Title
Recommendation to Authorize the Interim City Manager to Execute a Contract in the Amount Not to Exceed $5,299,614, Including Contingency, to McGuire and Hester for the Cross Alameda Trail - Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway Improvements, No. P.W. 03-18-11; and
Adoption of a Resolution Amending the Fiscal Year 2018-19 Capital Projects Fund Budget for the Cross Alameda Trail (Main to Constitution) Project by $1,794,060 from Various Funding Sources. (Public Works 310)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: David L. Rudat, Interim City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since 1991, the City has worked to implement the cross-town, four-mile Cross Alameda Trail (CAT) project with many segments now in design or constructed. The Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway (RAMP)/Atlantic Avenue segment from Main Street to Constitution Way has been in development since 2014. In 2015, the Transportation Commission (TC) and Planning Board approved the preliminary design for the Main Street to Webster Street segment, and after the one-block segment along Atlantic Avenue from Webster Street to Constitution Way was added to the CAT-RAMP segment, the TC and City Council approved a final concept plan for this unfunded segment in March and April 2017, respectively. On July 24, 2018, the City Council received a project update, which included the existence of a funding gap that would be addressed when the project returned to City Council for award of the construction contract.
The project was put out to bid in August 2018, and three bids were received. Staff recommend awarding the construction contract to the lowest responsible bidder, McGuire and Hester. Awarding that contract requires allocating an additional $1,894,060 to the project from the Construction Improvement Tax (Fund 164), General Fund (Fund 001), and remaining grant funds in order to complete this long-anticipated project.
BACKGROUND
Once completed, the full CAT will be a premier east-west walking and bicycling corridor, with many sections completely separated from cars, stretching from the Seaplane Lagoon at Alameda Point to the Miller-Sweeney Bridge at Tilden Way, for a total of four miles. Earlier this year, the Jean Sweeney Open Space Park segment from Constitution Way to Sherman Street was completed and will open this winter.
The development of the RAMP/Atlantic Avenue segment from Main Street to Constitution Way began in 2014. In 2015, the TC and Planning Board approved the preliminary design for the Main Street to Webster Street segment, but the project was put on hold pending further soil analysis and the development of a soil remediation plan to meet the requirements of the Alameda County Department of Environmental Health (ACDEH). Meanwhile, in late 2015, City staff began working on a design concept for the Webster Street to Constitution Way segment, a critical one-block connector between the CAT-RAMP and Jean Sweeney trail segments. The TC and City Council approved a final concept plan for this one-block segment in March and April 2017, respectively.
The CAT-RAMP segment and the one-block connector will be constructed as one project, between Main Street and Constitution Way, which totals approximately 0.9 miles. The design features of the concept plans, as approved by the TC and City Council for the two segments, include:
• RAMP (Main Street to Webster Street) - Construct separate walking and bicycling paths, plus a decomposed granite jogging path, in the City-owned abandoned railroad right-of-way with the following additional features:
o Connector trails to two intersecting streets: Fifth Street and West Campus Drive;
o Pedestrian, bicycle and Americans with Disability Act (ADA) improvements;
o New plazas at Main Street and Webster Street with hardscape and landscape features;
o Landscaping with trees and shrubs; and
o Traffic signal modifications at Fifth Street.
• Atlantic Avenue (Webster Street to Constitution Way) - Construct separated two-way bicycle lanes on the south side of this short urban block, one half of which will be at sidewalk-grade (west of driveway), and the other half of which will be at street-grade (east of driveway). Make improvements at the intersections at both ends of the segment to increase safety for people walking and bicycling. Install a mid-block pedestrian crossing to accommodate foot traffic at the senior facility, Independence Plaza. Create an expanded eastbound bus stop. (As noted further below, some of these elements may change based on re-routing of AC Transit bus lines.)
Over the past few years, due to project delays, rising construction costs, an expansion of the project area to include the one block of Atlantic Avenue between Constitution Way and Webster Street, and the soil remediation requirements, the total project cost has risen to just over $7.0 million, from the $5,186,000 in the City budget. Knowing that funds are limited, over the past two years, staff applied for six additional grants, four of which were successful bringing in an additional $725,560 in funding. At the same time, staff worked to value-engineer the project during the development of the final plans. Below is a list of ways that costs were reduced:
o Trail surface and widths (in CAT RAMP section): To reduce the project costs, the two-foot decomposed granite shoulders on each side of the 12’ bicycle path were removed, and instead the trail will be 14’ wide and all asphalt. Also, as a cost-saving measure, the jogging path was reduced to 5’ from 7’.
o Main Street and Webster Street plazas: Lower cost materials and finishing elements were selected. The size of the Main Street plaza was slightly reduced and a half-basketball court was removed.
o Bioretention areas: These areas were replaced throughout most of the segment with “self-retaining areas,” which reduced landscaping and irrigation costs.
o Soil Fill: Staff pursued using left-over soil from the Catellus site or other nearby locations in an effort to reduce the need to import more expensive new soil for the required soil capping, per the approved soil remediation plan. Staff continues to pursue this option; however, the timing may not fit the CAT-RAMP construction project timing. If the timing works out, there will be cost savings of $351,000, that could be reinvested back into the project.
o Staff applied many of the value-engineering elements used on the Jean Sweeney CAT segment, including less expensive methods and materials.
