REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF BOARD GOVERNED COUNTY SERVICE AREAS
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 24, 2023
FROM
BRENDON BIGGS, Director, Department of Public Works - Special Districts
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Construction Contract for Screw Press Sludge Dewatering Project - County Service Area 70 GH Glen Helen
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Acting as the governing body of County Service Area 70 GH Glen Helen, approve Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 21-602 with Spiess Construction Company, Inc., increasing the contract amount by $106,631, from $987,788 to $1,094,419, and extending the contract duration by 140 additional days, from 490 calendar days to 630 calendar days, as necessary to accommodate construction adjustments for the Screw Press Sludge Dewatering Project at the Lytle Creek North Wastewater Treatment Plant.
(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.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) as the $106,631 cost of this contract amendment will be funded through proceeds from Community Facilities District (CFD) No. 2006-1, Special Tax Bonds, Series 2018. Sufficient appropriation for this amendment is included in the 2022-23 Capital Improvement Program budget for County Service Area 70 GH Glen Helen (CSA 70 GH).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Lytle Creek North Wastewater Treatment Plant (Plant), which is operated by the Department of Public Works - Special Districts, serves the Rosena Ranch Development Tract, Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center, and other Sheriff’s Department facilities located within the Glen Helen area near Devore. The Plant was built in 2007 and has the capability of processing 1.75 million gallons of wastewater per day. Currently, 550,000 gallons of wastewater is processed daily that requires disposal of the associated waste product of 20,000 gallons of sludge each day. Using the existing drying beds and storage tanks, the Plant can only remove 13,000 gallons of sludge per day. The remaining 7,000 gallons of sludge is recycled back into the Plant and/or stored in the Plant’s detention basin. Under existing operational conditions, keeping up with the process of removing sludge is an ongoing challenge for Plant operators.
After evaluating multiple solutions to increase the Plant’s sludge handling capacity, it was determined that installing a screw press sludge dewatering system presented the most efficient and cost-effective method of processing the sludge. When completed, this system would be able to dewater and remove approximately 22,000 gallons of sludge in an eight-hour shift per day and return the Plant back to its originally designed operations. This new system would also have the capacity to handle additional sludge by adding additional daily shifts should demand necessitate.
On August 10, 2021 (Item No. 36), the Board of Supervisors (Board) awarded construction Contract No. 21-602 to Spiess Construction Company, Inc. (Spiess) in the amount of $967,500 for the CSA 70 GH Screw Press Sludge Dewatering Project (Project) at the Plant. The Board also authorized the Director of the Department of Public Works (Director) to order any necessary changes or additions in the work being performed under the construction contract for the total not to exceed amount of $60,875, pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 20142.
On August 30, 2022, the Director approved Administrative Change Order No. 001 to Contract No. 21-602 in the amount of $20,288.38, increasing the contract amount from $967,500 to $987,788.38. The Change Order also increased the work calendar days from 300 days to 490 days. Since that time, additional changes to the Project work have been identified. These changes, as set forth in Amendment No. 1, consist of the following four items:
1. Upsizing of six-inch piping, from the original design to eight-inch piping became necessary after excavation revealed the existing connection pipes to be eight-inches in diameter. This upsizing was needed to ensure the maximum efficiency of the new system. Change Order No. 003 adds $5,948.01 to the contract.
2. Replacement of existing eight-inch standard dimension ratio (SDR) pipe with eight-inch ductile iron pipe (DIP) became necessary after excavation uncovered a portion of existing pipe to be plastic rather than the DIP being installed for the system by the Project. The replacement of this section of pipe with DIP will ensure the longevity of the pipe and pipe connections to the new system. Change Order No. 004 adds $22,952.49 to the contract.
3. Trenching of existing electrical conduit discovered the lack of available conduit needed; therefore, additional electrical conduit and trench work became necessary to connect the new system to the existing electrical power supply. Change Order No. 005.1 adds $41,630.23 to the contract.
4. This item is Additive Alternative Item No. 10 from the contractor’s itemized bid proposal. The item includes a polymer feed enclosure and roll-off winch mechanism that have been determined in the field to be required for the protection of the feed, and maneuvering of the discharge bin by maintenance staff. Change Order No. 006 adds $36,100 to the contract.
Amendment No. 1 is increasing the contract amount by $106,631, from $987,788 to $1,094,419, and extending the contract duration by 140 additional days, from 490 calendar days to 630 calendar days. The Amendment is necessary to accommodate construction adjustments for the Project at the Plant, which will compensate the contractor for the additional cost and time of the Project work.
PROCUREMENT
After conducting a competitive bid process in accordance with Public Contract Code Section 22037, Spiess was awarded the Project’s construction contract as this contractor was the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Aaron Gest, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 27, 2022; Finance (Tom Forster, Administrative Analyst, 387-4635) on December 29, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on January 6, 2023.