REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 14, 2023
FROM
BRENDON BIGGS, Director, Department of Public Works - Special Districts
LEONARD X. HERNANDEZ, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
Construction Contract with Norstar Plumbing and Engineering Inc. for the Chino Airport Groundwater Remedial Project - Phase One, Chino Area
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve Addendum No. 1, issued on November 1, 2022, Addendum No. 2, issued on November 28, 2022, Addendum No. 3, issued on November 29, 2022, Addendum No. 4, issued on December 15, 2022, and Addendum No. 5, issued on December 22, 2022, to the bid documents for the Chino Airport Groundwater Remedial Project - Phase One in the Chino area.
2. Award a construction contract to Norstar Plumbing and Engineering Inc. in the amount of $17,788,935 for the Chino Airport Groundwater Remedial Project - Phase One.
3. Authorize the Director of the Department of Public Works to approve expenditures up to $1,778,893 for verified quantity overruns for this unit priced construction contract.
4. Authorize the Director of the Department of Public Works to approve necessary changes or additions to the work performed under the construction contract for a total amount not to exceed $210,000 of the $1,778,893 reserved for verified quantity overruns, pursuant to Public Contract Code section 20142.
5. Authorize the Director of the Department of Public Works to accept the work when 100% complete, execute and file the Notice of Completion.
(Presenter: Brendon Biggs, Director, 387-7906)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Ensure Development of a Well-Planned, Balanced, and Sustainable County.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The construction contract with Norstar Plumbing and Engineering Inc. for the Chino Airport Groundwater Remedial Project - Phase One (Project) will be funded through a $20 million allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for eligible costs. This allocation was approved by the Board of Supervisors on October 25, 2022 (Item No. 63). Sufficient appropriation for the Project is included in the 2022-23 budget of the ARPA Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Fund.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On October 31, 1990, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board) issued Clean-up and Abatement Order No. 90-134 to San Bernardino County (County) for suspected contamination of groundwater beneath and near Chino Airport (Airport). The groundwater is suspected to have been contaminated due to past usage of chemicals that contain Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) by prior Airport occupants of the Airport property. The County has since complied with this order by conducting investigative activities at the Airport to identify potential sources of contamination to understand the extent of groundwater contamination.
In June 2008, the Water Board issued Clean-up and Abatement Order No. R8-2008-0064, which required the County to conduct additional soil and groundwater investigations and develop a remedial action plan for containment and mitigation of VOCs in groundwater downgradient of the Airport. In January 2017, the Water Board issued Clean-up and Abatement Order No. R8-2017-0011 that superseded the 2008 Order and incorporated an additional requirement for the preparation and submittal of a Feasibility Study and to include information on work completed since the 2008 Order.
During 2016 and 2017, the County prepared a Feasibility Study to identify and evaluate options to properly mitigate environmental impacts from past operations and historic activities at the Airport. Based on the Final Feasibility Study, dated May 2017, an Interim Remedial Action Plan (Plan) was prepared proposing implementation of a pump-and-treat system that includes two sets of groundwater extraction wells, for a total of 10 wells, and conveyance system to a treatment system.
On January 29, 2019 (Item No. 24), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved the Plan, which was subsequently approved by the Water Board on November 4, 2020, and adopted the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Chino Airport Groundwater Remedial Project. On October 8, 2019 (Item No. 15), the Board approved a joint agreement with Chino Basin Desalter Authority (CDA) for CDA to design, construct, permit, operate and maintain a treatment facility. Construction of the extraction wells and conveyance piping to connect to the treatment facility, as outlined in the Plan, will be done in two phases.
Phase One of the Project consists of the construction of pipelines with associated valves and appurtenances and the installation of groundwater wells within the Airport. This includes the construction of approximately 17,500 linear feet of 16-inch, 12-inch, 8-inch and 6-inch C-900 PVC Raw Water Pipeline, installation of a fiber optic communication network, construction of five groundwater pumping wells, equipment for 10 groundwater pumping wells, construction of five monitoring wells, and construction of five well sites with masonry building for electrical equipment.
Following Board approval of this item, construction is anticipated to commence in April 2023 and be completed by April 2025. The Department of Public Works - Special Districts (Department) is managing the Project for the Department of Airports via a prior agreement between the two departments.
PROCUREMENT
On October 25, 2022 (Item No. 63), the Board approved the Project’s plans and specifications and authorized the Department to advertise for bids. The Project was advertised for bids on October 28, 2022, through the County Electronic Procurement Network (ePro) website in accordance with Public Contract Code Section 22037. On November 5, 2022 and November 12, 2022, the Department advertised for bids by publishing the Project in the Chino Champion Newspaper.
On November 15, 2022, a total of 14 contractors attended a mandatory pre-bid site meeting. On January 5, 2023, the following bids were received:
|
Contractor Name |
Bid Amount |
|
Norstar Plumbing and Engineering Inc. |
$17,788,935 |
|
Christensen Brothers General Engineering |
LATE - Not accepted |
The following addendums were issued during the bidding phase:
• Addendum No. 1: Updates to the Technical Specifications.
• Addendum No. 2: Updated Geotechnical Report.
• Addendum No. 3: Schedule Changes to extend Bid Opening and Question due date.
• Addendum No. 4: Updates to Special Conditions regarding Item No. 7 and Item No. 52; the Bidding Schedule to align with Special Conditions; Tables 1 and 2 in the Appendices Section; provides all interested parties with all Questions and Responses gathered through the bid process; and schedule changes extending the Bid Opening Date to January 5, 2023.
• Addendum No. 5: Updates to the Technical Specifications describing required hardware.
The Department received one bid prior to the published bid deadline. The Department reviewed the bid received and determined that it was responsive. As a result, the Department recommends an award of a construction contract to Norstar Plumbing and Engineering Inc. in the amount of $17,788,935, as the lowest responsible bidder. One bid was received after the bid deadline. Accordingly, that bid was determined to be non-responsive and returned to the submitting party. No appeal or protest letters have been received.
This item also authorizes the Director of the Department of Public Works (Director) to approve expenditures up to $1,778,893 to compensate the contractor for verified quantity overruns, as well as changes in the contract under certain circumstances. Additionally, under an established formula based on the contract amount, Public Contract Code section 20142 allows the Board to authorize the Director to order changes in the contract, included for unforeseen conditions or design shortfalls, should they become necessary in the future, for a total amount not to exceed $210,000 of the $1,778,893 reserved for verified quantity overruns.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Aaron Gest, Deputy County Counsel, and Agnes Cheng, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on February 2, 2023; Purchasing (Bruce Cole, Supervising Buyer, 387-2148) on January 30, 2023; Finance (Tom Forster, Administrative Analyst, 387-4635, Carl Lofton, Administrative Analyst, 387-5404, and Guy Martinez, ARPA Compliance Officer, 387-5428) on February 8, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on February 13, 2023.