Additionally, due to the October 10, 2018 decision by the AC Transit Board to re-route the two bus lines that currently use the bus stop on eastbound Atlantic Avenue, just east of Webster Street, the planned bus boarding island is not needed at this time or in the foreseeable future. This very recent change has prompted staff to revisit the project design in the western half-block of Atlantic Avenue, which had been driven by the need to preserve the bus stop. Staff, in consultation with AC Transit and other stakeholders, are evaluating if and how to make any design modifications in this short segment, with the dual goals of maintaining safe and comfortable biking and walking facilities, along with lowering project costs.
DISCUSSION
To solicit the maximum number of bids and the most competitive price, Notice Inviting Bids, Plans and Specifications were provided to 17 separate builders exchanges throughout the Bay Area. A notice of bid was published in the Alameda Journal. Bids were opened on August 30, 2018. Three contractors submitted bids, one of which was disqualified because it was incomplete and, therefore, was declared as non-responsive. The list of bidders from lowest to highest for total project cost is as follows:
|
Bidder |
Location |
Bid Amount |
|
McGuire and Hester |
Alameda, CA |
$4,498,740.00 |
|
Hoseley Corporation |
San Francisco, CA |
$5,235,930.98 |
|
Suarez & Munoz Construction, Inc. |
Hayward, CA |
$5,575,293.00 |
After reviewing the bids and contacting several references provided by the contractor, staff recommends awarding the contract to McGuire and Hester, the lowest, responsible, and responsive bidder, for $5,299,614. This includes a 10% contingency of $449,874 and $351,000 as an alternate for using soil fill in case that soil cannot be obtained from Catellus in time. McGuire and Hester is not guaranteed any of the contingency amount, and use of the contingency will be at the sole discretion of the Public Works Director for work not originally anticipated in the plans and specification.
The Notice Inviting Bids, Plans and Specifications also (a) informed the lowest, responsible, and responsive bidder that it must pay not less than the prevailing rate of per diem wages as determined by the Federal Government and the Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations and (b) requires the contractor to enter into the City Project Stabilization Agreement. The contract with McGuire and Hester is attached as Exhibit 1. Construction is anticipated to be complete by early summer 2019.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The funds for this project are budgeted in the Capital Projects Fund (Fund 310) Project No. 91402, Cross Alameda Trail. The Fiscal Year 2017-2019 Capital Improvement Program Budget for this project has an approved budget of $5.19 million. Since that adoption, staff became aware of, and notified City Council of, significant funding gaps on the project. Staff have been seeking additional funding sources, including successfully winning four of six grant applications to support the project. By approving tonight’s item, the project budget will be increased by $625,560 to account for these sources of funds:
o Transportation Funds for Clean Air Bikeways funds ($138,560);
o Transportation Development Act Article III ($80,000);
o Property owner contribution for parking lot paving ($18,000); and
o Measure B/BB Paratransit ($389,000).
In addition, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Fund has $100,000 allocated towards general and demolition costs of the project. These funds have been included in the FY 2018-19 CDBG Fund Budget.
A gap of $1,168,500 remains in order to award the construction contract tonight. Staff recommends allocations from the following sources of funds to enable construction to begin:
o $177,500 from fund balance of the Construction Improvement Tax (Fund 164);
o $100,000 from current year excess revenue in Construction Improvement Tax (Fund 164);
o $120,000 from unallocated Federal Transit Administration grant funds; and
o $771,000 from General Fund (Fund 001).
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The Transportation Element of the City’s General Plan shows these streets as bicycle priority streets that provide cross island access to bicyclists and as secondary transit streets. The Transportation Element, specifically Policy 4.1.1.a, requires the City to classify streets according to preferred mode(s) of travel - such as bicycle priority streets - so as to create or preserve connected multimodal networks within the constrained right-of-way of streets. Policy 4.1.7.d from the Transportation Element of the City of Alameda’s General Plan (2009) states: "Pursue opportunities to utilize the corridor of the former Alameda Belt Line railroad for transit, bicycle and pedestrian transportation.” Both the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans include the CAT as planned pedestrian/bicycle pathways along Atlantic Avenue, connecting to the planned facilities to the east and west. This CAT project will also assist in meeting the goals of the City of Alameda's Local Action Plan for Climate Protection. This action does not affect the Municipal Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this project is Categorically Exempt under the CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c) - Existing Facilities and 15304(b) - Minor Alterations to Land and 15304(h). In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, this project is a Categorical Exclusion under 23 Code of Federal Regulations 771.117(c): activity (c)(3) - Construction of bicycle and pedestrian lanes, paths and facilities.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the Interim City Manager to execute a contract in the amount not to exceed $5,299,614, including contingency, to McGuire and Hester for the Cross Alameda Trail - Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway improvements, No. P.W. 03-18-11; and
Adopt a Resolution amending the Fiscal Year 2018-19 Capital Projects Fund Budget for the Cross Alameda Trail (Main to Constitution) project by $1,794,060 from various funding sources.
Respectfully submitted,
Liam Garland, Public Works Director
By,
Abdulla Ahmed, CIP Manager
Rochelle Wheeler, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. Contract