Agenda Item Wording:
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Notice of Award Civic Center Phase 2. Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Seals Construction, of Visalia, CA in the amount of $72,780,000, and authorize additional appropriation of funds for the full project cost $99.3 million for the Visalia Civic Center Phase 2 Project.
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Deadline for Action: 5/5/2025
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Mike Porter, Civil Engineer, Mike.porter@visalia.city, 713-4412;
Chris Crawford, City Engineer, Chris.crawford@visalia.city, 713-4331;
Jason Huckleberry, Engineering & Building Director, Jason.huckleberry@visalia.city, 713-4495
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Seals Construction in the amount of $72,780,000 for the construction of the Civic Center Phase 2 Project (3720-72000/CP0374-999); and
2. Authorize an additional appropriation of $87.8 million from various funds as outlined in the report.
Background Discussion:
Prior to bidding the Civic Center Phase 2 project, city staff solicited contractors through a prequalification process to verify that the contractors bidding on the project were both qualified and capable of performing the work. This process involved review of the contractor’s financial information, past projects completed, safety history, project references, and other construction records. Staff received prequalification submittal packages from seven contractors, all of whom were considered to be capable of completing the Civic Center Phase 2 project through this prequalification process.
On February 11, 2025, the City of Visalia Purchasing Division solicited bids from the seven contractors on the prequalification list for the construction of the Civic Center Phase 2 project. The bid package consisted of two parts: 1) “Total Bid Amount” for construction of Phase 2, and 2) “Deductive Alternates” for items that could potentially be removed from the scope of work for cost savings measures, at the discretion of the City Council. The Engineer’s Estimate for construction for the project was $81.2M. Since the low bid came in below the estimate, staff is not recommending removing any of the Deductive Alternate items from the project scope of work.
The bid opening was held on April 10, 2025, and three (3) bids were received for the project. Per the construction documents, the apparent low bid was established by the lowest Total Bid Amount. The results are summarized below.
No. Contractor Location Total Bid Amount
1. Seals Construction Visalia, CA $72,780,000
2. Bush Construction Hanford, CA $79,221,000
3. Pro West Contractors Wildomar, CA $89,805,000
Staff reviewed the bids and found that each bidder submitted the required information. Seals Construction’s Bid proposal was determined to be the lowest responsive bid and as part of the bid review process, the references provided by Seals Construction were checked by staff. The reference projects listed include construction projects for Clovis Community College, Reedley College, and West Hills College, and other reference projects included facilities constructed for Tulare County Resource Management Agency. Staff recommends to award to the lowest responsive bidder, Seals Construction, in the amount of $72,780,000 for the construction of Visalia Civic Center Phase 2.
The Seals construction bid for the Civic Center Phase 2 includes multiple buildings within the Civic Center Campus, including the Public Safety Administration Building measuring 51,700 square feet, Evidence Storage Building measuring 15,200 square feet, and the new City Council Chambers measuring 10,100 square feet. The site is located along the east side of North Burke Street, south of East Goshen Avenue and north of Mill Creek. The current project is considered “Phase 2” of the City’s longstanding plan to relocate city government offices and Council Chambers to City owned parcels predominantly along the east side of North Burke Street, between East Goshen Avenue and the Mill Creek waterway. Phase 2 also includes construction of a new parking lot to be located at the northwest corner of Burke Street and School Avenue. City facilities located within the project site, considered “Phase 1”, included the Visalia Emergency Communication Center (VECC) and ancillary parking area for emergency / public safety vehicles.
Fiscal Impact: The Civic Center Phase 2 capital project currently has budgeted $11,541,300 from the Civic Center Reserve Fund. These funds were obligated for the land purchase from the Successor Agency (RDA), architect and engineering services (Darden Contract), construction management (Griffin Contract), surveying services (Bedrock Contract), permits, and staff project management.
