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HomeMy WebLinkAbout19.b. Committee Minutes - Engineering & Operations 04-20-2021 Page 1 of 16 Item 19.b. CENTRALSAN jdf A- hom CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT May 6, 2021 TO: HONORABLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FROM: KATIE YOUNG, SECRETARYOF THE DISTRICT SUBJECT: APRIL 20, 2021 - ENGINEERING & OPERATIONS COMMITTEE - CHAIR WILLIAMS AND MEMBER LAURITZEN Attached are minutes of the above Committee meeting. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Minutes of 04-20-21 meeting 2. (Handout) Item 5.a. Presentation from meeting May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 198 of 239 Page 2 of 16 CENTRAL SAN CONTRACENTRAL • DISTRICT 5019 • REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OFDIxECToxs: TAD J PILECKI CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA President ILLIAMS SANITARY DISTRICT DAPIDR. tProTem Tem President Pro ENGINEERING & OPERATIONS BARBARA D.HOCKETT COMMITTEE MARIAH N.LAURITZEN MICHAEL R.MCGILL MINUTES PHONE: (925)228-9500 FAX: (925)372-0192 Tuesday, April 20, 2021 www.centralsan.org 10:00 a.m. (All attendees participated via videoconference) Committee: Chair David Williams Member Mariah Lauritzen Guests: Grant Carone, Carone & Company, Inc. (left after Item 5.a.) Kim Carone, Counsel for McGuire & Hester (left after Item 5.a.) Lloyd Carone, Carone & Company, Inc. (left after Item 5.a.) Bruce Daseking, McGuire & Hester (left after Item 5.a.) Mike Falk, HDR, Inc. (joined during Item 4.a., left after Item 4.b.) Mike Hester, McGuire & Hester (left after Item 5.a.) Holly Kennedy, HDR, Inc. (joined during Item 4.a., left after Item 4.b.) Ray Kong, Counsel for Carone & Company, Inc. (left after Item 5.a.) Randy Somerday, McGuire & Hester (left after Item 5.a.) Staff. Roger S. Bailey, General Manager (joined during Item 5.a.) Kenton L. Alm, District Counsel Katie Young, Secretary of the District Phil Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration (joined during Item 5.a.) Steve McDonald, Director of Operations Jean-Marc Petit, Director of Engineering and Technical Services Danea Gemmell, Planning and Development Services Division Manager Edgar Lopez, Capital Projects Division Manager Neil Meyer, Plant Maintenance Division Manager Nitin Goel, Senior Engineer (left after Item 4.b.) Nathan Hodges, Senior Engineer (left after Item 5.a.) Sasha Mestetsky, Senior Engineer (joined during Item 5.a.) Nate Morales, Senior Engineer Sean Sullivan, Electrical Shop Supervisor (left after Item 5.b.) Amelia Berumen, Provisional Assistant to the Secretary of the District May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 199 of 239 Page 3 of 16 Engineering & Operations Committee Minutes April 20, 2021 Page 2 1. Notice This meeting was held in accordance with the Brown Act as in effect under the State Emergency Services Act, the Governor's Emergency Declaration related to COVID-19, and the Governor's Executive Order N-29-20 issued on March 17, 2020 that allowed attendance by Board Members, District staff, and the public to participate and conduct the meeting by teleconference, videoconference, or both. The agenda included instructions for options in which the public could participate in the meeting. 2. Call Meeting to Order Chair Williams called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. 3. Public Comments No public comments. Mr. Petit requested Item 5.a. be taken out of order as the first item of business. Chair Williams agreed and proceeded to Item 5.a. 4. Items for Committee Recommendation to Board The following item and balance of the agenda was heard immediately after the conclusion of Item 5.a. a. Review draft Position Paper to authorize the General Manager to execute a construction contract change order in the amount of $419,500 with Mountain Cascade, Inc. to include Tier 4 emissions control equipment for the Pump Station Upgrades, Phase 1, District Project 8436; and authorize a budget transfer in the amount of $420,000 from the Capital Improvement Budget Contingency Mr. Lopez reviewed the presentation and information included in the agenda material. He stated that the generators are a key of piece of equipment needed for the project. With the required change by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) to include Tier 4 emission control equipment to reduce nitrogen oxide, a major concern is the ripple effect on the construction schedule and the contractor's work at these sites. He stressed that time is of the essence for this decision to move forward and to stay on schedule because the work must be completed during the dry weather season, as stipulated in the contract