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CC - CONSENT ITEM: (1) Award of a Construction Contract to R2BUILD, as the Lowest Responsive and Responsible Bidder, in the Amount of $4,055,000 for the Construction of Phases 1 & 2 of the CityBus Electrification Infrastructure Construction Project; (2) Authorization of Change Order Authority to the Chief Transportation Officer in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $405,500 (10%) to Cover Contingency Costs; (3) Adoption of a Resolution Certifying the Transportation Facility Electrification Project will be Completed by a Skilled and Trained Workforce and Finding the Project Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080.25; and (4) Approval of a Professional Service Agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates for Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Services Related to the Project in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $90,000.
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Meeting Date: December 12, 2022
Contact Person/Dept: Diana Chang/ Transportation Department
Phone Number: (310) 253-6593
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (12/08/2022)
Department Approval: Rolando Cruz (11/17/2022)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) award a construction contract to R2BUILD in the amount of $4,055,000 for the construction of Phases 1 & 2 of the CityBus Electrification Infrastructure Construction Project (Project); (2) authorize change order authority to the Chief Transportation Officer in an amount not-to exceed $405,500 (10%) to cover contingency costs; (3) adopt a Resolution certifying the Transportation Facility Electrification Project will be completed by a skilled and trained workforce and finding the Project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080.25; and (4) approve a professional service agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates for environmental monitoring and compliance services related to the Project in an amount not-to-exceed $90,000.
BACKGROUND
With guidance and direction from the City Council, the Culver City Transportation Department has been planning the transition of Culver City’s entire bus fleet to a 100% zero-emission fleet by 2028, well in advance of California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) 2040 goal and zero-emission bus (ZEB) purchasing mandates. To meet this goal, Culver City has established a multi-phased project to develop a ZEB transition plan, design and build charging infrastructure, and replace its current RCNG fleet with battery electric buses (BEB) that began with the initial Pilot Phase in 2021 and achieve a 100% zero-emission fleet by 2028, in alignment with the Transportation Electrification Partnership with LACI and in-time for the Los Angeles World Olympics in 2028.
This multiphase project and its objectives are outlined in the Culver CityBus Zero-Emission rollout plan, which was approved and adopted by resolution by Council at its meeting on September 21, 2021, and can be found on the project website: Culver CityBus Zero Emission Rollout Plan <https://www.culvercitybus.com/files/content/bus/news/culver-citybus-is-going-electric/culver-city-battery-electric-bus-transportation-facility-electrification-transition-plan.pdf>. The rollout plan is a living document that outlines the facility and infrastructure improvements required to transition to zero-emission, as well as the total cost of investment for transitioning to an all-electric fleet, including costs for vehicle acquisition, fuel, maintenance, and operations. Since the adoption of this plan, the City’s Architectural and Engineering subcontractor, AECOM, has been developing the design drawings and technical specifications required for bidding for Phases 1 & 2 of the project.
At the Council meeting on September 20, 2022, City Council approved the 100% Civil, 100% Structural, and 80% Electrical Plans and Specifications for Phase 1 Infrastructure construction at the Transportation Facility and authorized staff to issue a bid for Phase 1 & 2 Electrification Infrastructure construction required for the CityBus Electrification Project. Invitation for Bids (IFB) #2302 was subsequently released on September 22, 2022, to award a construction contract per the approved plans.
At the Council meeting on October 19, 2022, Council approved the 100% Civil, 100% Structural, and 100% Electrical Plans and specifications for Phase 1 of the CityBus Electrification Infrastructure project and authorized staff to publish an addendum to Bid #2302. This addendum was published on October 24, 2022 and was subsequently released to all prospective bidders.
The first phase of this project, scheduled to commence in Spring 2023, includes the installation of five Heavy Vehicle Chargers (750kW total) along a newly constructed concrete island. These new chargers will be required to charge the first ten battery electric buses, six of which will be delivered in July 2023. These chargers have a maximum demand of 150kW each, with two space frame-mounted dispensers per charging cabinet. During this phase, the existing transformer will be upgraded to accommodate the added load, trenching, and boring to install conduit from distribution panel to charging island shall be completed, and the charger stub outs should be accomplished. Finally, half of the new space frame structure will be constructed over the western half of the yard, which will include an advanced pulley system that will allow the dispensers to be pulled from overhead and plugged into the vehicles to charge.
DISCUSSION
Construction Contract
The competitive bid procurement for the construction of the Project was posted on PlanetBids on September 22, 2022. On November 21, 2022, the City’s Purchasing Division opened the bids, and below is a summary of the bids received:
Staff determined R2Build as the lowest, responsive and responsible bidder after careful evaluation of each firm’s documents, contractor’s license, and reference checks. Staff conducted reference checks and received positive feedback that R2Build performed satisfactory work for other agencies.
Bid Protest
Subsequent to bid opening, on November 30, 2022, the second low bidder Reyes Engineering Corporation (Reyes Engineering) submitted a bid protest (Attachment 1) challenging R2Build’s bid as nonresponsive.
