REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
March 1, 2018
FROM: JIM SCHAAD, Director
Department of Transportation
BY: KRISTOPHER GREY, Capital Development Specialist
Department of Transportation
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the First Amendment to the professional consultant agreement with Siegfried Engineering, Inc., to revise engineered drawings related to the Buffer Median Island Bus Stop Improvement Project, in the amount of $35,726.20 (Citywide)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council approve the First Amendment to the professional consultant agreement with Siegfried Engineering, Inc., a Stockton-based California corporation, for design and engineering services to revise previously completed engineered drawings for select buffer median island bus stops in the amount of $35,726.20, and authorize the Director of Transportation or designee to execute the First Amendment.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Department of Transportation seeks an amendment to an existing professional consulting agreement for design and engineering services to support upgrades at 20 bus stops located in buffer median islands throughout the city and county of Fresno. Siegfried will make alterations and updates to existing plans for these sites to improve the accuracy of the plans in preparation for construction bids, improve bus stop safety, and allow FAX to incorporate comments from a 2016 independent consultant survey regarding Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) deficiencies at bus stops. Award of this amendment will allow FAX to attract higher quality construction bids, address ADA and safety concerns, and better utilize existing funding for infrastructure and passenger amenity upgrades. This project will contribute to the overall efforts by FAX to improve service.
BACKGROUND
FAX is planning to enhance bus service by upgrading passenger amenities, updating stops to meet current ADA guidelines, and improving stop infrastructure to meet current and future needs at 20 locations throughout the city and county. The locations serve several routes and have been identified as those most critically deficient in terms of meeting current accessibility and safety guidelines.
New amenities are expected to include shelters, benches, trash receptacles, and route signage. Upgrades for infrastructure will include bus layover pads, electrical hookups for improved area lighting, and improved curbing and sidewalk. Safety and accessibility upgrades include new striping for street crossing zones and numerous changes to meet required ADA standards.
The services of an architectural and engineering consultant were necessary to design the upgrades to these bus stops. The department solicited qualifications from the professional engineering industry on March 26, 2013. The department received two statements of qualifications. A review panel determined one of the statements received to be incomplete. The remaining consultant, Siegfried Engineering, Inc., was considered to be qualified to perform the work based upon overall firm experience, resource capacity, and completion of similar work.
Plans were completed and considered fully usable by May 2014 for the Buffer Median Island Bus Stop Improvement Project; however, funding constraints prevented the project from moving forward. FAX has since received grants that have remedied these constraints, and the project is ready to move forward.
This proposed amendment is necessary because changes to on-site conditions require revisions to the drawings to obtain accurate bids for construction. Additionally, FAX hired an ADA consultant in 2016 to perform a survey on all bus stops and provide information regarding any deficiencies in compliance. The plans were originally completed before this survey was done and must be revised in order to incorporate recommendations of the consultant survey data.
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed the First Amendment and approved it as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING
This is not a “project” for the purpose of CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not considered as this is an amendment being sought for an existing contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
This project has no fiscal impact to the General Fund. This proposed amendment will be funded from FTA 5317 grants.
Attachment:
First Amendment to Siegfried Agreement