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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.c. Review draft Position Paper to authorize the General Manager to execute a professional engineering services agreement in an amount not to exceed $825,000 with Black & Veatch Corporation to provide on-call services for the Planning and Development D Page 1 of 4 Item 3.c. CENTRAL SAN BOARD OF DIRECTORS POSITION PAPER DRAFT MEETING DATE: SEPTEMBER 3, 2019 SUBJECT: REVIEW DRAFT POSITION PAPER TO AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES AGREEMENT IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $825,000 WITH BLACK & VEATCH CORPORATION TO PROVIDE ON-CALL SERVICES FOR THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION FOR A THREE-YEAR TERM SUBMITTED BY: INITIATING DEPARTMENT: DANEA GEMMELL, PLANNING AND ENG-PDS-DIVISION MANAGER DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION MANAGER REVIEWED BY: JEAN-MARC PETIT, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES ISSUE The Board of Directors' authorization is required for the General Manager to execute agreements in an amount greater than $100,000. BACKGROUND Optimization of Current and Past Practice Using On-call Agreements for Specialized Expertise. Until now, the Planning and Development Services Division has contracted with many consulting firms through on-call agreements, but has procured those services on a case-by-case basis as tasks and needs are identified, sometimes, with multiple agreements with the same consultant but for different types of services. The purpose of the on-call agreement process is to optimize procurement and management of on-call services through a consolidated list of pre-qualified consulting firms that can provide specialized expertise and professional experience for a number of small-to medium-sized tasks (typically over$1,000 and less than $100,000)which enables staff to address ongoing needs. These on-call agreements are for specialized expertise and are separate from the individual consulting agreements typically issued by the Capital Projects Division for evaluating and designing large capital improvement projects. As documented in the Capital Improvement Budget, capital expenditures are expected to increase from $45 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-19 to $66 million in FY 2019-20, to $97 million in FY 2020-21, and to $106 million in FY 2021-22. As workload increases, need for specialty expertise and support is needed to complete these critical projects and tasks. The Board's approval of on- call agreements authorizes Central San staff to assign work to pre-qualified firms through the issuance of a task order which defines their respective scope of work, project cost, and delivery schedule. Task orders September 3, 2019 Special EOPS Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 10 of 15 Page 2 of 4 will be negotiated, approved, released, and tracked following a similar task order release process used for capital project on-call agreements. Consultant Selection: Staff prepared and posted a Request for Qualifications on PlanetBids and the Central San website. On May 24, 2019, 12 Statements of Qualifications were received and evaluated for the Planning &Applied Research section and Special Projects &Asset Management section.After evaluating the firms based on qualifications, past experience, past performance, availability, and an oral interview, staff selected Black and Veatch Corporation (Black and Veatch)for an on-call agreement as the firm best suited for Central San's anticipated needs to support the Planning &Applied Research section and Special Projects &Asset Management section for the following example scope areas: • District Project 8443 - Large Diameter Pipeline Inspection Program: Support for conducting inspections and condition assessments of critical large diameter sewers with a high consequence of failure that have moderate to severe corrosion, and follow-up inspection of large diameter sewers with potential defects identified by staff in the field. Results from condition assessments will be used for identifying and prioritizing sewer system renovation needs and will assist staff in understanding the timing, scale, and range of feasible renovation alternatives. • District Project 8444 - Force Main Inspection Program: Support for conducting inspections and condition assessments on pump station force mains which are difficult to access and current condition information is limited. • Treatment Plant Applied Research: Support for preparing sampling and testing protocols, bench and pilot testing, and other support for evaluating promising processes, technologies, and optimizations. • Asset Management Support: Support for continuous improvement and implementation of Central San's asset management program, tools, and optimizations. I n general, the expertise that Black and Veatch offers will be utilized for field evaluations, testing, condition assessments, inspection techniques, and asset management for both the Treatment Plant Program and Collection System Program. ALTERNATIVES/CONSIDERATIONS Staff evaluated several alternatives for the Board to consider: Alternative 1: Execute Three-year On-call