Agenda Item Wording:
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Approval of Change Orders and Notice of Completion for Downtown Projects - Approval of contract change orders for the Downtown Streetlight Project in the amount of $516,004.10 and authorization for the City Manager to file a Notice of Completion for the Downtown Streetlight and Pavement Rehabilitation projects.
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Prepared by: Eric Bons, Senior Civil Engineer, Eric.Bons@visalia.city, 559-713-4350
Chris Crawford, City Engineer, Chris.Crawford@visalia.city, 559-713-4331
Jason Huckleberry, Engineering & Building Director, Jason.Huckleberry@visalia.city, 559-713-4495.
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends City Council authorize the City Manager to file a Notice of Completion for the Downtown Streetlight and Pavement Rehabilitation Projects and approve contract change order numbers 3, 4 and 5 for the Downtown Streetlight Project in the amount of $516,044.10.
Summary:
The project closeout documentation is now complete and staff is requesting that City Council authorize the City Manager to file a Notice of completion for the Downtown Streetlight and Pavement Rehabilitation Projects. Staff is also requesting Council approval of change order numbers 3, 4 and 5 for the Downtown Street Lighting project in the amount of $516,044.10. This amount is over the current approval limit set for the City’s Change Order Committee according to the current policy. The construction change orders address the field changes due to unknown underground conflicts, required changes to the contractor’s method of construction, and owner directed changes.
The downtown area is one of the oldest parts of town, projects in these areas can be difficult due to the quantity and age of the existing infrastructure. The downtown project ran into many unknown and challenging situations that had to be worked through by the contractor, consultants, and staff. This also generated a significant amount of change order paperwork that took extra time to review and negotiate. This delayed the Notice of Completion and closeout portion of this project significantly. However, during the course of these negotiations and review it is estimated that the City reduced the change order amount by approximately two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) because of its thorough review of the change order documentation.
Background Discussion:
The Downtown Streetlight Project consisted of replacing a 70+ year-old lighting system in Downtown Visalia with a modern lighting system that meets current industry standards. This project replaced an outdated and unsafe high voltage (4,000-volt) electrical lighting system. This system, with aging and deteriorated assets, made the repair and maintenance very unsafe for City maintenance staff. The project included the replacement of the existing system with a new multi-functional streetlight system which provides longer lasting serviceability, normal maintenance per industry standards, lowered operational cost, and an aesthetically pleasing finished product. Communication conduits were also installed to be utilized at a future time without cutting into the roadway improvements. In addition, the project included the pavement rehabilitation of Main Street from Willis Street to Santa Fe Street.
The assembly of the construction change orders took longer to assemble due to negotiations with the general contractor and their delayed responses. The construction manager from NV5 was diligent to ensure the contractor submitted all the backup information to justify all the construction change orders. This set of construction change orders will close this project.
The original construction contract was awarded to AC Electric Company, Inc. for the Downtown Streetlight and Pavement Rehabilitation Project. The pavement rehabilitation portion of the project was awarded in the amount of $2,574,256.55 with a previously approved construction change order in the amount of $248,959.18 for a total of $2,823,215.73. The downtown streetlighting portion of the project was awarded in the amount of $6,279,317.60 with two previously approved construction change orders in the amounts of $102,050.78 and $140,655.67 for a total of $6,522,024.05.
Downtown Pavement Rehabilitation Project
The project cost associated with the Downtown Pavement Rehabilitation portion of this project has a total of $172,840.99 (6.71%) increase from the original contract amount of $2,574,256.55 for a total amount of $2,747,097.54. The following is a breakdown of the construction change orders.
