To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Public Infrastructure
Staff Name and Phone Number: Johannes J. Hoevertsz, 707-565-2231
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
On Call Construction Management Services 2022 for Public Infrastructure Improvement Projects
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the Chair to execute ten, three year on-call professional services agreements for construction management services with an aggregate not-to-exceed amount for all ten providers of $50,000,000 over term of the contracts.
B) Delegate to the Director of the Sonoma County Department of Public Infrastructure the authority to execute individual task orders under the agreements for any amount up to the aggregate not-to-exceed value.
C) Delegate to the Director of the Sonoma County Department of Public Infrastructure the authority to execute up to two, one year, no-cost time extensions, for a maximum potential contract period of five years.
end
Executive Summary:
The Sonoma County Department of Public Infrastructure (SPI) is requesting authorization for the Chair to execute ten professional services agreements for construction management and related services. Each agreement is for a term of three years with the possibility of two, no-cost, one-year extensions. The aggregate not-to-exceed value for all ten agreements is $50,000,000, however the agreements stipulate that there is no guaranteed minimum quantity of work.
The services will augment the work of construction staff in order to deliver public infrastructure projects, including disaster recovery projects associated with 2017 and 2019 countywide flood events, PG&E fire settlement funded projects, and the County’s annual Pavement Preservation Program. This procurement is vital to support SPI in delivering large infrastructure improvement projects and also provides capacity to respond rapidly and effectively in the event of an emergency. If approved, these contracts will replace eight existing on-call construction management contracts approved by the Board on January 26, 2021.
Discussion:
SPI is requesting Board approval of ten agreements for on-call construction management related services. These services include resident engineering, construction inspection, construction staking, materials testing, and associated services. The majority of projects for which task orders will be issued will be to assist SPI in delivering major road and bridge projects including disaster recovery
Consistent with Caltrans and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requirements, the term for each contract is three years with a no-cost, County option of two, one-year extensions. The aggregate, not-to-exceed value of all ten agreements is $50,000,000, however there is no minimum quantity or value of work guaranteed to any one consultant. In addition, an individual shortlisted consultant can perform any value of work up to the aggregate, not-to-exceed value of $50,000,000. This structure has been adopted due to SPI’s expectation that some or all of the projects may receive federal funding and this approach is consistent with federal regulations and Caltrans guidance.
The eight active SPI construction management contracts approved by the Board in January 2021 will be effectively cancelled if this this Board Item is approved. There are open Task Orders for these contracts, and they will remain active until contracted work is completed but no new Task Orders will be issued. The Department believes having an aggregate not to exceed limit for all work (as opposed to a per consultant not to exceed limit) will ensure competitive bidding for the entire term of the Agreements as all nine consulting firms will be eligible to respond to every task order issued. In addition, Caltrans now recognizes the value of an aggregate, not to exceed approach to contracting and has removed the requirement for a per consultant limit from their regulations.
On November 3, 2022, SPI issued a Request for Qualifications to provide on-call construction management services with the goal of having services available in time for new projects that will be going into construction early in 2023. SPI received 18 proposals, evaluated and selected the ten most qualified firms. The selected firms are, in alphabetical order:
• AECOM Technical Services, Inc.
• Coastland Civil Engineering, LLP
• Gannett Fleming, Inc.
• GHD, Inc.
• Ghirardelli Associates, Inc.
• Green Valley Consulting Engineers
• Mark Thomas & Company, Inc.
• MNS Engineers, Inc.
• PreScience Corporation
• PSOMAS
The primary selection criteria included understanding of work, similar experience, and technical ability and qualifications. Rates were not considered for selection criteria and were not received until after all proposals had been evaluated and the shortlist selected.
The Request for Qualifications was prepared in accordance with the California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) “Two-step” method and is compliant with County procurement policies. This means the procurement includes a general scope of duties from which firms write a proposal and develop a cost estimate.
Should the Board approve the execution of the on-call agreements as recommended, SPI will solicit individual projects from the shortlisted consultants using project-specific “task orders”. These task orders contain a specific scope of work, and each shortlisted firm will have the opportunity to provide a detailed cost estimate based on the rates of compensation established in their original proposal. After reviewing responses from shortlisted firms, SPI will select a proposer and execute the individual task order for the project.
Though this method is time intensive at the beginning, it allows SPI to react quickly once the shortlist is established. A Request for Proposals can take from three to six months to go from proposal to executed contract, however, a task order can be advertised and awarded to a shortlisted firm in as little as two weeks.
While SPI may not use the full $50,000,000 value of these agreements, the requested not-to-exceed limits provide flexibility and critical capacity to deliver the infrastructure and recovery projects currently committed to, as well as, for future disaster recovery efforts.
These construction management professional services will supplement the work of construction staff in delivering projects. Union notification letter was sent in January 2023.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Resilient Infrastructure
Goal: Goal 3: Continue to invest in critical road, bridge, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure.
Objective: Objective 1: Continue to maintain road segments, including designated turnouts where feasible, increase efforts on vegetation removal and drainage features, and improve pavement conditions in neighborhoods.
Prior Board Actions:
1/26/2021 Item 31 - On-Call Construction Management Services Agreements for Road and Bridge
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
There is no direct fiscal impact from this Board Action as no contracts are being awarded at this time. Work authorized by the Task Order process outlined in this Board Item will be included in the Road Fund (11051-3401010x) Recommended Budget and/or Consolidated Budget Adjustments each year. The Road Fund derives its funding from a variety of sources including: the State Highway Users Tax, SB1, Federal and State Grants, as well as contributions from Sonoma County’s General Fund and the Sonoma County Transportation Authority (Measure M).
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
Form of Agreement.
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
• AECOM Technical Services, Inc., PSA
• Coastland Civil Engineering, LLP., PSA
• Gannett Fleming, Inc., PSA
• GHD, Inc., PSA
• Ghirardelli Associates, Inc., PSA
• Green Valley Consulting Engineers, PSA
• Mark Thomas & Company, Inc., PSA
• MNS, Inc., PSA
• PreScience Engineers, Inc., PSA
• PSOMAS, PSA