REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JOE VARGAS, Director
Department of Transportation
BY: BRIAN BARR, Assistant Director
Department of Transportation
SUBJECT
Title
Award a construction contract to AMG & Associates, Inc. of Santa Clarita, California, in the amount of $11,631,119 for the Department of Transportation Fresno Area Express Facility Improvement project and authorize the Director of Transportation to execute all related documents (Bid File #3839) (District 3)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council award a construction contract in the amount of $11,631,119 to AMG & Associates, Inc., of Santa Clarita, California, as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the Department of Transportation Fresno Area Express (FAX) Facility Improvement project and authorize the Director of Transportation to execute all related documents.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
FAX seeks to award a contract to modernize and address deferred maintenance of the FAX facilities. This project will modernize bus cleaning equipment, construct a new building to support bus cleaning operations, add solar canopies, reorganize employee parking, add a dedicated entry gate, and increase site safety in heavily traveled areas of the facility. Improvements to the Bus Wash building are a central focus of this project and will significantly improve FAX’s capability to vacuum, disinfect and wash the bus fleet nightly.
This contract is in compliance with Resolution 2021-242 Project Labor Agreement as allowed by the federal government through Executive Order 13502 and the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act enacted November 15, 2021.
BACKGROUND
In 2014, Council approved a master plan study of FAX’s facilities to determine the condition, deferred maintenance, necessary upgrades, and expectations for costs associated with these improvements. Also included in this report were scenarios for what the potential upgrade paths would look like from a design and layout perspective. This report was coined the FAX Facilities Master Plan and FAX has been using this document to guide its capital program.
The Fresno Area Express Facility has not had any major improvements since the original completion in the 1970/80s. The facility’s age has begun to show in the increasing number of maintenance issues and equipment failures. These failures impact the effectiveness of nightly bus cleaning operations, staff safety, and livability of the office spaces. In addition, FAX has continued to expand revenue service operations, increase fleet size and add employees, exceeding the facilities capacities. FAX now intends to upgrade and modernize its facilities to remediate several of these issues in accordance with the Facilities Master Plan.
This project includes a new Annex building, reconfigured employee parking lot, dedicated employee parking entry gate, underground stormwater filtration systems, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements, solar covered parking, and upgraded bus washing and vacuuming equipment. These upgrades are focused on capacity improvements, reliability, safety, and employee livability.
The Annex building will be constructed next to the existing Bus Wash. It will house modern bus vacuuming equipment, office space, revenue service operations, ADA restrooms, server room, and a supervisor office. The new vacuum equipment replaces antiquated equipment which relied upon sweeping dust into the air to be captured by the vacuum system at the door of the bus. The new system utilizes a traditional hose and will provide a more consistent and thorough cleaning of the buses. The nightly bus cleaning staff has grown and exceeded the available capacity at the Bus Wash. This team will receive a break/training room, new office for the supervisor and lead worker, improvements to accessibility and elimination of safety hazards. Modern bus washing equipment will replace a system more than 20 years old. The modern bus washing equipment includes reclaimed water systems and will provide FAX with the ability to wash vehicles daily, rather than once a week with the existing system. These improvements will increase the quality of service provided to riders.
As FAX has grown, so has the number of employees. The existing employee parking lot is at capacity. This project will provide a new layout, additional parking stalls, solar covered parking, improved lighting, and a new vehicle entry gate. The new lighting and employee vehicle entrance will improve staff safety, particularly in the early morning and late evening hours when the majority of drivers are either starting or ending their shifts.
In 2019, 2020, and 2021, Council awarded other projects related to addressing deferred maintenance and planning for future needs such as the replacement of the Administration building’s HVAC equipment, removal of diesel underground storage tanks, a new bus entry gate and battery electric bus charging infrastructure.
This contract is in compliance with Resolution 2021-242 Project Labor Agreement. Executive Order 135052 issued by the President in 2009, encouraged the use of Project Labor Agreements in construction contracts, but did not change federal law prohibiting hiring based upon local or geographical preference. The Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act, enacted November 15, 2021, changed federal law to enable hiring based upon local or geographical preference for federally assisted projects. Therefore, the use of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds does not preclude the use of a Project Labor Agreement or hiring based upon local/geographical preference.
A Notice Inviting Bids was published in the Fresno Business Journal on January 3, 2022, posted on the City’s website, advertised in local community groups, construction organizations, MassTransit.org, Engineer News Record online, and faxed to 10 building exchanges. The specifications were distributed to 47 prospective bidders. Two sealed bid proposals were received and opened in a public bid opening on February 8, 2022. AMG & Associates, Inc. was determined to be the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. The bids will expire on April 13, 2022.
The City Attorney has approved the contract as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING
On April 9, 2020, Council adopted a finding of Categorical Exemption for this project. Staff determined this project is exempt under Section 15301/Class 1 of the CEQA Guidelines for Existing Facilities, as the improvements to the FAX Division facilities involve the restoration or rehabilitation of existing facilities with negligible or no expansion of capacity. This project is also exempt under Section 15303/Class 3 of the CEQA Guidelines for New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures, as the improvements are located in an urbanized area, are less than 10,000 square feet of floor space, located at a site zoned for the proposed use, does not involve significant amounts of hazardous substances and is not in an environmentally sensitive area. Furthermore, none of the exceptions set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 applies to this project.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference pursuant to Article 1 Section 4-108 of the Municipal Code was not implemented as the use of federal funding precludes the use of local preference in contracts requiring competitive bidding.
FISCAL IMPACT
This project has no fiscal impact to the General Fund. The project will be funded by the following sources as appropriated in the FY22 budget:
State of California Prop. 1B, Public Transportation Modernization, Improvement, and Service Enhancement Account (PTMISEA): $4,435,511
State of California SB1 State of Good Repair Program Funding: $1,740,000
FTA 5339 Bus and Bus Facilities Apportionment Funding: $4,364,486
Local Match: $1,091,122
Attachment:
Bid Evaluation