For City Council Meeting [September 13, 2022]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Marcus Fuller, City Manager
FROM: Marcus Fuller, Acting City Engineer
Title
Request City Council to 1) Delegate Additional Authority to the City Manager to approve additional Change Orders in the Cumulative Amount of $300,000 for additional work to be performed by Sequel Contractors, Inc., a California corporation, for the Riverside Avenue from SR-210 to Foothill Boulevard Project, City Project No. 210807; and 2) Authorize the City Manager to Execute all Related Documents.
(ACTION)
Body
BACKGROUND
On September 14, 2021, the City Council awarded a Construction Contract to Sequel Contractors, Inc., a California corporation, in the amount of $6,482,270 for the Riverside Avenue from SR210 to Foothill Boulevard Project, City Project No. 210807 and a Professional Services Agreement to AECOM Technical Services, Inc., a California corporation, in the amount of $972,443 for Construction Management Support Services.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The City Council delegated $200,000 in authority to the City Manager to approve change orders at the time of the construction contract award. The City utilized the funds to implement additional ADA improvements, construct curb and gutter to improve drainage and extend roadway service life, construct deep lift asphalt sections for essential services such as Fire Station 202, and mitigate the “bottoming out” of vehicles merging on and off cross streets onto Riverside Avenue.
The original scope of work involves “Full Depth Reclamation” in which the entire asphalt pavement is removed, and the remaining subgrade is mixed with dry cement as Cement Stabilized Pulverized Base. The process requires two to three weeks’ worth of work and curing time prior to placement of asphalt. The project is also being phased with removal of exterior lanes first and removal of interior lanes second. This further extends the required time for reconstruction of the full width of the street.
The work is planned at major intersections along Riverside Avenue, including:
• Baseline Road
• Walnut Avenue*
• Easton Street
*Walnut Avenue is similar by traffic volume to Etiwanda Avenue; during the first phase of the project this intersection was closed to cross-traffic. Similarly, the work can be performed as originally scoped with Full Depth Reclamation at Walnut Avenue with the understanding that the intersection will be closed to east-west cross-traffic movements.
Staff recommends delegation of authority to the City Manager to approve contract change orders to change the scope of work to deep-lift asphalt pavement construction in lieu of Full Depth Reclamation to reduce the period of time road closures would otherwise occur at the major intersections, and adjacent to commercial driveways providing only one point of access to the business. Construction of deep-lift asphalt pavement will provide similar life cycle as Full Depth Reclamation, but is more expensive on a per square foot basis. However, the benefit is a drastically reduced period of time for construction in those areas.
Staff continues to coordinate with the contractor on the logistics of deep-lift asphalt paving within the intersections that may require a short-duration full closure of these intersections for a 48 to 55 hour period of continuous work.
Approval of additional work requires City Council action given that the initial $200,000 in change order authority will be exceeded.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
Section 21084 of the California Public Resources Code requires that the guidelines for implementation of the California Environmental quality (CEQA) include a list of classes of projects that have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and which shall, therefore, be exempt from the provisions of CEQA. In response to that mandate, the Secretary for Resources identified classes of projects that do not have a significant effect on the environment and are declared categorically exempt from the requirement for the preparation of environmental documents. In accordance with 14 CCR Section 15301 “Existing Facilities”, Class 1 projects consist of the repair, maintenance, or minor alteration of existing structures and facilities; therefore, Riverside Avenue from SR210 to Foothill Boulevard is considered categorically exempt from CEQA. A notice of Exemption was prepared and submitted.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
This action is consistent with Guiding Principle 3A in the General Plan:
Our City government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
Approval of this action also complies with the following City of Rialto General Plan Goals and Policies:
Goal 4-1: Provide transportation improvements to reduce traffic congestion associated with regional and local trip increases.
Policy 4-1.1: Establish and maintain standards for a variety of street classifications to serve both local and regional traffic, including Major Arterial Highways, Major Arterials, Secondary Arterials, Collector Streets, and Local Streets.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed and supports this staff report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Operating Budget Impact
The proposed action will not affect the Operating Budget.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
Sufficient funds are budgeted and available for an additional contract change order in the amount of $300,000 in the Gas Tax Fund, Account Number 202-500-4317-3001-210807-55 for the Riverside Avenue from SR210 to Foothill Boulevard Project.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
• Delegate additional authority to the City Manager to approve additional Change Orders in the cumulative amount of $300,000 for additional work to be performed by Sequel Contractors, Inc. for the Riverside Avenue from SR210 to Foothill Boulevard Project, City Project No. 210807.
• Authorize the City Manager to Execute all Related Documents.