documents. Mr. Petit discussed staff and District Counsel's parallel coordination meetings with BAAQMD. Mr. Alm shared that BAAQMD was well represented in the joint meeting and clearly stated their position that they May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 200 of 239 Page 4 of 16 Engineering & Operations Committee Minutes April 20, 2021 Page 3 received direction from the State Board and did not have a choice to modify their position at this point. With their stance given, staff inquired whether Central San could resubmit the project submittal for the construction permit authorization at each site. The BAAQMD agreed to the request and committed to a two-week review turnaround. The application was resubmitted on April 12. Mr. Petit said that the contractor, also concerned with the emissions change and timing, issued warning that further delay could start a time- delay claim. Staff shared the contractor's warning with BAAQMD. Although different avenues to challenge this requirement have commenced, the outcome will be a lengthy development. Therefore, staff recommends moving forward with the purchase and installation of the additional emissions equipment since waiting for BAAQMD's ultimate decision cannot further delay the project. Chair Williams, concerned with the added cost, requested staff keep the Board apprised of any developments with BAAQMD. Mr. Petit stated he hoped to have additional information at the time this goes before the full Board and, if not, would provide an update when available. Mr. Lopez proceeded with his presentation. He explained a budget transfer is requested for this additional scope since staff believes the current contract contingency will likely incur added electrical costs, especially since construction, namely the electrical portion, is in the early stages. If the budget transfer were approved, this change would be within 9% of the total construction contract, below the standard 10% threshold. Chair Williams discussed his opinion on project budgets. He asked whether staff was attempting to balance the budget during the project to be under budget at the end. Mr. Petit echoed Mr. Lopez'explanation and added that staff wants to be able to effectively manage unforeseen scope changes with the contractor. The additional required equipment and its associated work had not been factored in previously. As such, should a large problem occur, staff wants to be able to quickly respond and avoid any further delays. Moreover, staff does not want the contractor to be impacted by the internal request process during a critical time because the intended contract contingency was instead used for the emissions work. Mr. Petit offered that the Board has the option to not grant the budget transfer. Member Lauritzen stated that it was valid to give economy to manage the process of execution. May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 201 of 239 Page 5 of 16 Engineering & Operations Committee Minutes April 20, 2021 Page 4 Chair Williams further declared his uncertainty with the budget transfer. However, after additional discussion, since this change was so unique and brought on by a regulatory agency, he did not want to impede staff in managing the project. The Committee concurred on Board approval as recommended by staff. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval. b. Review draft Position Paper to approve the Phase 2 - Aeration Basins Diffuser Replacement and Seismic Upgrades Project in the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Budget and funding from the Steam and Aeration Blower Systems Renovations, District Project 7349; and authorize the General Manager to amend an existing agreement with HDR, Inc. to include final design services in an amount not to exceed $1,856,000, increasing the cost ceiling to $5,326,000 Mr. Petit reviewed the presentation included in the agenda material. He stated that the overall message of slide 7 was that the data shows an increase in trend in the Sludge Volume Index (SVI); lower values are desired for proper operation. The increase in turbidity impacts the capacity of the activated sludge process as well as the quality of effluent going through ultraviolet (UV) disinfection and the overall stress on the UV system. Mr. McDonald and Mr. Petit spoke about the SVI increase and the operation concern it poses. Mr. McDonald advised that a "good plant"runs at 100-150 SVI. This situation, similar to a condition another agency encountered, is due to a lack of oxygen transfer into the aeration basins. In discussion of the Phase 2 project intent, in addition to deteriorating diffusers, mechanical deficiencies and necessary controller enhancements, seismic upgrades are