Agenda Item Wording:
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Authorization to Award Material Testing Lab Services Contract - Award and authorize the City Manager to execute a one-year contract with five (5) materials testing consulting firms consisting of Krazan & Associates, Moore Twining Associates, Kleinfelder Inc., NV5 Inc. and BSK Associates; and place these firms on an on-call list to provide material testing services in support of the City’s Capital Improvement Projects. Each contract will be eligible for annual renewal up to four (4) additional consecutive years. The annual contract for each consultant shall not exceed $300,000 without additional authorization from the City of Visalia.
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Deadline for Action: 1/11/2025
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Rudy Lopez, Associate Engineer, Rudy.Lopez@visalia.city, 713-4270
Rebecca Keenan, Senior Civil Engineer, Rebecca.Keenan@visalia.city, 713-4541
Christopher 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 authorize the City Manager to execute a one-year contract with five (5) materials testing consulting firms consisting of Krazan & Associates, Moore Twining Associates, Kleinfelder Inc., NV5 Inc. and BSK Associates; and place these firms on an on-call list to provide material testing services in support of the City’s Capital Improvement Projects. Each contract will be eligible for annual renewal up to four (4) additional consecutive years. The annual contract for each consultant shall not exceed $300,000 without additional authorization from the City of Visalia.
Background Discussion:
The City of Visalia received eight (8) Proposals in response to the Request for Qualifications for Annual Material Testing Services (RFQ 23-24-04). The selected qualified firms will be able to provide services for local, state & federal CIP projects. Throughout the year the Engineering & Building Department regularly requires the services of material testing laboratories for various city projects. These projects can include, but are not limited to, the following: safe route to school projects, street improvements, street maintenance, sanitary sewer and storm drain infrastructure, other underground utility infrastructure, traffic signal and street light infrastructure, parking lots repair, parks, various pedestrian/bicyclist trails, building type projects, and other similarly related work throughout the city.
In general, the testing laboratory scope may include site visits, R-values testing, soil sampling, soil classification, soil analysis, equivalence testing, material gradation, compacting testing, aggregate base and hot mix asphalt sampling and testing, concrete compression testing and slump testing, core sampling, bore logging and associated reports for compliance with city specifications, project special provisions and technical specifications.
The City currently has multiple projects that will be utilizing these material testing contracts, including the Caldwell Avenue Widening Project from Santa Fe Street to Lovers Lane, Riggin Avenue Widening Project from Mooney Boulevard to Dinuba Boulevard, Shirk Avenue Capacity Enhancement Project and Public Safety Facility.
The City received a response to the RFQ from the following eight (8) laboratories:
1. Moore Twining Associates, Inc. - Fresno, CA
2. RMA GeoScience, - Fresno, CA
3. Kleinfelder Inc. - Fresno, CA
4. BSK Associates - Fresno, CA
5. Krazan & Associates - Clovis, CA
6. Achievement Engineering Corp. - Fresno, CA
7. DC Inspections, Inc. - Visalia, CA
8. NV5 Inc.- Bakersfield/Visalia, CA
As stated in the RFQ, the City is only selecting the top five (5) most qualified consultants who received the highest score based on the total points received on the selection criteria in the RFQ. Based on the yearly expected volume of work available, it is not beneficial to either the City or the consultants to select more than five (5) Consultants for this contract. The City is concerned that having one (1) consultant may result in too large of a workload and potential delays in completion of assignments, but if more than five (5) consultants were selected, the amount of work assigned to each consultant would be minimal. Limiting the number of selected consultants will also allow City staff and their contractors to establish more effective working relationships with the materials testing staff and will provide consistency on projects. In the past two (2) contracts the City maintained a list of 5 consultants for testing services and this has worked well in the past ten (10) plus years.
The following consultants were the top five (5) that scored the highest and staff recommends they be awarded this contract:
1. Krazan & Associates - Clovis, CA
2. Moore Twining Associates, Inc. - Fresno, CA
3. Kleinfelder Inc. - Fresno, CA
4. NV5 Inc. - Bakersfield/Visalia, CA
5. BSK Associates - Fresno, CA
The top five (5) consultants listed above all meet the requirements presented in RFQ 23-24-04 and have all worked on various City projects in the past with positive reviews from City’s construction managers and listed references. These testing labs have field technicians that are located within a 45-mile radius of the city limits of Visalia which is very beneficial when testing services are required on short notice. In addition, all personnel and laboratories for these firms are all properly certified. The consultants have confirmed that they have the required financial documentation for a state or federally funded project.
Fiscal Impact:
Consultant services will be charged to the applicable CIP. On average, the City spends approximately $200,000 per testing Consultant per year for budgeted CIPs. Due to the large amount of testing anticipated for the next five (5) years the total amount payable by the City for each contract will be eligible for annual renewal up to four (4) additional consecutive years. The annual contract for each consultant shall not exceed $300,000 without additional authorization from the City of Visalia. The total contract amount for all five (5) contracts over five (5) years shall not exceed a cumulative maximum value of Seven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($7,500,000.00) without additional authorization from the City of Visalia.
Prior Council Action: None
Alternatives: None Recommended
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to authorize the City Manager to execute a one-year contract with five (5) materials testing consulting firms consisting of Krazan & Associates, Moore Twining Associates, Kleinfelder Inc, NV5 Inc. and BSK Associates; and place these firms on an on-call list to provide material testing services in support of the City’s Capital Improvement Projects. Each contract will be eligible for annual renewal up to four (4) additional consecutive years. The annual contract for each consultant shall not exceed $300,000 without additional authorization from the City of Visalia.
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CEQA Review: NA
NEPA Review: NA
Attachments:
1. Firms Ownership Disclosure Levine Act (5)