REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: BROCK D. BUCHE, PE, PLS, Assistant Director - UP&E
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning & Engineering
BY: GLENN A. KNAPP, Supervising Professional Engineer
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning & Engineering
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Sixth Amendment the consultant services agreement Provost and Pritchard Engineering Group, Inc., to extend the agreement term from December 31, 2021 to January 1, 2023 for design services during construction of water well treatment system improvements at Pump Stations 117 and 284 for removal of Perchloroethylene from groundwater. This amendment does not add any project costs to the contract. (Council District 2 and County Island).
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that City Council approve the Sixth Amendment to the consultant services agreement with Provost and Pritchard Engineering Group, Inc., (Provost and Pritchard) to extend the Agreement term from December 31, 2021 to January 1, 2023, for completion of design services during construction of water well treatment system improvements at Pump Stations 117 and 284 for the removal of Perchloroethylene (PCE) from groundwater; and authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to sign the Sixth Amendment on behalf of the City of Fresno (City).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Municipal water well Pump Stations 117 and 284 are impacted by the contaminant PCE and exceed the maximum contaminant level and have been removed from service. In June of 2016 the Department of Public Utilities - Water Division (Water Division) secured design services for wellhead treatment improvements through a competitive consultant solicitation. Although this project was initially funded with Water Enterprise Funds, in April 2019 the Water Division was awarded grant funding for the project through the Groundwater Sustainability Grant Program. On February 4, 2021, City Council approved Amendment 1 to the Groundwater Sustainability Grant from the State Water Resources Control Board (Board), increasing the original grant amount from $2,254,040 to $4,095,937, for the design and construction of the well site improvements at City water well pump station PS117 and PS284 for the removal of PCE. During the summer of 2021, widespread supply chain disruptions and statewide fire conditions resulted in significant impacts to Project progress. The State is currently in process of extending grant timelines. This Sixth Amendment to Agreement will extend the consultant contract term from December 31, 2021 to January 1, 2023, for completion of consultant services during construction and generation of final grant project documents and reports. The only change in scope of work is the time of completion, which will not impact the overall cost of the contract.
BACKGROUND
The Department of Public Utilities - Water Division, maintains a network of approximately 260 municipal water supply wells that provide potable water to the City. Two City wells, PS 117 and PS 284 have shown elevated levels of PCE that exceed State drinking water standards. PCE is a colorless liquid solvent widely used for dry cleaning operations in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and due to poor disposal practices, has migrated to groundwater.
On June 7, 2016, the City hired Provost and Pritchard to provide the design and general construction documents for Pump Stations 117 and 284 Wellhead Treatment Improvements for a total fee of $262,473. This design includes a connective pipeline between the well sites to accommodate installation of a common wellhead treatment facility at PS 117 to treat water from both PS 117 and PS 284.
On May 18, 2017, the City submitted an application to the Board for a Grant which provides funding for programs associated with groundwater treatment. This program makes $86 million available to develop and implement sustainable groundwater planning projects of which groundwater impacted with PCE qualifies for Grant funds.
On July 21, 2017, the First Amendment to Agreement was approved increasing the original contract amount by $65,946 for a total fee of $328,419. This Amendment modified design parameters to accommodate two different types of low profile air stripper treatment systems in order to properly evaluate and compare said systems for use in future similar treatment projects.
On December 8, 2017, the Second Amendment to Agreement was approved to extend the term, without additional compensation, to October 31, 2018, to complete the Project.
On April 10, 2019, the City was awarded a Grant of $2,254,040 from the Board. Grant funding offset costs associated with engineering design, groundwater feasibility studies, and to fund construction costs. The City and Provost and Pritchard executed the Third Amendment to Agreement for $28,500 to include a PCE groundwater study as required by the State to meet Grant requirements.
On June 17, 2019, the Fourth Amendment to Agreement was approved to increase the total contract amount by $156,000 for a total fee of $512,919, to include the design of a third treatment unit at PS 117, increased electrical design at PS 284 and additional project plans and reports. This work increased facility treatment capacity to accommodate the additional water generated at PS 284 and conveyed by pipeline to PS 117.
On April 22, 2020, the Department of Public Utilities solicited contractor services through the bidding process. On May 12, 2020, three bids were received and publicly opened. The bids were approximately 86% higher than the funded budget amount and engineer’s estimate. On August 20, 2020, the City Council rejected all bids and staff proceeded with a review of possible design alterations and scheduled a rebid of the Project for November 10, 2020.
Due to the higher nature of the bids the City requested additional Grant funds from by the Board. The Board concurred with the City’s request and increased the Project funding. Amendment 1 to the Grant increases the Project funding from $2,254,040 to $4,095,937.
On October 12, 2020, the Project was re-bid. One bid proposal was received and unsealed in a public opening on November 10, 2020. Steve Dovali Construction, Inc., submitted a bid price in the amount of $3,948,242.25, and was determined to be the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. The Staff Determination of Award was posted on the City’s website on November 30, 2020. The price submitted is 1.5% below the Engineer’s Estimate of $4,009,470.
Project delays associated with Project redesign, rebidding, and development of Board Project funding Amendment 1, required an additional seven months to complete. The Fifth Amendment with Provost extended the term of the Agreement to December 31, 2021, without additional compensation to match revised project scheduling and timelines contained within the Amended Grant Agreement.
Throughout California during the summer of 2021, widespread fire conditions required reassignment of PG&E personnel to minimize potential power outages throughout the State. These conditions, along with material supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 require amending grant funding amounts and extending project completion timelines. To address these changes and meet anticipated final report and claim submission timelines, this Sixth Amendment to Agreement with Provost and Pritchard provides for completion of all work activities by January 1, 2023. This amendment does not add any project costs to the contract.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, the approval of the amendment does not qualify as a “project” for the purpose of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference does not apply to this action because this is an amendment to an existing agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund. This Project is in Council District 2 and County Island. Funding for this Project is included in the State Grant and the Water Division’s Fiscal Year 2022 Capital Improvement Budget.
Attachment:
Attachment 1 - Sixth Amendment to Agreement