also needed. Mr. Petit noted that many of the needs associated with the aeration basins project are similar to the recent Mechanical and Concrete Renovations project. Mr. Petit defined the estimated $68 million Steam and Aeration Blower Systems Renovations (Steam Project) was lowered to $51 million for Phase 1 - Electric Blowers Improvement, Phase 2 will further decrease the budget but will leave adequate funds to complete the remaining steam portion of the initial project. Staff intends to procure the equipment at the 30% Design level and bid the diffusers for technical criteria in addition to price. He concluded that the overall project is a lengthy process. May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 202 of 239 Page 6 of 16 Engineering & Operations Committee Minutes April 20, 2021 Page 5 Member Lauritzen stated the project is overdue and was supportive of the improvement plan. Chair Williams asked how this project meshes with the Nutrient Removal project. Mr. Petit stated that the $10-11 million estimated in the Ten-Year Capital Improvement Plan for the Nutrient Removal-Level 1 project will be used for this project as staff plans to optimize the existing available tankage. Chair Williams inquired whether staff has thought about various nutrient alternatives, to which Mr. Petit replied yes and it would be coordinated with the Water Exchange Project. Under all considered alternatives, the use of the existing secondary treatment is being maintained and, therefore, there would be no stranded assets. The Committee concurred on Board approval as recommended by staff. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval. 5. Other Items Item 5.a. was heard out of order, immediately after Item 3. a.* Continue discussion of the construction contract bid protest and award associated with the Contractor Staging Improvements, District Project 7375 [Background: This matter was originally presented to the Committee on April 7 and to the Board of Directors on April 15, 2021. It was announced at the Board meeting that the original staff recommendation had since been changed to reject all bids. At the meeting, the issue was discussed at length, with public comment, the Board continued its determination pending further Committee and staff review. This item continued that discussion.] Mr. Lopez provided the attached presentation to address and discuss several questions from the Board meeting and how staff plans to proceed with its original recommendation at the May 6 Board meeting. As represented in slide 4, conversation continued about issues with the bid from Carone & Company, Inc. (Carone), centered around material errors in Bid Items 5 and 6. Additionally, slide 5 discussed other non- responsive contract requirement actions of Carone associated with timely filing of a bid protest, or the non-filing of an actual bid protest. Mr. Lopez briefly explained the need of the Contractor Staging Improvements project, its correlation to the extensively discussed Solids Handling Facility Improvements (Solids Project) currently out to bid, and the concern that these recent events may delay or impact that project. May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 203 of 239 Page 7 of 16 Engineering & Operations Committee Minutes April 20, 2021 Page 6 Staff evaluated several alternatives and decided on a contingency plan, if needed, to continue the staging project. He advised that an addendum to the Solids Project is pending to include the alternative as an additive bid item that could be deleted later if it is unnecessary. Therefore, after additional staff review of all of the bids and correspondence received, and with a contingency plan in place, Mr. Lopez concluded staff found no issue with the McGuire & Hester(M&H) bid and will revert to its original recommendation. Mr. Lopez provided clarification to a question posed by Member Lauritzen regarding the staff recommendation and bids received, after which she stated her support as presented. In response to an inquiry of Chair Williams regarding the short-term approach, Mr. Lopez stated that the contingency plan would move the Solids Project along; however, several staging project scope items remain to be remedied, such as security, if the staging project were to be delayed. Several in-depth questions were asked by Chair Williams to District Counsel and staff and a lengthy discussion followed. Some of the main discussion is summarized below: • Bid pricing from Carone - column clearly stated per ton for the two- unit prices in question. Is there a significant impact to Carone correcting their bid and requesting an additional $138,000? Mr. Petit replied yes, the dollar amount is significant, but the