|
Category |
Amount |
Percentage |
|
Errors & Omissions (E&O) |
|
|
|
Utilities (UT) |
|
|
|
Balance of Quantities (BQ) |
-($87,977.48) |
-(3.42%) |
|
Unforseen Conditions (UN) |
|
|
|
Owner Directed Changes in Scope (CoS) |
$260,818.47 |
10.13% |
|
TOTAL: |
$172,840.99 |
6.71% |
Owner Directed Change in Scope:
The City of Visalia requested additional grind and pave limits on Main Street between Garden and Santa Fe. Originally, this area was not shown on the project documents to receive cold planning or new hot mix asphalt (HMA) because it was in relatively good shape. However, according to the plans this segment of roadway required multiple transverse cuts in the road to allow for streetlight conduits to be installed. In addition, to avoid hitting existing underground utilities, the contractor potholed multiple locations creating more cuts into the roadway. All of this brought a road that was in relatively good shape to poor condition. Since this area was already under construction it was beneficial to extend the limits of the paving work to complete continuity of the project through Santa Fe Street. The City has a future project to rehabilitate the remaining side streets in Downtown. The Contractor was compensated at bid item prices for this work.
The City requested the contractor to remove a portion of the existing sidewalk and curb & gutter along the south side of Main Street at Encina Street due to some subsidence. The contractor removed the sidewalk and curb & gutter and recompacted the underlying ground. The sidewalk and curb & gutter were reconstructed to match the surrounding improvements before Main Street was repaved.
The City also requested the restriping of Main Street between Bridge Street and Santa Fe Street due to the repaving of this segment of Main Street.
Balance of Quantities
The actual quantities installed for the project were quantified and this resulted in a credit to the contract.
Downtown Streetlight Project
The project cost associated with the Downtown Streetlight portion of this project has a total of $775,449.35 (12.35%) increase from the original contract amount of $6,279,317.60 for a total amount of $7,054,766.95. The following is a breakdown of the construction change orders.
|
Category |
Amount |
Percentage |
|
Errors & Omissions (E&O) |
$310,311.92 |
4.94% |
|
Utilities (UT) |
$7,986.63 |
0.13% |
|
Balance of Quantities (BQ) |
$16,698.80 |
0.27% |
|
Unforeseen Conditions (UN) |
$149,970.63 |
2.39% |
|
Owner Directed Changes in Scope (CoS) |
$290,481.37 |
4.63% |
|
TOTAL: |
$775,449.35 |
12.35% |
Errors & Omissions
A significant cost was associated with the installing of conduits within the State right of way (Court Street and Locust Street). The original method of installation was to perform horizontal drilling, but due to space limitations and Caltrans requirements, the contractor installed the conduits crossing Court Street and Locust Street by an open trench method. This method was more labor intensive, which increased the cost. The design engineer failed to get the approved Caltrans encroachment permit requirements prior to construction resulting in additional costs once the requirements were received. This oversight resulted in these change orders being given the E&O designation.
Utilities
During construction, several existing utility conflicts with water infrastructure that had to be adjusted during construction.
Unforeseen Conditions:
The unforeseen conditions encountered by the contractor for the removal and handling of existing wiring which was not identified on the plans. The contractor encountered many locations where there were existing utilities that either had been abandoned in place or unmapped. The unknown utilities caused delays and redesigns of conduits to make for an operational system. The contractor also performed additional potholing to locate any other existing utilities not identified or shown on the construction plans.
The added cost associated with unforeseen conditions was compounded due to approximately 150 years of construction and changes in the downtown area as well as the lack of recorded information that would have aided during the design stage of the project.
Owner Directed Changes in Scope:
The City requested the change in conduit material due to lead time delays associated with the conduit material specified on the plans, modifications to the electrical services, demolition of existing streetlight foundations, increases to some of the streetlight foundations due to localized conditions, increase the wire size for the electrical system, temporary electrical service pedestal to provide lighting for a major community event, providing additional conduits for the public announcement system, and other communications connections not specified on the plans.
The changes made by the City were based on field conditions and in some cases were made in the field in collaboration between the City and the contractor to find a reasonable solution with minimal delays to the construction process.
Balance of Quantities
The actual quantities installed for the project were quantified and this resulted in an addition to the contract price. There were some significant credits to the conduit installation bid items because this work was removed and performed under another change order. There was a significant irrigation addition to include irrigation lines found throughout the downtown corridor. There were also some additional communication vaults that were added to the City system.
