Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS TO CONTRACT SERVICES AGREEMENTS TO PROVIDE ON-CALL ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TO THE ENGINEERING DIVISION OF THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, EXTENDING THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACTS
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I. SUMMARY
The City of Carson retains the services of On-Call Engineering Firms PA Arca Engineering and John Cruikshank Consultants Inc. (JMC2) to assist the Public Works Department in developing the necessary plans, specifications and estimates for City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects.
The existing contract with PA Arca to provide professional services is not-to-exceed $500,000 with the term ending on June 30, 2023. The existing contract with JMC2 to provide professional services is not-to-exceed $850,000 with the term ending on June 30, 2023.
Based on the existing projects these consultants are working on and the need for professional services beyond the term ending June 30, 2023, it was concluded that the existing amount of time for each consulting firm is insufficient to complete the tasks assigned and timetable of projects. Staff is recommending time extensions to allow the City to utilize their services in order to remain timely with project completion.
The recommendations, if adopted, would amend contract provisions of the contracts with PA Arca and JMC2 by extending the terms. The contract for PA Arca would be extended by six (6) additional months and the contract for JMC2 would be extended by one (1) additional year. If adopted, the contracts for PA Arca and JMC2 would be extended until December 30, 2023 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
Staff is requesting that the City Council approve the amendment of the existing contracts with PA Arca and JMC2 as proposed for the consultants to continue to provide professional services to the city.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. APPROVE Amendment No. 5 to On-Call Consultant Agreement with PA Arca Engineering to provide On-Call Engineering Professional Services extending the term by additional six (6) months until December 30, 2023 (Exhibit No. 1).
2. APPROVE Amendment No. 6 to On-Call Consultant Agreement with John M. Cruikshank Consultant Inc. (JMC2) to provide On-Call Engineering Professional Services extending the term by additional one (1) year until June 30, 2024 (Exhibit No. 2).
3. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute Amendment No. 5 to On-Call Consultant Agreement with PA Arca Engineering following approval as to form by the City Attorney.
4. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute Amendment No. 6 to On-Call Consultant Agreement with John M. Cruikshank Consultant Inc. (JMC2) following approval as to form by the City Attorney.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
1. DO NOT APPROVE proposed Amendments for the two contracts, however, this will limit the consultants’ ability to complete the tasks assigned.
2. TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate, consistent with the requirements of the law.
IV. BACKGROUND
The City’s 5-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) was approved by the City Council on June 21, 2022, and the total estimated cost to complete all funded projects is approximately $82,000,000. Because the process of retaining a consultant for a specific project from the initial conceptual phase to the issuance of the NTP is extremely time consuming, it is beneficial for the City to have on retainer a set of on-call professional engineers and architects that allows these consultants to go through the procurement process only once rather than once for each project. Having On-Call Engineering Professional Services greatly reduces the time required to develop the necessary plans, specifications and estimates by eliminating the need to prepare separate Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for each project under consideration. Using these on-call consultants enables the City to move quickly on projects without the delays caused by having to process separate RFPs/RFQs for each individual project.
The Public Works Department is responsible for studies, and design and construction of all public works projects, including those that are grant funded. The use of consultants is not in lieu of using full-time employees, but rather these consultants are utilized to enhance the capacity of the current staff beyond what is typically needed, particularly for larger projects that tend to be beyond the scope of internal staff’s capacity. Supplementing staff this way enables the City to complete many more projects in a timely manner and meet grant deadlines.
On November 15, 2022, the City Council approved Amendment No. 4 to the existing Consultant On-call Agreement with PA Arca and Amendment No. 5 to the existing Consultant On-Call Agreement with JMC2, extending the term of both agreements until June 30, 2023.
Given the significant number of infrastructure related projects and the increasing needs for professional services to complete the plans and specifications for the city’s CIP and other miscellaneous projects, it was determined that the amount of time needed to complete the assigned tasks to these consultants is insufficient and needs to be extended. Staff is recommending extension of time until December 30, 2023 for PA Arca and June 30, 2024 for JMC2. No additional funds are being requested for these contracts at this time.
The proposed amendments would amend contract provisions for the consulting firms, as follows:
1. For PA Arca the term would be extended by six (6) additional months until December 30, 2023.
2. For JMC2 the term would be extended by one (1) additional year until June 30, 2024.
It should be noted that there are multiple tasks assigned to each consultant that need to be completed before their contract expiration. In addition, there have been significant changes in the scope of work for various projects and each consultant has taken longer time than anticipated to complete the project. Accordingly, staff is seeking City Council approval for each Amendment to allow staff to continue to utilize the services of each consultant and allow them to complete the assigned tasks and projects.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
None. Staff is not requesting additional funding but recommending extension of time for each consultant to complete the tasks awarded to them before the expiration of their contracts.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Amendment No. 5 to Professional Services Agreement with PA Arca Engineering (pgs. 4-8)
2. Amendment No. 6 to Professional Services Agreement with JMC2 (pgs. 9-13)
Prepared by: Gilbert Marquez, P.E., City Engineer & Ian Holst, P.E., Associate Civil Engineer