amount is not the issue. Carone submitted a letter that acknowledged the error made to those bid items after the bid opening. Mr. Alm advised that non-material errors can be waived, which is not the case here. It is inappropriate to allow a change after the bid has been submitted. It is not the dollar amount, but the change of bid after the fact and with errors of material. • Unbalanced bids are not allowed in public proiects, is there a cutoff that this would not be an issue? Mr. Alm reiterated it is not the dollar amount here. He opined that a material error associated with the Class I disposal was significantly lower and reversed with Class 11, resulting in potential loss to the company, and vice-versa, a potential loss to the District on Class II disposal. • In the field, how would the District be at a disadvantage? Mr. Lopez stated the Class 11 hazardous materials (Bid Item 6) is the disadvantage and is significantly higher than other bids. The amounts reflected on the "soil cap"are estimates, which can be more once soil is scraped and tested. May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 204 of 239 Page 8 of 16 Engineering & Operations Committee Minutes April 20, 2021 Page 7 • Another letter from Carone said to disregard their previous letter and they would honor their price, how does that factor? Mr. Alm stated that the letter indicated acknowledgement of the error in the bid; therefore, the District should not award to that bidder. Mr. Petit added that Mr. Carone verbally stated to staff that he would likely ask for changes later. Chair Williams stated he was also prepared to support the staff recommendation. Mr. Alm reminded the Committee that the hearing would continue before the Board and there were public participants in attendance at this meeting that may want to speak. After hearing their views, it may prompt the Committee to ask for more information. Public Comment: 1. Carone & Company, Inc.: Mr. Carone stated his Counsel, Mr. Kong, was in attendance to speak on his behalf. Mr. Kong stated that the error made ends up being in the District's favor. He said numbers are not a valid reason to throw out his client's bid and Carone agreed to honor their price - Carone is the lowest bidder. Regarding the question of imbalance, Mr. Kong stated that there were imbalances in every bid, and noted other bid items within M&H's submittal. He opined that the District's focus on Bid Items 5 and 6 is not a fair or valid reason to reject their bid. He continued that a statement within the April 15 Position Paper was incorrect: "...unreasonable to assume any contractor would honor significantly low prices for disposal of Class I contaminated soils.'; stating that Carone is bound to honor the contract. Moreover, in response that Carone may ask for a change order later, was also not reason to reject in his opinion since the change order itself could be rejected. Mr. Kong concluded saying Carone had done their research and is willing to take the risk of the Class I price difference. The basis to reject their bid is improper on a variety of levels and noted that M&H's figures have not been raised as an issue at all. He opined the real option should be to reject all bids and rebid the project. 2. McGuire & Hester. Kim Carone, Counsel for M&H then spoke, stating M&H supports staff on their original recommendation. She continued that the law is clear- Carone made a mistake and the District is bound to reject their bid because it is a material difference. M&H is the responsive and responsible bidder and is May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 205 of 239 Page 9 of 16 Engineering & Operations Committee Minutes April 20, 2021 Page 8 ready to proceed, adding that staff already deemed M&H to be responsive and responsible. She concluded, in summary, clerical and material errors were put in writing; Carone needs to be deemed non-responsive Response and continued discussion: Mr. Kong stated Carone sent their letter at the request of the District which otherwise would not have been sent— the District requested something in writing. Mr. Petit replied that the March 18 letter from Carone was sent at their own volition, which renders their bid non-responsive. Mr. Lopez added that the District would never tell a bidder to change their numbers. In the end, the Committee concurred with staff's recommendation and that the matter will be determined by the full Board at the May 6 meeting. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update, held discussion, and deferred the matter to the full Board for determination. At this point, the Committee reverted to the original agenda order, beginning with Item 4.a. b. Receive update on a recent ArcFlash incident at Substation 33 Mr. Morales presented the information included in the agenda materials, which included an overview of this event and the challenges with electrical-type work and incidents that can occur- especially with older equipment. To summarize, Substation 33 is located near the north clarifier in the treatment plant. A contractor was pulling wiring while on a ladder and encountered a faultily fastened piece of equipment which fell during the wire pull and created the arc flash. Some clarifier equipment did go down momentarily but was quickly reenergized by the electrical staff. Fortunately, and most importantly, no one was injured. Following this event, representatives from various divisions reviewed the incident. Valuable lessons were learned, and processes were implemented for future equipment maintenance. Going forward, staff electricians will have additional items to check during their preventative maintenance responsibilities, such as barrier fasteners being properly secured. Mr. Morales had mentioned earlier in his presentation that with the number of upcoming plants projects, even more contractors will be on site interacting with the facility, thus, staff worked quickly to move forward with solutions. May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 206 of 239 Page 10 of 16 Engineering & Operations Committee Minutes April 20, 2021 Page 9 Mr. McDonald stated that the equipment is very old, and no one was at fault in this incident. He assured the Committee that operational steps were taken, and a system is in place to make things safer for everyone working around the various plant equipment. Member Lauritzen stated it is often the case that contractors have a higher injury rate than staff and that staff is responsible to keep contractors safe. Hence, she was glad that immediate steps were taken to mitigate further future issues. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update. C. Receive Capital Projects Division Quarterly Report (January to March) on capital projects, active consultant contracts, change order log, and schedule of bids and awards This item was heard after Item 8. Mr. Lopez explained a bid scheduling change of two District Projects (DP) depicted on the Schedule of Bids and Awards (last page of the report). Staff decided to combine the Electric Blower Improvements-Phase 1, DP 100015 with the Piping Renovations-Phase 10, DP 7369 to consolidate bid efforts that would include similar job tasks and contractor trades and to obtain the best overall contract price. Since similar work covers both projects, it was deemed more efficient to have one team complete the two projects, both contractor and staff wise. Chair Williams observed some consultant contracts have received 8-9 revisions, and asked staff to comment. Mr. Lopez stated that typically the agreements do not have so many revisions; however, some of the agreements have been in place for multiple years. As such, some of the revisions were executed simply for time, while other amendments may have included scope of work or task dollars. Mr. Petit added that some projects are more complicated and require more contract revisions, such as the Solids Project. He stressed that even though some agreements may require multiple revisions, staff closely monitors all contracts. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the report. 6. Announcements None. May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 207 of 239 Page 11 of 16 Engineering & Operations Committee Minutes April 20, 2021 Page 10 7. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items a. Receive list of upcoming agenda items and provide suggestions for any other future agenda items COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the list. 8. Future Scheduled Meetings Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 25, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. (Special meeting) Tuesday, June 1, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. 