Culver City Municipal Code Section 3.07.075.B provides for the City’s bid protest procedures, except as otherwise set forth in the notice inviting bids or bid specification. In this case, the bid package included the Culver City Transportation Department Federal Bid Protest Procedures (Attachment 2), which were followed during the evaluation of the bid protest.
Staff reviewed the bid protest documents in consultation with the City Attorney’s Office and Purchasing Division and addresses each of the points of the protest below:
A. Owner Supplied Forms
Reyes Engineering listed its first protest item that R2BUILD did not provide a list of their proposed suppliers, which is a requirement of the bid and thus were non-responsive. City Staff recognized the missing supplier list and had already requested R2BUILD to provide the list, which was subsequently provided to the City on December 2, 2022. Staff reviewed the documents and determined that the missing information was a clerical error.
The City has discretion in using its judgment to determine whether the entirety of the information presented makes the intent of the bidder known. A Suppliers list is only for informational purposes but isn’t required for awarding a contract. Therefore, waiving the supplier’s list irregularity/clerical error in R2BUILD’s bid proposal, the City deems its bid proposal responsive.
B. Filling in Forms
Reyes also protested that R2BUILD failed to indicate an amount for Proposed Unit Price in line item C2. Line C2 requires to “Install 4” dia, 2H x2W, Forterra Duct Bank (Only, No wire) including trench excavation and bedding. Quantity shown of 2H x 2W duct sections is inclusive of curved sections.” Reyes further indicated that their bid proposal for that line item was “an enormous amount that should not be ignored.”
City staff recognized line C2 was listed as zero and requested an explanation as to why the line item was $0. R2BUILD clarified that they understood line C2 to be the work supplied by SCE and thus bid no costs. R2BUILD further clarified that all the costs for the duct bank work necessary for the job were included in line items C3 and C4. This was subsequently documented to the City in a formal letter dated December 2, 2022. Staff accepts that the bid does cover all duct bank work required for the job within their total bid, and thus R2BUILD’s bid has been deemed responsive.
As to the enormity of the bid quote, City staff completed a price analysis of the received bids and compared the pricing to the Independent Cost Estimate (ICE) prepared by AECOM. Overall, R2BUILD’s proposal was 12.51% over the cost estimate, while Reyes’ proposal was at 58.8%. Within the underground electrical section C, R2Build was 19.52% higher and Reyes’ costs were 176.14% higher than the ICE. If staff excluded this line item from consideration for Reyes’ bid, the costs in section C would still be 100% higher than the cost estimate, and the overall price would be 48.81% higher than the estimate. R2BUILD would still be the lowest bid.
Therefore, in full review of the bid, Culver City has deemed R2BUILD the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. A response to Reyes Engineering Corp protest was sent on December 8, 2022 denying their protest (Attachment 3).
CEQA Exemption
Staff has determined this project is exempt from CEQA under California Public Resources Code section 21080.25 which exempts transit infrastructure electrification from preparation of environmental review so long as the City certifies the work will be completed by a skilled and trained workforce. The proposed Resolution will be filed as a notice of exemption with Los Angeles County upon the Council’s adoption (Attachment 4).
Kimley-Horn Agreement
Lastly, to fulfill compliance with National Environmental Preservation Act, staff engaged Kimley-Horn and Associates in June 2022 to provide environmental compliance and review work for Transportation related to design of the Phase 1. Kimley-Horn has assumed the lead in guiding the Transportation Department through the complexities of federal environmental regulations and requirements. Kimley-Horn is wholly familiar with the design and construction timeline of the project and is integrated into the project team. Therefore, staff requests continuation of the ongoing work with Kimley-Horn through construction of Phase 1 to ensure all remaining environmental approvals and monitoring are executed as required. Staff estimates the work will cost up to $90,000 and will be paid for using local transportation funds programmed for this purpose.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Sufficient funding is included in the Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2022/2023 for the Electrification Infrastructure Construction Project (Capital Improvement Project #PB002).
ATTACHMENTS
1. Culver City Transportation Department Federal Bid Protest Procedures
2. Reyes Engineering’s bid protest documents.
3. December 8, 2022 Response to Reyes Engineering’s bid protest
4. 2022 12 05 Resolution Certifying Workforce and Finding Project Exempt from CEQA
MOTIONS
That the City Council:
1. Award a construction contract in the amount of $4,055,000 to R2Build for the Construction of Phases 1 & 2 of the CityBus Electrification Infrastructure Construction Project; and
2. Adoption of a Resolution certifying the Transportation Facility Electrification Project will be completed by a skilled and trained workforce and finding the Project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080.25; and
3. Authorize change order authority to the Chief Transportation Officer in an amount not-to exceed $405,500 (10%) to cover contingency costs; and
4. Approve a professional service agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates for environmental monitoring and compliance services related to the Project in an amount not-to-exceed $90,000; and
5. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and
6. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.