REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: NICHOLAS D. MASCIA, PE, Assistant City Manager
Interim Director - Capital Projects Department
MINDY CASTO, Police Chief
Police Department
SANTINO DANISI, MBA, City Controller/Finance Director
Finance Department
BY: francisco V. magos II, PE, Assistant Director
Capital Projects Department, Utilities and On-Site Project Management Division
MIKE MOONEYHAM, PE, Licensed Professional Engineer
Capital Projects Department, Utilities and On-Site Project Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the new 911 Emergency Call Center Project (Bid File No. 12500493) (Council District 3):
1. Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration as prepared for Environmental Assessment No. P23-04199 (SCH 2024080018) dated December 2, 2024, for the proposed project pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. RESOLUTION - Declaring the official intent to use proceeds of future indebtedness to reimburse the City for certain expenditures related to the construction of the new 911 Emergency Call Center (Requires 5 Affirmative Votes);
3. ***RESOLUTION - Adopt the 47th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2024-122 appropriating $7,664,800.00 for the 911 Emergency Call Center construction contract (Requires 5 Affirmative Votes) (Subject to Mayor’s Veto);
4. Award a construction contract in the amount of $12,936,795.00 for the Base Bid plus one (1) Add Alternate to Solpac Construction, Inc. dba Soltek Pacific Construction Company of San Diego, California, as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the 911 Emergency Call Center Project.
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends the City Council (1) adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration as prepared for Environmental Assessment No. P23-04199 (SCH 2024080018) dated December 2, 2024, for the proposed project pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, (2) adopt a Resolution declaring the City’s official intent to use the proceeds of future indebtedness to reimburse certain expenditures related to the construction of the new 911 Emergency Call Center (Project), (3) adopt the 47th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2024-122 appropriating $7,664,800.00 for the Project’s construction contract, (4) award a construction contract in the amount of $12,936,795.00 for the Base Bid plus one (1) Add Alternate, to Solpac Construction, Inc. dba Soltek Pacific Construction Company of San Diego, California, as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the Project, and authorize the Capital Projects Director or designee to sign a standardized construction contract on behalf of the City of Fresno (City).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Capital Projects Department (CPD) seeks to award a construction contract to Solpac Construction, Inc. dba Soltek Pacific Construction Company following a competitive bidding process which identified them as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder in the amount of $12,936,795.00 for the base bid plus one (1) Add Alternate for the Project. The Project will construct a new Emergency Call Center at 1515 El Dorado Street to relocate emergency Public Safety Access Point (PSAP) operations from the basement of Police Department (PD) Headquarters. The new call center will allow for additional staff and equipment which are needed to meet emergency response performance standards. The Add Alternate is to provide an open-ceiling within the main call center room and includes acoustical ceiling tiles to dampen noise and ergonomic lights to improve lighting conditions.
Funding for the estimated $16.9 million construction and engineering costs has been identified and committed through debt service support in the form of Lease Revenue Bonds planned for issuance in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 by the Fresno Joint Powers Financing Authority. In accordance with federal regulations the City is required to declare its official intent in order to provide maximum flexibility to reimburse prior expenditures for the Project with proceeds of a future tax-exempt bond issuance. The proposed resolution meets that requirement. Approval of the 47th Amendment to the AAR will appropriate $7,664,800.00 from bond proceeds to fully fund the construction contract and the City’s associated soft costs, which include professional consultant services fees and staff costs.
BACKGROUND
On February 23, 2023, Council approved a Consultant Services Agreement with PBK Architects, Inc. for the design and preparation of construction drawings for the Project. CPD now seeks to award a construction contract to build the proposed 911 Emergency Call Center. The new call center will help the Police Department meet the performance goal of answering 90% of all calls within 15 seconds by providing space for additional phone and radio operators. The call center is designed to accommodate 10-year forecasted staffing levels with space for 48 phone operators, 12 radio dispatch operators, 8 supervisors, and 2 managers. Additionally, the call center includes training and conference rooms that can be utilized for additional phone operator stations or as an emergency operation center.