All costs, including the construction contract for the Civic Center Phase 2 project, are estimated to be $99.3 million as shown in the table below. Several of the costs are estimates. The utilities (SCE, Gas Co and Cal Water) are estimated from the project plans and specifications submitted to the utilities, but staff has not yet received the final installation costs for these items. The estimates for Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment, and Audio/Visual Equipment and Technology are estimated based on the anticipated needs of the project and from meetings with project stakeholders which include Police, Fire, Technology, and Finance Departments. Separate subgroups from the various departments will be consulted during the selection and procurement phases for these items and staff will return with an update of the actual costs during the construction phase of the project.
Staff recommends appropriating the additional funding of $87.8 million from the Funds listed below:
As noted, the Police and Fire Impacts funds will require a General Fund loan. Per California Government Code Section 66006, all Impact fee funds are required to be used within 5 years of receiving it. A future project has not been identified at this time and an advance will meet these requirements. In addition, these funds were outlined in the Measure T Plan for funding the Public Safety Building. Staff is not recommending using Measure T Funds at this time.
The remaining $7.3 million in the Civic Center Reserve will be used, if needed, for any additional costs not included, or if the estimates come in higher in the categories listed above. Once the project is further along and estimates are finalized, these funds can then be appropriated to fund design services for the Civic Center Phase 3 (Administration).
Prior Council Action:
October 21, 2024 - Council adopted Resolution No. 2024-62 for the formation of Underground Utility District along Goshen Avenue.
June 17, 2024 - Council received an update on the project and authorized staff to begin the Request for Qualification process and authorized increasing the retention amount to 10%.
October 16, 2023 - Council received a presentation, approved a contract amendment for Darden Architects, and authorized an appropriation from the Civic Center Reserve Fund.
October 2, 2023 - Council received a presentation and selected several outdoor amenities alternatives. Staff advised will return at a later date for approval of a consultant contract amendment.
June 19, 2023 - Council received a presentation on the Civic Center landscape options and directed staff to return with clarifications and alternatives.
May 1, 2023 - Council received an update and presentation on Phase 2 of the Civic Center and approved staff moving forward with completion of the schematic design phase of the project.
February 6, 2023 - Council received an update and presentation on Phase 2 of the Civic Center
December 19, 2022 - Council received an update and presentation on the site plan and possible architectural styles for the Civic Center buildings and approved the “Mission Inspired” style.
November 21, 2022 - Council received an update and presentation on the site plan and provided direction on the building orientation.
October 17, 2022 - Council accepted the presentation and approve the recommended site plan layout. City Council further considered and provided input on architectural styles via a visual exercise.
April 4, 2022 - Council Received an update on the Public Safety Office Building and City Council Chambers Project and approved a Consultant Contract Amendment requested by Darden Architects
June 7, 2021 - Council approved a motion for Mayor Steve Nelson to appoint two members of the Council to the Planning & Preliminary Project Assessment Committee.
March 15, 2021 - Council authorized the City Manager to enter into an A/E contract with Darden Architects to design the Public Safety Office Building/City Council Chambers.
November 4, 2019 - Council approved using the design-bid-build method of procurement for the PSOB Project.
August 19, 2019 - Council authorized appropriation of funds to issue an RFP for A/E Consulting Services for the new PSOB Project.
August 5, 2019 - Council received an update on the PSF project planning. Council directed staff to return with recommendation for appropriation of funds and creation of a new CIP for the planning and design of the new Public Safety Facility.
March 4, 2019 - Staff was directed to begin the planning phase of the new Public Safety Facility, and to return with an update on building size, staffing and Project funding.
Alternatives: Do not authorize the City Manager to enter into a construction agreement with Seals Construction. Any delay in this award could result in significantly higher costs due to recent tariffs and other construction industry increases which could make the project infeasible.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to:
1. Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Seals Construction in the amount of $72,780,000 for the construction of the Civic Center Phase 2 Project; and
2. Appropriate an additional $87.8 million as outlined in the report.
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Environmental Assessment Status: Program Environmental Impact Report SCH No. 2010041078.
CEQA Review: Initial Study No. 2024-44
Attachments:
Vicinity Map
Aerial Rendering
Ownership Disclosure
Sample Construction Agreement