In this report staff is requesting Council approval of change order numbers 3, 4 and 5 for the Downtown Street Lighting Project in the amount of $516,044.10. Due to the dollar amount of the change orders the City Procurement Policy requires City Council approval. These change orders were previously reviewed by the Change Order Committee, which also recommended approval of these change orders. The Change Order Committee is a non-appointed committee of technical staff who are not directly involved with the project being considered. The Change Order Committee reviews the contract change order requests for completeness, accuracy, constructability, objectivity, consistency, and overall insight.
Fiscal Impact:
Downtown Pavement Rehabilitation Project (CP0373)
The pavement rehabilitation component of the Downtown Project is funded by funds from the Senate Bill 1- Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (SB1 RMRA) Fund (113) with a total project budget of $3,520,800. These funds are for the design and construction of pavement rehabilitation, limited sidewalk repairs & curb ramps, and ADA-compliant parking stalls. The table below shows the budget summary for the Downtown Pavement Project:
|
Project Funding: |
|
|
|
SB1 Funding (113) - Pavement Rehabilitation |
|
$3,520,800 |
|
Total Project Funding: |
|
$3,520,800 |
|
|
|
|
|
Project Costs: |
|
|
|
Design Staff Time |
|
$56,230 |
|
Design -Consultant (QK Inc.) |
|
$380,603 |
|
Construction Management -Staff Time |
|
$66,000 |
|
Materials Testing |
|
$31,600 |
|
Construction Management (NV5, Inc.) |
|
$128,843 |
|
Construction Management Change Order |
|
$1,341 |
|
Construction -Pavement Rehabilitation (AC Electric) |
|
$2,574,257 |
|
Construction Change Order #1 |
|
$248,959 |
|
Construction Change Order #2 |
|
$11,860 |
|
Construction Change Order #3 |
|
-($87,977) |
|
Total Project Cost: |
|
$3,411,716 |
|
|
|
|
|
Summary: |
|
|
|
Total Project Funding |
|
$3,520,800 |
|
Total Project Cost |
|
$3,411,716 |
|
Project Funds Remaining |
|
$109,084 |
Any excess funds will be returned to the appropriate fund.
Downtown Streetlight Project (CP0345)
The streetlight component of the Downtown project is funded by the Measure N (141) Fund with a total project budget of $9.69M. The table below shows the budget summary for the Downtown Streetlight Project:
|
Project Funding: |
|
|
|
Measure N Fund (141) - Streetlighting |
|
$9,690,000 |
|
Total Project Funding: |
|
$9,690,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Project Costs: |
|
|
|
Design Staff Time |
|
$363,130 |
|
Design -Consultant (QK Inc.) |
|
$485,218 |
|
Construction Management -Staff Time |
|
$220,000 |
|
Streetlight Procurement |
|
$822,050 |
|
Construction Management (NV5, Inc.) |
|
$515,386 |
|
Construction Management Change Order |
|
$225,155 |
|
Construction -Streetlighting (AC Electric) |
|
$6,279,318 |
|
Construction Change Order #1 & #2 |
|
$242,706 |
|
Construction Change Order #3, #4 & #5 |
|
$516,044 |
|
Construction Change Order #6 |
|
$16,699 |
|
Total Project Cost: |
|
$9,685,756 |
|
|
|
|
|
Summary: |
|
|
|
Total Project Funding |
|
$9,690,000 |
|
Total Project Cost |
|
$9,685,756 |
|
Project Funds Remaining |
|
$4,244 |
Any excess funds will be returned to the appropriate fund.
