REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
April 8, 2021
FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
THROUGH: Randall W. Morrison, PE, Assistant Director
Public Works Department, Engineering Division
BY: AUSTIN M. BAIN, EIT, Engineer II
Public Works Department, Special Projects Section
SUBJECT
Title
Approve a professional services agreement in substantially the form attached with NV5, Inc. in the amount of $6,345,949.36, with a contingency amount of $310,000.00, for construction management services for the Veterans Boulevard and State Route 99 Interchange Project (Council District 2)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve a professional services agreement in substantially the form attached with NV5, Inc., for construction management services for the Veterans Boulevard and State Route 99 Interchange Project in the amount of $6,345,949.36, with a contingency amount of $310,000.00, and authorize the Public Works Director or designee to execute the agreement on behalf of the City of Fresno.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Fresno continues to progress the delivery of various phases of the Veterans Boulevard Project from Shaw Avenue to Herndon Avenue. Phase 1, the Bullard Avenue Extension from Carnegie to Veterans, was recently completed. Phase 2, the Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation over Union Pacific and High-Speed Rail; and Phase 4a, the Veterans Boulevard South Extension, are both under construction. The proposed professional services agreement with NV5, Inc., in the amount of $6,345,949.36, with a contingency amount of $310,000.00, will provide the construction management services needed to administer the construction contract for Phase 3, the Veterans Boulevard / State Route 99 Interchange Project (Project). The professional services agreement with NV5, Inc. is a necessary step to enter into construction of the Project, which is currently targeting a construction contract award in mid-2021. The construction phase of the Project, including this contract, is funded by a combination of Measure “C” Regional Tier 1 funds, Regional Transportation Mitigation Fee (RTMF), State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), Federal BUILD Grant, and local Development Impact Fee funding.
BACKGROUND
Veterans Boulevard, originally referred to as the Herndon-Grantland Diagonal, was part of the 1984 General Plan and is now a planned six-lane super arterial in the 2035 General Plan. In recent years, staff has completed the Project Study Report (PSR), Project Report and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and progressed through the design of the various phases of Veterans Boulevard from Shaw Avenue to Herndon Avenue. Partnerships with the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) and Fresno Council of Governments (FCOG) provided funding for completing the final design and right-of-way acquisition. The Project proposes a new partial cloverleaf interchange connecting State Route 99 and Veterans Boulevard. The new roadway will have six travel lanes, a Class I bicycle lane/pedestrian trail on one side and Class II bicycle lanes on both sides. The Project will include bridge structures for the overcrossing of State Route 99 and future Golden State Boulevard. The interchange project is scheduled to advertise for construction in the coming months and this contract is critical to support the Project.
In accordance with Administrative Order (A.O.) 6-19, staff sent out Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for construction management services in September 2020 via Planet Bids, email and published in the Business Journal. At the closing of the advertisement period the RFQ received two responses. City staff, in conjunction with Caltrans, evaluated each Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) and interviewed each of the consultants. At the conclusion of the evaluation period NV5, Inc. was selected as the most qualified consultant for this contract.
Staff negotiated a fee of $6,345,949.36 for professional services to perform construction management services for the Project. The agreement also includes an additional $310,000.00 contingency to be used for any additional work outside of the existing scope of services, and contingent on the director’s approval as set forth in the executed agreement.
As a Federal funding requirement, this consultant agreement is currently going through a pre-award audit by the Audits and Investigations Division of Caltrans. The attached consultant agreement is substantially complete, pending potential modifications directed by the audit determination. Due to the critical timeline of the Project to start advertising for construction, staff recommends Council approve this agreement in substantially the form, pending pre-award audit comments from the State. This agreement will be approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office prior to execution.
Staff is recommending Council approval of this professional services agreement and to authorize the Public Works Director or designee to sign and execute the agreement on behalf of the City of Fresno.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
The California Department of Transportation, as Lead Agency, prepared an EIR for the Veterans Boulevard/State Route 99 Interchange Project/Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation Project, identified by SCH No. 2010021054 (the “Veterans Boulevard EIR”). The Veterans Boulevard EIR was certified on June 16, 2013, and analyzed several components of the Veterans Boulevard Project, including but not limited to a new interchange at State Route 99 and Veterans Boulevard, grade separated crossings to connect Veterans Boulevard and Golden State Boulevard, the construction of Veterans Boulevard as a six-lane super arterial from West Shaw to Herndon Avenues, drainage basins, and landscaping. A resolution will be brought forward for each phase of the Project at the time of the award of a construction contract for the City Council to adopt the findings related to the specific phase.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable due to federal funding.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Veterans Boulevard Project is located in Council District 2 and will have no impact to the General Fund. The construction phase of the Project, including this contract, is funded by a combination of Measure “C” Regional Tier 1 funds, RTMF, STIP, Federal BUILD Grant, and local Development Impact Fee funding. All funds necessary for this consultant contract are included in the current fiscal year budget as previously adopted by the Council.
Attachments:
Vicinity Map
Location Map
Consultant Agreement