REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GREGORY BARFIELD, Assistant City Manager
& Interim Director, Department of Transportation
BY: JOE VARGAS, Assistant Director
Department of Transportation
SHELLE O’BRIEN, Capital Development Specialist
Department of Transportation
SUBJECT
Title
Approve a professional consultant agreement in the amount of $533,600 with PCubed Associates, a California corporation, for design and engineering services to implement the Department of Transportation/Fresno Area Express (FAX) Maintenance Facility HVAC and Building Improvements project
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council approve a professional consultant agreement in the amount of $533,600 with PCubed Associates, a California corporation, for design and engineering services to implement the FAX Maintenance Facility HVAC and Building Improvements project and authorize the Director of Transportation, or designee, to execute all related documents.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
FAX seeks to award a professional consulting contract for engineering and design services that will provide comprehensive construction documents, bid support, and construction administration for the FAX Maintenance Facility HVAC and Building Improvements project. This project is being conducted to support the FAX Zero Emission Transition Plan, which requires FAX to begin supporting zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) that will be procured and arrive on site in 2023 through a separate contract.
Per the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes for hydrogen gas in the Maintenance Facility, upgrades are required to the existing gas detection and emergency ventilation system. The existing roll up shop doors are also connected to this emergency system and have reached the end of their useful life and must be replaced.
As this needed work involves NFPA-mandated renovations to the existing HVAC equipment, it is also a prime opportunity for the replacement of the failing roof system that was noted in the FAX 2014 Facilities Master Plan assessment.
The award of this contract will allow FAX to implement key zero-emission requirements and replace failing equipment with the goal of improving service, vehicle reliability, employee safety, and supporting the future expansion of the zero-emission bus fleet.
BACKGROUND
FAX seeks to award a professional consulting contract for engineering and design services that will provide the following:
• Design and engineer replacements for the existing end of life HVAC equipment with modern, efficient equipment.
• Design and engineer the installation of insulated roll up shop doors.
• Design and engineer new hydrogen gas detection system and facility fire life safety improvements as required by NFPA codes.
• Design and engineer a new membrane roof system and waterproofing system.
This project is needed to support the FAX Zero Emission Transition Plan adopted by Council in June 2021 which requires FAX to begin supporting FCEBs that will arrive on site in 2023 through a separate contract.
To support these new vehicles, FAX is required to comply with NFPA regulations for hydrogen gas in the Maintenance Facility. These codes require upgrades to the existing gas detection and emergency ventilation system. The ventilation system is connected to the existing HVAC system which has reached the end of its useful life and experiences frequent failures. To provide a comprehensive safety system, the HVAC equipment must be replaced. The roll up shop doors, which are required by code to automatically open when the gas detection system triggers an alert for a gas leak, are also connected to this emergency system and have reached the end of their useful life and must be replaced. FAX is seeking to replace these roll up shop doors with modern, insulated doors that provide more reliable operation in the event of an emergency, better regulation of temperatures on the shop floor and overall building efficiency improvements. The expectation is to see an improvement of 20-40% in overall energy efficiency but the exact number is unknown until the system design is complete.
As this needed work involves NFPA-mandated renovations to the existing HVAC equipment, it is also a prime opportunity for the replacement of the failing roof system that was noted in the FAX 2014 Facilities Master Plan assessment. The roof is well past its useful life, experiences frequent leaks, and must be replaced. These leaks pose a risk to employee health and safety as well as cause damage to interior spaces that house sensitive parts and equipment that need to be protected from the elements.
The services of an engineering consultant are necessary to evaluate and design the above upgrades. Pursuant to the Federal Brooks Act, California Code 4525, Fresno Municipal Code Chapter 4 Article 1, and Administrative Order 6-19, on January 28, 2022, the Department of Transportation worked with City of Fresno Purchasing Department to post on PlanetBids a request for engineering qualifications specific to the project scope. The Department received two proposals in response to the solicitation. A five-person review panel determined that PCubed Associates Inc., an engineering firm located in Los Angeles, CA is the most qualified of the proposers based upon overall firm experience, resource capacity and successful completion of similar work. FAX performed an analysis of PCubed’s cost proposal and determined it was fair and reasonable having fallen below the cost estimate of $550,000. Therefore, staff recommends Council approve a professional consultant agreement in the amount of $533,600 with PCubed Associates Inc., to perform design and engineering services for this project.
FAX is utilizing a consultant agreement which the City Attorney has reviewed and approved to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This award of a design and engineering contract is not a “project” for the purpose of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not considered as federal funding precludes the use of local preference.
FISCAL IMPACT
This project has no fiscal impact to the General Fund. The project budget is comprised of California Transit Security Grants, Public Transportation Modernization, Improvement and Service Enhancement Account (PTMISEA) program grants, and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 5307/5339 grant funds as approved in the FAX FY2023 budget. Local match will be comprised of FAX Enterprise funds, as needed.
Attachment:
Consultant Agreement