REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
October 27, 2020
FROM
BRENDON BIGGS, Director, Department of Public Works - Solid Waste Management
SUBJECT
Title
Contracts to Provide On-Call Construction Management and Construction Quality Assurance Services for Various Landfill Construction Projects
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Award contracts with the following contractors, in the total aggregate not-to-exceed amount of $12,500,000, for the period of October 27, 2020 to October 26, 2025 to provide On-Call Construction Management and Construction Quality Assurance Services for various landfill construction projects:
1. Advance Earth Sciences, Inc. (Irvine, CA)
2. Parikh Consultants, Inc. (Irvine, CA)
3. Southstar Engineering and Consulting, Inc. (Riverside, CA)
4. SWT Engineering, Inc. (Ontario, CA)
5. Tetra Tech BAS, Inc. (Diamond Bar, CA)
(Presenter: Darren Meeka, Deputy Director, 387-7906)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
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 Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The cost for on-call Construction Management (CM) and Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) services will be funded by fee revenue. The Department of Public Works - Solid Waste Management Division (SWMD) establishes fees that are charged to the public and other agencies for utilization of the County’s Waste Disposal System. Sufficient appropriation and revenue have been included in the SWMD 2020-21 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
SWMD operates and manages the County’s solid waste disposal system, which consists of five
regional active sanitary landfills, nine transfer stations and numerous closed landfills and disposal sites. The five regional active landfills provide refuse disposal for the County’s Valley, Mountain, High Desert and Low Desert Regions. Several liner expansion projects and one closure project, along with other solid waste capital improvements, have been identified in SWMD’s 5-Year Capital Improvement Program. SWMD also requires CM/CQA services to support capital improvement projects needed to establish and maintain compliance with regulations from state and local regulatory agencies, including three California Regional Water Quality Control Boards, (Lahontan, Santa Ana, and Colorado River Basin Regions), CalRecycle and the Local Enforcement Agency, and two Air Quality Management Districts (South Coast and Mojave Desert).
In order for SWMD to maintain a disposal system that meets the disposal capacity needs of the residents of the County, maintain good standing with the regulatory agencies, and facilitate the completion of the projects, it is necessary to retain CM/CQA services that are not available within SWMD staff. To this end, SWMD developed a Request for Proposals (RFP) to meet the need to perform necessary services and to fulfill the requirements of the County’s Procurement Policy.
The recommended contracts provide on-call CM/CQA services for landfill closures, liner expansion projects, landfill gas systems, groundwater treatment systems, road paving, drainage structures and general civil projects. Primary responsibilities will include construction management, construction inspection, plant inspection, construction surveying, bid support, as well as CQA specifically related to materials testing, monitoring and inspecting the nature and installation of landfill liner and final closure construction materials to ensure they meet the project’s specifications. Under these contracts, the work is assigned through task orders, which are developed by SWMD staff and approved by management. The County does not guarantee any minimum or maximum number of tasks to be assigned through the term of the contracts.
On April 4, 2017 (Item No. 31), the County entered into contracts with Advanced Earth Sciences, Tetra Tech BAS, and Fountainhead Consulting Corporation to provide on-call CM/CQA Services. These contracts were to serve the CM/CQA needs of SWMD in the not-to-exceed amount of $4,400,000 for the period of May 1, 2017 through April 30, 2022. However, waste disposal increased and available landfill space was consumed quicker than anticipated, resulting in the need for additional liner expansion projects which quickly consumed the approved CM/CQA contracts. Due to the future projected need for CM/CQA services, the County recommends entering into new contracts with the firms listed in the Recommendation. If approved, SWMD will exercise its right to terminate the existing contracts with Advanced Earth Sciences, Tetra Tech BAS, and Fountainhead Consulting Corporation.
Approval of this item aligns with the County and Chief Executive Officer’s goals and objectives of operating in a fiscally-responsible and business-like manner and providing for the safety, health and social service needs of County residents as these on-call contracts have proven to be a valuable tool in complying with regulatory requirements, in a timely and responsible manner.
PROCUREMENT
On June 2, 2020, the CM/CQA RFP was released through the County’s Electronic Procurement System (ePro). On June 23, 2020, the following five proposals were received:
|
Consultant |
Location |
On-Call CM/CQA Service Proposed |
|
Advanced Earth Sciences, Inc. |
Irvine, CA |
CM/CQA Services |
|
Parikh Consultants, Inc. |
Irvine, CA |
CQA Services |
|
Southstar Engineering and Consulting, Inc. |
Riverside, CA |
CM/CQA Services |
|
SWT Engineering, Inc. |
Ontario, CA |
CM/CQA Services |
|
Tetra Tech BAS, Inc. |
Diamond Bar, CA |
CM/CQA Services |
The RFP stated that the intent was to award contracts to the most qualified proposers and the number of awarded contracts would be determined by the number of qualifying proposals received. A selection committee comprised of three representatives from the Department of Public Works reviewed the firms’ proposals. All five proposals received demonstrated that the firms were qualified to provide on-call CM/CQA services for future SWMD capital improvement projects. It was determined that interviews were unnecessary due to all proposals received meeting the minimum qualifications and intent of the RFP.
As stated in the RFP, after determining the above firms were qualified, the submitted labor and expense rates were unsealed and SWMD proceeded to individually negotiate submitted rate sheets with respective firms. SWMD and each of the five firms reached an agreement for billing rates that were fair and reasonable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Kristina M. Robb, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on September 22, 2020; Purchasing (Jason Cloninger, Lead Buyer, 387-8258) on October 1, 2020; Finance (Jessica Trillo, Administrative Analyst, 387-4222) on October 2, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on October 9, 2020.