Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER AWARD OF CONTRACT TO SPT SPECIALIZED PIPE TECHNOLOGIES FOR NEWKIRK AVENUE STORM DRAIN LINE EMERGENCY REPAIR IN THE AMOUNT OF $66,900 WITH A CONTINGENCY OF $10,035; AND, APPROVE RESOLUTION NO. 20-085 APPROPRIATING $245,000 FROM THE GENERAL FUND'S FUND BALANCE FOR THIS PROJECT AND FOR PARTICIPATION IN A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA) WITH NEIGHBORING CITIES RELATED TO THE DOMINGUEZ CHANNEL ESTUARY BATHYMETRY AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT STUDY (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
An existing storm drain line made of corrugated metal pipe traversing private properties between Newkirk Avenue and Hadler Street has collapsed and needs an immediate repair (Exhibit No. 1). The storm drain does not function to its design capacity, which results in flooding during rainfall and may cause severe damage to property and an unsafe condition in the surrounding neighborhood.
It is requested that the City Council award a construction contract to SPT Specialized Pipe Technologies to perform the necessary repair to the Newkirk Avenue storm drain line. The repair, when completed, will permanently alleviate the flooding, avoid partial closure of Newkirk Avenue, and will protect existing private and public infrastructures.
A budget resolution 20-085 is also attached for approval, appropriating $245,000 from Fund Balance of the General Fund for this storm drain project, but also to cover a temporary shortfall in the NPDES budget due to the timing of the invoice received for the Dominguez Channel Estuary Bathymetry and Sediment Transport Study commissioned under the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with various neighboring cities. It is necessary to address the negative balance in the account to proceed with the contract.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. AWARD a Construction Contract for the repair of the Newkirk Storm Drain line in the amount of $66,900.00 to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, SPT Specialized Pipe Technologies.
2. AUTHORIZE the expenditure of a construction contingency, if necessary, in the amount of $10,035.00 (15%) for any unforeseen construction work such as removal and remediation of contaminated soil, substructure conflict, and any soil and material testing that may be required to complete this project.
3. APPROVE Resolution No. 20-085, “A RESOLUTION OF THE CARSON CITY COUNCIL AMENDING THE FISCAL YEAR 2019-2020 BUDGET APPROVING THE TRANSFER OF $245,000 FROM THE GENERAL FUND’S FUND BALANCE TO ACCOUNT 101-80-820-285-6004 (WATER COMPLIANCE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES) FOR A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (“MOA”) BETWEEN THE CITY OF CARSON, THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, THE CITY OF TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT, AND THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES REGARDING THE ADMINISTRATION AND COST SHARING FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DOMINGUEZ CHANNEL ESTUARY BATHYMETRY AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT STUDY AS DELINEATED IN SAID AGREEMENT DATED MARCH 14, 2019 AND A CONTRACT WITH SPT SPECIALIZED PIPE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF A STORM DRAIN LINE ADJACENT TO NEWKIRK AVENUE.”
4. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute the Professional Services Agreement and the Resolution following approval as to form by the City Attorney.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
1. DO NOT AWARD a Construction Contract for the repair of Newkirk Storm Drain Line; however, failure to perform the necessary repair will cause flooding, partial closure of Newkirk Avenue, and may cause severe damage to existing private and public infrastructures.
2. DO NOT APPROVE the Budget Resolution; however, this work was commissioned pursuant to the MOA entered into by the City, budgeted for in the previous fiscal year, and now completed by the vendor.
3. TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate consistent with the requirements of the law.
IV. BACKGROUND
The property owner at 22106 Newkirk Avenue reported to the City of Carson that the storm drain line on Newkirk Avenue was not draining properly and the neighborhood in this area has been experiencing severe flooding during rainy season. The existing storm drain line traversing the private property between Newkirk Avenue and Hadler Street is currently operated and maintained by the City of Carson. The City’s Public Works Maintenance crew temporarily pumps out the storm water during heavy rainfall to divert the water into the catch basin near 220th street. This situation has been an inconvenience to the residents and the motorists in the area, as well as taking City crew’s time to keep the area safe at all times.