9. Adjournment— at 11:55 a.m. * Attachment May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 208 of 239 Page 12 of 16 Item 5.a. (Handout) CONTRACTOR STAGING IMPROVEMENTS DISTRICT PROJECT 7375 STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AWARD Engineering and Operations Committee Meeting April 20, 2021 r Edgar J. Lopez, P.E. Capital Projects Division Manager BID SUMMARY ENGINEER'S ESTIMATE: $4.000.DOQ NO. BIDDER BID PRICE 1 Carone&Company, Inc. $3,819,790` I2 McGuire&Hester $4,001,000 3 O.C.Jones&Sons, Inc. $4,249,500 4 NT Construction, Inc. $4,506,700 5 Aztec Consultants,Inc. $4,731,300 Bid non-responsive. Bid Opening: March 18, 2021 z CENTRALSAN 2 1 May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 209 of 239 Page 13 of 16 BID ITEMS 5 AND 6 COMPARISON Bid Item 5Bid Item B Extended Cost Extended Cost Aztec Consultants,Ina $4.9,000 $56,001] McGuire&Hasler $285,000 $12,000 NTK Construction,Inc- $325,000 $44,000 ................. O C Janes&Sons,Inc- $270,00 $20,000 AVERAGE From Bids $334,750 $33,000 Engineers Estimate $325,000 $.35,000 Carone 8,Company.Inc. $112,500 $137,000 • Carone & Company(Carone)submitted a letter on March 18th stating a mistake had occurred in their bid and requested an additional amount of$138,000 with a corrected bid schedule for a total of$3,957,700. l 3 —r CENTRALSAN RECOMMENDING TO REJECT CARONE'S BID • Carone, the apparent low bidder, made significant errors for Bid items#5 and #6 . • Errors are not considered clerical as they impact pricing and the cost of the contract as Carone presented in their letter on March 18th (Attachment 4 of the Position Paper). Therefore, the errors are material. Staff can not recommend an award with material errors and or a contractor corrected bid total. • Carone has written that they would perform the work at the original amount given at bid time. The errors for Bid items#5 and #6 result in unbalanced bid items. These items are the highest risk for project costs and unknown conditions, Central San would be at a disadvantage on Bid item#6. Staff does not recommend awarding a contract with unbalanced items, resulting in a disadvantage that is detrimental to the District as stated in the bid specifications (Volume 1, Part II Instruction to Bidders, Section 8.) �l CENTRALSAN I' a 4 2 May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 210 of 239 Page 14 of 16 BID PROTEST AND PROCEDURES Bidders have no later than 5 p.m. of the fifth (5) business day (March 25th) to submit a protest per the procedures specified: Staff received a timely bid protest from McGuire & Hester (M&H) on March 24. In review of all correspondence, Carone did not follow several of the protest procedures, as follows: A bidder may not rely on the Protest submitted by another bidder, but pursue its own protest in a timely manner. Carone submitted a letter responding to M&H on March 26th and stated "Carone would have to strongly consider a bid protest..." . Carone did not transmit copies to M&H. Staff did not get a protest as defined in the specifications by Carone and anything beyond March 25th is untimely. CENTRALSAN REVIEW OF M&H BID When evaluating bids, the project bid specifications is used by Staff in resolving discrepancies. M&H Bid did contain minor discrepancies (missing written word "Dollars" or I" which are noted and addressed in the bid specifications. These discrepancies are considered clerical and non-material. Staff has reviewed and discussed the pricing provided by M&H and did not find any unbalance between the various contract items. Therefore, staff considers M&H's bid to be responsive and responsible. CENTRALSAN 6 3 May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 211 of 239 Page 15 of 16 SOLIDS PROJECT IMPACT One of the immediate needs for the Contractor Staging Project is for the Large project currently out to bid (Solids Project —$120 Million). • Staff plans to issue an addendum to include a contingency plan in the event of a delay. • The contingency plan will include such items as an alternative entrance and exit for the contractor on Imhoff Drive. Staff will meet with Refinery for use of parking lots. • This plan will alleviate concerns for impacting the Solids project and will be bid as an additive bid item so that the District can possibly delete it later. STAFF RECOMMENDED BOARD ACTIONS • Make findings: • The Project is exempt from CEQA; • Reject the bid by Carone&Company, Inc. • Award the project bids: • Award a construction contract in the amount of$4,001,000 to McGuire&Hester,the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the Contractor Staging Improvements, District Project 7375; • Include the additive bid item in the amount of$9,300 for the construction of the Recreational Vehicle(RV)Receiving Station; • Authorize the General Manager to: • Execute the Contract Documents subject to submittal requirements; • Amend an existing agreement with Woodard&Curran to include engineering services during construction in the amount of$50,000, increasing the agreement cost ceiling to$367,000;and • Authorize a Budget Transfer: • Transfer$800,000 from the FY 2020-21 CIB Contingency for the inclusion of the RV Receiving Station and hazardous soil additional budget. ` CENTRAL SAN 8 4 May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 212 of 239 Page 16 of 16 QUESTIONS? CENTRALSAN 5 May 6, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 213 of 239