Agreement as Recommended By Staff. This alternative is recommended because it provides staff the support needed to complete the anticipated projects and tasks, maintain the current high level of service, provides flexibility to staff to address issues as they arise, and minimizes administrative work by procuring and consolidating support services into fewer contracts. Alternative 2: Execute Two-year On-call Agreement. This alternative reduces the agreement limits to cover the next two years of anticipated projects and tasks. Staff could return to the Board for approval to amend the agreement for a third year of support. This alternative is not recommended because it requires more administration than Alternative 1 and could limit the flexibility to assign task orders in Year Two that are anticipated to continue into Year Three. Alternative 3: Do Not Approve the Agreement. This alternative would be for the Board to direct staff not to execute the agreement as proposed. Instead, staff could continue current and past practice to administer multiple agreements as-needed within staff authority limits. This is not recommended because it requires more administration time to solicit, execute, and manage agreements.Additionally, this alternative would result in multiple agreements with the same consulting firm as tasks arise in order to keep projects on track and maintain the current high level of service. September 3, 2019 Special EOPS Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 11 of 15 Page 3 of 4 Alternative 4: Hire Additional Staff. This alternative would be to direct staff to hire additional temporary and/or permanent employees to augment staff's ability to complete the anticipated projects and tasks. This is not recommended because the work requires specialty expertise that is provided from industry leaders that perform similar tasks on a daily basis and have extensive experience across multiple projects and customers, where Central San benefits from that wide-spread experience. Central San may only require this specialty expertise for the initial development and first phase implementation of the inspection programs (i.e. large diameter inspection and force main inspection programs). Due to the as-needed and potential temporary nature for this specialty support, it is recommended that this be met through consulting support instead of temporary or permanent employees. The on-call agreements also enable Central San to access the consultant's wide range of experts tailored to the specific project scope and inspection technologies to be considered. Because the specific expertise varies by person, it is likely that several additional employees would be required to meet all of the anticipated project and task needs.After the inspection programs are developed and after a couple years of implementation, it may be possible to sustain a smaller, as-needed support agreement for ongoing specialty consulting. Similarly, support for applied research and other asset management efforts are best served by the range of consultant experts that are available through the proposed consultant who routinely engages in those specific work areas and have a tremendous amount of project experience to offer. FINANCIAL IMPACTS The amount for this on-call agreement is $275,000 per year for a three-year total contract amount of $825,000. Black and Veatch has been informed and understands that this on-call agreement is not a guarantee of work. This selection process and award of an agreement provides a go-to firm when support is required. This allows Central San staff to expedite the process of completing work and addressing tasks as needed, and to respond to needs in an efficient and responsive manner. Ongoing and additional specialty support needs were anticipated to address upcoming projects and tasks. The services provided are paid for and included in the Board-approved Budget. No additional funding for this on-call agreement is required. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION The Engineering and Operations Committee reviewed this matter at the meeting on September 3, 2019 and recommended RECOMMENDED BOARD ACTION Staff recommends authorizing the General Manager to execute an agreement with Black and Veatch Corporation with a cost ceiling of$825,000 for a three-year term, to provide on-call services for the Planning and Development Services Division. Strategic Plan Tie-In GOAL TWO: Strive to Meet Regulatory Requirements Strategy 1 - Strive to achieve 100%permit compliance in air, water, land, and other regulations GOAL THREE:Be a Fiscally Sound and Effective Water Sector Utility Strategy 2- Manage costs September 3, 2019 Special EOPS Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 12 of 15 Page 4 of 4 GOAL FIVE: Maintain a Reliable Infrastructure Strategy 1 - Manage assets optimally throughout their lifecycle, Strategy 3- Protect District personnel and assets from threats and emergencies GOAL SIX:Embrace Technology, Innovation and Environmental Sustainability Strategy 3- Encourage the review and testing of technology to optimize and modernize business operations September 3, 2019 Special EOPS Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 13 of 15