The City retained a contractor to take video of the inside storm drain line to determine the extent of damages. Video documentation showed that the corrugated metal pipes that made up the storm drain have collapsed at both ends, while the rest of the pipe has corroded.
The storm drain line is located within private property with various permanent structures (i.e. masonry wall/fence, landscaping and planters) located in close proximity; as such, the conventional method of excavating to remove and replace the existing lines could be very costly and is not recommended. Staff is recommending a repair that would have a minimum impact on the existing improvements within the private property.
The best non-intrusive method for this type of work to repair the two 14” diameter lines (230 linear feet each) is using the “slip line” method. When “dig and replace” is not an option or the budget is of concern for storm drain line rehabilitation, the slip lining process is an inexpensive and non-disruptive way of rehabilitating a storm drain line and highly recommended. Slip lining can be accomplished with very minimal excavation using specialized equipment to bore horizontally and slip the line in place. The main advantages of this method are the minimal excavation required and the little interference with the above-ground structures.
Staff solicited proposals from three different pipeline contractors, on an emergency basis, for the repair of Newkirk Avenue Storm drain. While many pipeline contractors provide the slip line method, only a few pipeline contractors have the right type of equipment to do the slip line work beyond 230 linear feet of pipeline. Only two quotes were received due to the specialized work requested.
Bidder Place of Business Proposal Amount
1. GRBCon, Inc. Baldwin Park, CA $96,444.00
2. SPT Specialized Cerritos, CA $66,900.00
Pipe Technologies
Typically, a minimum of three bids is required to recommend award of a contract to the lowest responsible bidder. Rebidding the project to solicit an additional bid in this highly specialized area during the current pandemic, when many contractors are not staffed at full capacity, is not advised. For that reason, this item was brought to the Disaster Council during at its May 11 meeting to request relief from the requirement to have received three bids due to the coronavirus emergency, and staff was authorized to proceed with the work.
The emergency construction of the corroded and collapsed storm drain lines with the reinforced “slip line” method will permanently alleviate the flooding, avoid partial closure of Newkirk Avenue, and protect existing private and public infrastructures.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The proposal submitted by SPT Specialized Pipe Technologies is $66,900.00. Considering a contingency of $10,035.00 (15%) for any unforeseen work or future change order, the total funding needed to be appropriated is $76,935.00.
A budget resolution 20-085 is attached for approval, appropriating $245,000 from the Fund Balance of the General Fund this storm drain project, but also to cover a temporary shortfall in the NPDES budget due to the timing of an invoice received for the Dominguez Channel Estuary Bathymetry and Sediment Transport Study commissioned under the MOA, described above. It is necessary to address the negative balance in the account to proceed with the contract.
This is not a new expenditure. In Fiscal Year 2018-19, the City budgeted the amount of $199,201 in Account No. 101-80-820-285-6004 for its share in the 5-year MOA with several neighboring cities regarding the implementation and cost sharing of the Dominguez Channel Estuary Bathymetry and Sediment Transport Study. At the end of Fiscal Year 2018-19, under normal accounting practice, Purchasing rolled the encumbrance into Fiscal Year 2019-20, creating a Start of Year Roll-over (“SOY”) in the City’s Tyler Munis system for that account, but the funds were returned to Fund Balance in the General Fund at the end of FY 2018-19. The Bathymetry Study has now been completed and the City has been invoiced in the amount of $189,715, about $10,000 less than what was expected last year.
The amount of this budget resolution ($245,000) is less than the combined storm drain line and bathymetry study, because without those two items the account is positive.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Project Location Map (pg. 5).
2. Contract Services Agreement (Draft) (pg. 6-31).
3. Resolution No. 20-085 (pg. 32-35).
Prepared by: Julio Gonzalez, Sustainability Administrator