REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
May 11, 2017
FROM: THOMAS C. ESQUEDA, Director
Department of Public Utilities
BY: MICHAEL CARBAJAL, Planning Manager
Department of Public Utilities - Water Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Akel Engineering Group, Inc., a California Corporation for $496,122 for Water Infrastructure Renewal and Replacement Plan Development (Citywide)
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that City Council:
1. Approve Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Akel Engineering Group, Inc., a California Corporation for $496,122 for Water Infrastructure Renewal and Replacement Plan Development.
2. Authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to sign the contract on behalf of the City of Fresno.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Fresno (City) currently owns, operates and maintains a network of approximately 1,800 miles of drinking water distribution pipelines, 240 active municipal wells and the 30 million gallon per day Northeast Surface Water Treatment Facility. This project is needed to identify and prioritize pipeline, well and treatment facility renewal and replacement projects, using a 5-year planning horizon. After conducting a competitive process to select consultants to provide professional services, Akel Engineering Group was selected as the best value to meet the City’s needs for this project.
BACKGROUND
The City has a drinking water service area that covers nearly 114 square miles and serves approximately 513,000 residential customers and 35,000 commercial and industrial accounts through a network of approximately 1,800 miles of pipe. The City’s water demands are approximately 130,000 acre-feet annually. Approximately 86% of the demand is met through the use of groundwater and the other 14% through the use of treated surface water.
Groundwater is produced by approximately 240 active municipal wells, all of which may be necessary to meet customer demands. Well replacement and rehabilitation has historically averaged around 6-7 wells per year, which leads to wells with a life expectancy of 20 to 25 years remaining in service without significant maintenance for over 50 years.
With a distribution system of approximately 1,800 miles of pipe, the City has historically replaced pipelines at a rate of up to 0.2% to 0.4% per year, which equates to a replacement cycle averaging 300 years for pipelines that are generally designed to last between 50 and 100 years.
Treated surface water is currently provided by the City’s existing 30-million gallons per day (mgd) NESWTF and the Northeast Facility, which was constructed in 2004, requires a renewal and replacement plan to ensure that it can consistently and reliably treat water through its expected service life.
This project is needed to identify and prioritize pipeline, well and treatment facility renewal and replacement projects, using a 5-year planning horizon.
In accordance with Fresno Municipal Code Chapter 4, Article 1, and Administrative Order 6-19, the Department of Public Utilities conducted a competitive process to select consultants to provide professional services to perform water infrastructure renewal and replacement planning services. Announcements were published on October 19, 2016, in the Fresno Business Journal and on PlanetBids Online requesting that interested consultants contact the Water Division to obtain a request for qualifications (RFQ) for this project. The Water Division received requests from four consulting firms and distributed RFQs to each. The RFQ requested that consultants provide a statement of qualifications (SOQ) by November 14, 2016, and the Water Division received one SOQ by the due date. The SOQ was evaluated by a selection committee consisting of representatives from the Water Division. Upon completion of the evaluation, and scope and fee negotiation process, Akel Engineering Group (Consultant) was selected as being best to meet the City’s needs for this project.
The services required by this agreement will be completed in approximately 425 consecutive calendar days from the authorization to proceed. The contract is for a not to exceed amount of $496,122, paid on a time and materials basis.
A standardized consultant service agreement has been used in accordance with Administrative Order 4-4, and the consultant’s Certificates of Insurance have been approved by the City’s Risk Management Division. Upon approval by the City Council, the agreement will be executed by the Director of Public Utilities or designee, who has been delegated this authority by the City Manager.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
The approval of the Agreement is not a project for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act, pursuant to CEQA guidelines Section 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was implemented; the Consultant is a local business as defined by Fresno Municipal Code 4-109(b).
FISCAL IMPACT
The project expenditures, which are citywide, will not have any impact to the General Fund. Funding for this project is included in the Water Division’s FY 2017 Capital Improvement Program Budget within the Water Enterprise Fund (40101).
Attachment:
City Standard Agreement