REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
October 24, 2019
FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
BY: RANDAL W. MORRISON, PE, Assistant Director
Public Works Department, Engineering Division
M. SCOTT TYLER, PE, Public Works Manager
Public Works Department, Project Management Section
SUBJECT
...Title
Actions pertaining to the Sugar Pine Trail Park and Ride Project at the southwest corner of Willow Avenue and Shepherd Avenue - Bid File No. 3664 (Council District 6)
1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption per staff determination, pursuant to Section 15303 Class 3, Section 15311 Class 11 (b) and Section 15332 Class 32 of the California Environmental Quality Act guidelines for the Sugar Pine Trail Park and Ride Project at the southwest corner of Willow Avenue and Shepherd Avenue
2. Award a construction contract in the amount of $423,576.00 to Dave Christian Construction Inc., of Fresno, California for the Sugar Pine Trail Park and Ride Project at the southwest corner of Willow Avenue and Shepherd Avenue
...Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15303 Class 3, Section 15311 Class 11 (b) and 15332 Class 32 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines, award a construction contract for the Sugar Pine Trail Park and Ride Project with Dave Christian Construction Inc. of Fresno, California in the amount of $423,576.00 as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder and authorize the Public Works Director or designee to sign the construction contract on behalf of the City of Fresno.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Fresno seeks to construct the Sugar Pine Trail Park and Ride Project at the southwest corner of Willow Avenue and Shepherd Avenue on a city owned parcel. The scope of work includes street widening and sidewalk the souths side of Shepherd Avenue along the park and ride frontage, install striping and pavement markings, replacement of traffic loop detectors, grading and paving of a 31 stall parking lot, and installation of several amenities including a path from the parking lot to the Sugar Pine Trail along Willow, a warm up/stretch area, bicycle work station, irrigation and landscaping. Awarding a construction contract for this park and ride project will enhance the usability of the Sugar Pine Trail for more users. The project is being funded by a Federal grant from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ).
BACKGROUND
The City of Fresno applied for a CMAQ grant during the 2009/2010 call for projects to fund the Sugar Pine Trail Park and Ride Project. Design began in 2012 with a site plan approval in 2015 however, the City owned parcel was in the County of Fresno. This caused delays to the project until the parcel was annexed to the City of Fresno with the recordation of Shepherd-Willow No. 3 Reorganization being recorded July 24, 2019 by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo). The site plan was revised from the original 61 parking stalls to 31 parking stalls (includes 3 accessible parking stalls) with the approval of Caltrans and Fresno Council of Governments. A revised site plan (P19-01614)/Conditional Use Permit (C-15-020) was approved by Planning and Development Department on July 18, 2019.
The Sugar Pine Trail Park and Ride Project includes irrigation, landscaping, pathway from the parking lot to the Sugar Pine trail along Willow Avenue just south of Shepherd Avenue, a warm up/stretch area and a bicycle work station. The project also includes street widening and sidewalk along the south side of Shepherd Avenue along the frontage of the Sugar Pine Trail Park and Ride lot.
The Notice Inviting Bids was advertised in the Business Journal on August 26, 2019, posted on the City’s website and was sent via fax to ten (10) building exchanges. The specifications were distributed to thirty nine (39) prospective bidders. Four (4) sealed bid proposals were received and opened in a public bid opening on September 17, 2019, with the bids ranging from $423,576.00 to $496,695.50. Dave Christian Construction Inc., is deemed the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. The apparent low bid price was 26% above the Engineer’s Estimate. The increased costs are attributed to higher material prices from the inception of the project and the higher cost for specialized sub-contractors. The Fresno Council of Governments have oversight for Federal fund programing and have agreed to provide additional Federal funds to this project to meet the low bid amount to award this project. These additional funds are derived from savings on other Federally funded projects. The project will be completed 40 working days after the issuance of the notice to proceed. The bids will expire in 64 days of the bid opening on November 20, 2019.
If the bids are rejected, the project will be rebid resulting in a delay of approximately 60 days and possible loss of funding due to the CMAQ funding timing out at the end of June 2020.
Staff is recommending award of a construction contract to Dave Christian Construction Inc. in the amount of $423,576.00, to construct the Sugar Pine Trail Park and Ride facility at the southwest corner of Willow Avenue and Shepherd Avenue and to authorize the Public Works Director or designee to sign and execute the standardized contract on behalf of the City of Fresno.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Staff performed a preliminary environmental assessment of this project and has determined that it falls within the Categorical Exemption set forth in CEQA Guidelines, Section 15303 Class 3 for small facilities and street work; the project will construct the street frontage of approximately 250 feet; Section 15311 Class 11 (b) for small parking lots; the project will construct a 31 stall parking lot and Section 15332 Class 32 for in-fill type projects; the project area in the City of Fresno City Limits is mostly built out. Furthermore, staff has determined that none of the exceptions to Categorical Exemptions set forth in the CEQA Guidelines, Section 15300.2 apply to this project.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
The local preference was not implemented based on grant funding requirements of the Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Sugar Pine Trail Park and Ride at the southwest corner of Willow Avenue and Shepherd Avenue is located in Council District 6. The project is funded by Federal grant from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ). The project will have no impact to the General Fund. Of the overall budget of the project, $423,576.00 will be used for the construction contract award.
Attachments:
Bid Evaluation
Fiscal Impact Statement
Vicinity Map
Site Plan
Standardized Contract