Prior Council Action:
March 6, 2023 - City Council authorized the City Manager to approve Contract Change Order number 1 and 2 for construction of the Downtown Streetlight Project (1410-72000/CP0345-999) in an amount totaling $254,114.49 and Contract Change Order number 1 for the construction of the Downtown Pavement Rehab Project (2390-72000/CP0373-999) in the amount of $249,770.30
November 7, 2022 - City Council authorized City Manager to approve consultant contract Amendment #2 in the amount not to exceed $44,326 for the Downtown Streetlight Project (CP0345) and consultant contract Amendment #4 for the Downtown Pavement Rehabilitation Project (CP0373) in the amount not to exceed $55,215 for additional construction support with Quad Knopf (QK).
May 2, 2022 - City Council conducted the first of two public hearings to amend the Measure N plan and appropriate $2,700,000 towards the Downtown Streetlight Project (CIP 1410-72000/CP0345-999) to address a shortfall in the Downtown Streetlight project’s budget.
April 7, 2022 - The Measure N Oversight Committee reviewed and approved the Measure N amendment for the appropriation of $2,700,000 towards the Downtown Streetlight Project.
April 4, 2022 - City Council received the bid results for the Downtown Streetlight and Downtown Pavement Rehabilitation Projects for information. Authorized staff to begin the Measure N amendment process for the appropriation of $2.7M towards the Downtown Streetlight Project. Council authorized the appropriation of $2,141,800 of SB1 RMRA funds towards the Downtown Pavement Rehabilitation Project.
December 6, 2021 - City Council authorized the City Manager to execute an agreement with NV5, Inc. to provide the construction management services for the Downtown Streetlight Project and Pavement Rehabilitation Project in the amount of $644,233.00. November 15, 2021 - City Council authorized the City Manager to purchase the streetlight poles for the Downtown Streetlight Project from AV Poles and Lighting of Lancaster, CA, in the amount of $822,050.25.
November 15, 2021 - City staff presented the preliminary construction staging plans for the Downtown Streetlight Project and Downtown Pavement Rehabilitation Projects. June 7, 2021 - City staff presented the recommendation for the appropriation of $2.4M for the Downtown Streetlight Project to the second public hearing. The committee reviewed and approved the recommendations.
May 17, 2021 - City staff presented the recommendation for the appropriation of $2.4M for the Downtown Streetlight Project to the first public hearing. The committee reviewed and approved the recommendations.
April 22, 2021 - City Staff presented the recommendation for the appropriation of $2.4M for the Downtown Streetlight project to the Measure N Oversight Committee. The Committee reviewed and approved the recommendation.
March 15, 2021 - City Staff presented decorative streetlight options for the downtown streetlight project. City Council approved the recommendation for the layout option 3 and streetlight scenario 3 and Measure N amendment process to approve the appropriation of $2.4M for the Streetlight project.
December 07, 2020 - City Staff presented standards for installing Back Flow Preventors within the public right of way. City Council approved the recommendation for the standards.
July 21, 2020 - City Staff presented revised layout options for the Downtown Streetlight Project. City Council approved the recommendation for a core decorative streetlight style.
June 01, 2020 - City Staff presented layout options for the Downtown Streetlight Project. City Council requested additional information from City Staff.
October 21, 2019 - Council authorized award of the design contract for the Downtown Streetlight Project to Quad Knopf for an amount not to exceed $407,098.00.
October 15, 2018 - City Staff presented an update of the downtown streetlights project to City Council during a work session item.
April 16, 2018 - Council approved Resolution No. 2018-25 to designate various road projects for 2018/19 funding from the State of California Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (Senate Bill SB1)
Other: None.
Alternatives: None Recommended.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to approve contract change orders 3-5 for the Downtown Streetlight Project in the amount of $516,004.10 and authorize the City Manager to file a Notice of Completion for the Downtown Streetlight and Pavement Rehabilitation projects.
Environmental Assessment Status: None.
CEQA Review: Categorical Exemption, Section 15301(c)
Deadline for Action: 6/16/2025
Attachments:
Project Location Map for Downtown Streetlight Project.
Project Location Map for Downtown Pavement Rehabilitation Project.
Ownership Disclosure.
Downtown Streetlight Project Change Orders 3-5 Package