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CC - CONSENT ITEM: (1) Approval of an Agreement with Sea Clear Pools Inc. in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $109,905.08 to Replace Pool Heater at the City’s Municipal Plunge.
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Meeting Date: March 11, 2024
Contact Person/Dept: Joe Susca, Public Works-Administration
Phone Number: (310) 253-5636
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [ ] General Fund: Yes [X] No [ ]
Attachments: Yes [] No [X]
Public Notification: E-Mail: (03/05/2024) Meetings and Agendas - City Council; Sea Clear Pools (02/28/2024); Premier Pools (02/28/2024); Elite Pools (02/28/2024)
Department Approval: Yanni Demitri, Public Works Director/City Engineer (02/28/2024)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council approve an agreement with Sea Clear Pools, Inc. to replace a water heater at the Municipal Plunge in an amount not-to-exceed $109,905.08; CIP No. PP-018 Culver City Plunge Backup Pool Heater.
BACKGROUND
The pool water at the Municipal Plunge is pre-heated by several thermal solar panels placed atop the locker room roof before travelling through two natural gas fired water heaters to bring its temperature to an optimal level.
One of the two water heaters is more than 20 years old (a pool heater’s useful life is 20-25 years). Recently, it has become unstable and frequently breaks down, causing undue strain on the remaining water heater to do double duty in its attempt to increase the temperature of the water on its own. Staff anticipates that if the troubled water heater isn’t replaced right away, the temperature of the pool water may be reduced to a level that patrons find uncomfortable, and the working water heater’s useful life will be reduced due to overuse.1
Conceptual Plans for Veterans Memorial Park: Staff is aware that one of the conceptual plans for Veterans Memorial Park’s future that has been discussed as part of the Feasibility Study for Veterans Memorial Park is to demolish the existing pool and relocate it from the Overland Avenue side of the park to the Culver Boulevard side. It is unknown at this time if and when that would occur. However, if the pool is ever relocated, both existing water heaters could potentially be relocated to the new location.
Per Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) Section 3.07.065.A, the City may award contracts in any amount for general services provided the contract is based upon competitive quotations, whenever practical. The replacement of the water heater for the pool is considered general services.
Staff obtained the following price quotes from pre-qualified pool firms to replace the water heater with the following results:
• Sea Clear Pools $109,905.08
• Elite Pools and Spa $179,679.49
• Premier Pools $203,689.00
Staff has had prior, favorable experience with Sea Clear Pools and recommends the City Council approve an agreement with them to replace the failing water heater. If approved, staff anticipates the new water heater will be installed in two months.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2023/2024 includes $130,000 in CIP No. PP-018 Culver City Backup Pool Heater, which is sufficient to cover the $109,905.08 expenditure.
MOTIONS
That the City Council:
1. Approve an agreement with Sea Clear Pools, Inc. in an amount not-to-exceed $109,905.08 to replace a water heater at the Municipal Plunge; and
2. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and
3. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.
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1 Building Decarbonization: Where feasible, the Public Works Department prides itself in replacing natural gas fired equipment with electric at the end of their useful life as a means to reduce the City’s GHG emissions. Thus far, this has worked out very well when replacing Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning package units that now use electricity instead of natural gas to heat space at the same cost and they operate more efficiently. Unfortunately, the current state of technology for electric water heating would require four heat-pump units to achieve the same result as one natural gas water heater. Elite Pools provided staff a proposal to install the four electric units at a price of $475,800. As a result, where natural gas pipelines are not available nationwide, commercial customers often use propane instead of electricity to heat their water. In addition, staff would have to expand the existing exterior gated area used to house the heaters to accommodate their larger footprint and install a new electrical panel to meet the 480-amp power requirements they require at an additional cost of $10,000. SCE reports that the additional power required by these four units would need to be studied however, they anticipate that it is likely that their existing transformer and/or switching gear would need to be upgraded to handle the additional power load they require and the lead time to design, purchase and install the replacement equipment would take approximately one year to complete. If the Municipal Plunge is relocated to the other side of the park as proposed in the conceptual plan, staff will work with the architect to design its power needs to accommodate an all-electric facility.