the County’s Public Safety Facility Project and Solar Project.
FUNDING: Public Safety Facility - Accumulative Capital Outlay Fund & United States Department of Agriculture.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
In May 2013 the Division sought out a consulting firm to assist with construction and real estate development tasks for the Public Safety Facility on an as-requested basis. The firm of Christenson Consulting was chosen based on experience and value.
The Agreement was renewed in May of 2016 for continued support services and amended by the Board on February 14, 2017 to increase compensation by $244,800 (for a revised not-to-exceed of $308,800), extend the term another year to May 30, 2019, and increase the hourly rate from $140 per hour to $150 per hour. In 2017, at the time of the first amendment, construction of the Public Safety Facility had not started. The project has been moving along at a very quick pace and the Division estimates that the contract will be out of funding by January, 2019. Therefore Amendment II is requested at this time to allow for continuation of services through project completion.
Services for the County have included strategic planning, risk management, site analysis, cost reporting, conceptual estimating, scheduling, forecasting, project review, bid review, lease proposal review, request for qualification (RFQ) and request for proposal (RFP) reviews, creating manuals, coordination and assembly of performance specifications, presentations and report generation. During the course of this agreement, the efforts of Christenson Consulting have been focused on work related to the future Public Safety Facility and Solar Project. His expertise has been instrumental regarding the site selection, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements, success in obtaining United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding and the coordination of other consultants and County staff.
As the Contract Project Manager, Christenson Consulting has advised the County on overall strategy for project delivery, structure and organization of prime contracts with designers, contractors and vendors; assisted with the preparation of documents for procurement of the construction manager and design-builder, and participated in identifying and selecting those firms. Throughout the projects, he acts as the liaison and point of contact with both internal and external stakeholders including the Facilities Division, Sheriff’s Department, the design criteria consultant, the construction management firm, the design-build entity, and many other designers, vendors and contractors for work outside of the design-build contract such as off-site improvements and the solar program.
Amendment II to this Agreement would increase compensation by $158,137 (for an amended not-to-exceed of $466,937), extend the term an additional year (for an amended expiration of May 30, 2020) and increase the hourly rate from $150 to $160 per hour for continued services related to the County’s Public Safety Facility Project and Solar Project. The increase of $10 per hour was included in the original proposal received by Bob Christenson effective June 1, 2019. The standard industry hourly rate is typically between $140 to $250 per hour and this amount falls towards the lower side of that scale. The additional compensation and term would allow for the services to be available through project completion for both the Public Safety Facility and Solar Projects.
ALTERNATIVES
One alternative would be to not approve the Amendment. In this case the Division would need to seek a different consultant. Christenson Consulting has already gained extensive knowledge concerning these projects and seeking a different consultant at this point to assist with these tasks would most likely result in an increase in project costs and delay the projects. With USDA financing involved with the Public Safety Facility Project and PG&E offering limited solar opportunities, time is of the essence.
A second alternative would be to try to recruit in-house staff to cover this specialty work. The work is not full time in nature and is limited term. The Division has not been successful in the past of recruiting for part-time, limited term work. This alternative could result in an increase in project cost and delay to the projects with no guarantee of completing a successful recruitment.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
Board of Supervisors Meeting February 14, 2017 Item No. 24, File 14-0133: Approval of Amendment I to Agreement for Services 383-S1610 with Christenson Consulting
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
NA
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
It is recommended that the Board approve this item.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funding is included in the Public Safety Facility Project budget as submitted to the USDA, and the ACO Fiscal Year 2018-19 Workplan for the Solar Project. There is no impact to Net County Cost.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
NA
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Infrastructure and Public Safety
CONTACT
Russ Fackrell
Facilities Division Manager