Agenda Item Wording:
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Award Design Contract - Authorize the City Manager to award a professional design services contract to Peters Engineering, Inc. for the SB1 Street Rehabilitation - Center & Acequia project in the amount of $699,120
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Prepared by:
Jonathan Frausto, Associate Engineer, Jonathan.Frausto@Visalia.gov, (559)713-4164
Diego Corvera, Senior Civil Engineer, Diego.Corvera@Visalia.gov, (559)713-4331
Christopher Crawford, City Engineer, Chris.Crawford@Visalia.gov, (559)713-4331
Jason Huckleberry, Engineering & Building Director, Jason Huckleberry@Visalia.gov, (559)713-4495
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to award a professional design services contract to Peters Engineering, Inc. for the SB1 Street Rehabilitation - Center & Acequia project in the amount of $699,120.
Summary:
This project will initiate the design phase for the rehabilitation of Center and Acequia Avenue from Willis Street to Santa Fe Street. Additional side streets are to be included as part of this effort such as Floral, Encina, Church, and Bridge. This project will also include limited repairs to curbs, gutters, sidewalks, drain inlets, ramps, and modifications of existing traffic signal equipment throughout the corridor.
Background Discussion:
The City of Visalia is currently maintaining a street network of approximately 507 centerline miles of roadway and nearly 100 million square feet of pavement. In an effort to appropriately direct maintenance activities and optimize the use of the limited maintenance funds available, staff incorporated a Pavement Management Program (PMP) 11 years ago, following the lead of other similarly sized California municipalities.
The Center and Acequia Avenue Pavement Rehabilitation Project was identified in the City’s Pavement Management Plan as a priority for resurfacing.
Consultant Selection and Scope of Work
On April 25, 2025, City Council awarded the On-Call Civil Engineering Services contract (RFQ 24-25-29) to six (6) qualified consulting firms: Peters Engineering Group, 4 Creeks, Inc., Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group, TRC Engineers, Inc., Lane Engineers, Inc., and CWE.
In order to comply with state funded project solicitation requirements, a mini-RFP process was initiated utilizing our selected consultants from the City’s approved on-Call Civil Engineering Services contract (RFQ 24-25-29). Lane Engineers, as part of RFQ 24-25-29, has requested to be unlisted from any projects that are subject to state and/or federal funding requirements. The remaining five (5) consulting firms returned a proposal.
Following a committee-based evaluation process, as detailed in the mini-RFP, Peters Engineering, Inc. was selected to provide civil engineering and design services for the SB1 Center & Acequia Street Rehabilitation Project.
The project includes pavement rehabilitation of approximately 1.25 miles of roadway along Center and Acequia Avenue, extending from Willis to Santa Fe Street. The design methods may consist of removing isolated pavement failures (digouts), grinding the existing pavement surface, and placing a new hot mix asphalt overlay.
In addition to the roadway improvements, the project will include upgrading existing curb ramps to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) standards, as well as modifications to existing traffic signals along the corridor to enhance safety and accessibility.
Additional roadway segments will also be improved, including:
• Floral Street (Acequia to Center Avenue)
• Encina Street (Main Street to Center Avenue)
• Church Street (Acequia to Center Avenue)
• Bridge Street (Mineral King to Center Avenue)
Lastly, the City of Visalia's adopted Active Transportation Plan identifies and proposes bicycle facilities throughout the City. In accordance with this plan, Acequia Avenue will be restriped with a class II bike lane. This will have minimal impact on Acequia as a class II bike lane already exists.
Center Avenue, however, does not have an adopted designation. As part of this project, the consultant will explore options with both class II and class IV bike lanes for Center Avenue. Implementing either class would help increase the city’s multimodal connectivity for residents in the downtown area and provide direct access to the upcoming Santa Fe Cycle Track project. The consultant will be responsible for identifying any impacts associated with these proposed alternatives, most notably the impacts to on-street parking.
Coordination Efforts
Due to the direct impact this will have on the Downtown District, the consultant’s scope of work includes a comprehensive public outreach component. This effort will ensure that City Council, City staff, the Downtown Visalians organization, and all affected business owners remain informed and up to date on any potential parking impacts, project scope, anticipated construction impacts, and scheduling milestones.
Fiscal Impact:
The fiscal impact associated with this action is limited to the design phase of the project. As outlined in Table 1: Current Design Project Funding, the current budget allocation is sufficient to fully cover the anticipated design costs.
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Table 1: Current Design Project Funding (CP0601) |
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Project Funding Source |
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Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Act (RMRA) |
$4,183,000 |
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Total Project Funding |
$4,183,000 |
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Estimated Project Design Costs |
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Project Management |
$ 150,000 |
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Design Services |
$ 699,120 |
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ROW Acquisition |
$ 0 |
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Permitting |
$ 50,000 |
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Total Estimated Design Costs |
$ 899,120 |
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Remaining Budget for Construction |
$3,283,880 |
Future fiscal considerations pertain to the construction phase of the project. Table 2: Projected Construction Costs presents a preliminary estimate of the total construction estimated expenditures. At present, the estimated remaining budget for construction, shown in Table 1, is not sufficient to cover the estimated cost for construction as shown in Table 2. These estimates are provided to establish the anticipated financial scope of the next phase and to support long-range capital planning efforts.
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Table 2: Projected Construction Costs |
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Construction |
$5,000,000 |
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Construction Contingency (15%) |
$ 750,000 |
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Construction Management - Consultant |
$ 400,000 |
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Construction Management - City Staff |
$ 75,000 |
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Construction Services (Material Testing, Inspection, Surveying) |
$ 250,000 |
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Total Estimated Construction Costs |
$6,475,000 |
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Surplus (Deficit) |
($3,191,120) |
To address anticipated funding needs, staff plans to analyze existing projects and potentially transfer funds and/or request additional funds through the yearly SB1 allocation staff report, subject to Council approval. The construction cost estimate will be further refined as the design progresses and construction estimates are validated.
Prior Council Action:
June 5,2023
Adopted Resolution No. 2023-20 to designate various road projects for Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) 2023/24 funding from the State of California Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2018 (Senate Bill SB1) and authorize the transfer of $3,4000,000 within the SB1 RMRA (113) Fund from CP0290 Pavement Rehabilitation to the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP’s) outlined within this report
June 20, 2022
Adopted Resolution No. 2022-41 to designate 2023/24 SB1 RMRA funding to 1) Downtown Pavement Rehabilitation, 2) Caldwell Ave. Improvements from Akers to Shady, and 3) Center & Acequia Street Rehabilitation
June 21, 2021
Adopted Resolution No. 2021-34 to designate 2021/22 SB1 RMRA funding to the FY 2021-22 SB1 Street Rehabilitation -Center & Acequia Project
Other: N/A
Alternatives: N/A
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
Authorize the City Manager to award a professional design services contract to Peters Engineering, Inc. for the SB1 Street Rehabilitation - Center & Acequia project in the amount of $699,120
Environmental Assessment Status: NEPA Environmental Assessment does not apply.
CEQA Review: A CEQA Notice of Exemption (NOE) will be prepared by the City of Visalia.
Deadline for Action: N/A
Attachments:
1. Project Location Map
2. Consultant Disclosure Form
3. Consultant Scope of Work