A Notice Inviting Bids was advertised and published on the City’s website, PlanetBids, and the Business Journal on January 2, 2025. The Project plans and specifications were distributed to seventy (70) prospective bidders and posted at eleven (11) building exchanges. Four (4) sealed bid proposals were received and publicly opened February 11, 2025, with bid amounts for the Base Bid plus one (1) Add Alternates ranging from $12,081,578.00 to $14,120,600.00. The apparent low bidder withdrew their bid and therefore, Solpac Construction, Inc. dba Soltek Pacific Construction Company of San Diego, California, was determined to be the lowest responsive and responsible bidder in the amount of $12,936,795.00. Solpac Construction was awarded the construction contract for Fire Station 12 on February 27, 2025, however each project will be managed by separate teams within the company and no impacts to each project are expected. The bids will expire on April 16, 2025. If the bids are rejected or expire, the Project must be rebid which will result in a delay to the Project.
This contract is covered by the Community Workforce Agreement (PLA), adopted by Council in September 2021. The Contractor shall become signatory to the PLA by executing the Agreement To Be Bound.
As shown in the attached Fiscal Impact Statement, the estimated construction and engineering costs are $16,919,863.00 and will be reimbursed by bond proceeds. Finance staff and the City’s financing team are preparing for the issuance of Lease Revenue Bonds to fund the construction of the Project. Such bond issuance, tentatively expected to occur in FY 2025, will be subject to separate Council approval. The current action would allow the City maximum flexibility to use tax-exempt bond proceeds to reimburse itself for project expenditures that may need to be incurred in the interim.
The attached resolution is necessary for the City to establish compliance with federal regulations (26
CFR § 1.150-2) by officially declaring its intent to use proceeds of indebtedness to reimburse itself for
prior expenditures. This declaration does not bind the City to make any expenditure, incur any indebtedness or proceed with the Project.
Staff recommends Council adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration as prepared for Environmental Assessment No. P23-04199 (SCH 2024080018), adopt a Resolution declaring the City’s official intent to use the proceeds of future indebtedness to reimburse certain expenditures related to the construction of the Project, adopt the 47th Amendment to the AAR No. 2024-122 appropriating $7,664,800.00 for the Project construction contract, award a construction contract in the amount of $12,936,795.00 for the Base Bid plus one (1) Add Alternate, to Solpac Construction, Inc. dba Soltek Pacific Construction Company, as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the Project, and authorize the Interim Capital Projects Director or designee to sign a standardized construction contract on behalf of the city of Fresno.
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved as to form the construction contract.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
An environmental assessment Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) (SCH 2024080018) dated December 2024 was prepared to evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with the 911 Emergency Call Center Project (Development Permit P23-04199) in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15070.
This process included the posting of a Draft IS/MND for public review and comment for a 30-day period from December 4, 2024, to January 3, 2025, pursuant to the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15105. During the public review period, no public comments were received that would require further environmental analysis, implementation of new or additional mitigation measures, or otherwise cause revisions to or recirculation of the Draft IS/MND.
The IS/MND determined that, with the implementation of mitigation measures developed specifically to reduce project-specific impacts, the project would not result in potentially significant adverse environmental impacts. The IS/MND is a standalone environmental document that addresses project-specific impacts and is included as an attachment to the Council agenda item.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Pursuant to the Fresno Municipal Code (FMC) Section 4-108(d), the lowest responsive and responsible bidder is not a local business while the second lowest responsive and responsible bidder is defined as such. Pursuant to FMC Section 4-108(c), the preference sum of $75,000.00 was added to the bid from the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. As the bid from lowest responsive and responsible bidder with the addition of the $75,000.00 was still lower than the second lowest responsive and responsible bidder, the contract was awarded to the non-local business.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Project is located in Council District 3 and will be funded with bond proceeds. The debt service payments will be split with approximately half coming from Police Impact Fees and half from General Fund resources. Such bond issuance, expected to occur in FY 2025, will be subject to Council approval. Adoption of the attached 47th Amendment to the AAR No. 2024-122 will fully fund construction of the Project.
Attachments:
Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration
Reimbursement Resolution
47th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2024-122
Standardized Construction Contract
Bid Evaluation
Fiscal Impact Statement
Vicinity Map
Location Map