HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-02-27 City Council (8)City of Palo Alto
C ty Manager’s Report
6
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: UTILITIES
AGENDA DATE:
SUBJECT:
FEBRUARY 24, 1997 CMR: 149:97
AUTHORIZED FUNDS FOR REPAIR OF CALIFORNIA AVENUE
BETWEEN BOWDOIN AND AMHERST STREETS
REOUEST
This is a request for approval of funds to pay Sondgroth Construction for additional work
encountered in the emergency repair of California Avenue between Bowdoin and Amherst.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that Council approve and ratify the expenditure of funds in the amount of
$14,807.00 to pay for additional work during the repairs made to California Avenue between
Bowdoin and Amherst due to problems encountered with water saturation of the base material
under the existing asphalt.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Approval of these funds is consistent with the priority the Council has placed on infrastructure
needs and does not require policy changes.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In July of 1996, a water main was damaged during construction work for the Phase VI Sanitary
Sewer Project on California Avenue between Bowdoin and Amherst. Although the water main
was repaired immediately, the street damage repair was delayed as staff negotiated with the
contractor to accept responsibility for the damage and repair the street. The contractor was
unwilling to accept responsibility and staff was forced to hire an outside contractor to make the
repairs. The issue of responsibility has been referred to the City Attorney’s Office. Residents on
this portion of California Avenue were extremely concerned that it took so long to repair the
street and had made numerous complaints to the City.
CMR: 149:7 Page 1 of 3
After soliciting bids for the repair work, the project was awarded to Sondgroth Construction for
$22,388. The work consisted of removing the asphalt covering, disposing of the asphalt, re-
compacting the base material under the asphalt and repaying with new asphalt. The work started
on January 29 and was scheduled to be completed in three days.
By noon on January 29, it became obvious that the base material under the asphalt was so wet
from the previous rainy weather, that it was impossible to compact it to the required standards.
Staff faced the dilemma of having removed the top protective asphalt but being unable to
compact the base so new asphalt could be reinstalled. The weather forecast for the coming
weekend predicted rain, which wouldturn the exposed base material into an impassable, muddy
morass for the residents. To find an acceptable solution, staff consulted with the geotechnical
engineering firm, Bay Area Geotechnical services. Based on information provided by the
consultant, Utilities engineering staff changed the scope of the contract and directed the
contractor to proceed with a different process, so the street could be repaved by the end of the
day Friday. The Contractor agreed to perform this additional work for $7,500 for stabilizing the
base cost plus 15 percent for the remainder of the work. The new process included increasing the
asphalt paving thickness from the original 3 inches to 5 inches. The work proceeded and by the
end of the day Friday, one layer of asphalt was completed and the street was suitable for traffic
over the weekend. The contractor returned on Monday and finished the project by installing the
final layer of asphaltl
During the course of the project, Utilities engineering staff inadvertently failed to request
emergency authorization .from the City Manager, who had approved the original contract with
Sondgroth, to change the scope of work and proceed with the revised process. The revised scope
of work increased the amount of the original contract by $14,807., exceeding the City Manager’s
contract authority of $25,000 by $12,195. The City Manager has the authority to contract for
more than $25,000 if she determines that an emergency exists, but in this case she was not
informed and afforded that opportunity prior to completion of the work. Utilities management
staff takes full responsibility for this serious violation of the City’s rules and regulations for
contract authority and has initiated an investigation into the incident. The Utilities Director has
taken appropriate disciplinary steps for responsible staff and directed that all Utilities engineering
personnel receive additional training in the Contracts and the Change Order Process from the
Purchasing Department. Furthermore, refresher training in these areas will be conducted on an
CMR: 149:7 Page 2 of 3
annual basis to ensure the proper procedures are followed.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for this project are included in the FY 1995-96 for Wastewater Collection System
Rehabilitation/Augmentation Capital Improvement Program budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
This project is considered to be categorically exempt as part of Phase VI Sanitary Sewer Project
and no further review is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Contract Change Order
Prepared by: EdwardWu, Ken Haskins, and Larry Starr
EDWArd3 J. MI!K
Direct6r of Utilities
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
CMR: 149:7 Page 3 of 3
City of Palo Alto
Utilities Department
CONTRACT CHANGE ORDER
PROJECT: Street Repairs at California Avenue
CONTRACT #: $7094622
CONTRACTOR: Sondgroth Construction, he.tDATE: February 6, 1997
CHANGE ORDER NUMBER: 01
CHANGE ORDER ITEM #1: (Stabilizing the existing street base and increasing the AC thickness)
DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE:
03aekground Info)
Jardin Pipeline, the Contractor for the Phase VI Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project, broke a crossing water main
during the pipe-bursting operation while installing a new sewer main at California Avenue. This accident resulted in
pavement damage at California Avenue between Bowdoin and Amherst.
(Scope of work change)
The Utilities Engineering Department obtained an agreement from the Public Works Engineering Department to restore
California Avenue to its in-kind condition of 3" AC over compacted base. The City awarded the Contract to the low
bidder, Sondgroth Construction, to repair California Avenue between Bowdoin and Amherst. The original contract
included removing the existing asphalt, regrading and recompacting the street base, and repaving the street with 3-inch
thick of asphalt concrete. Sondgroth Construction removed the existing pavement surface at California Avenue and
discovered that the underlying subgrade was saturated and unstable. It was not feasible for the Contractor to compact
the base material to 95% relative compaction. After consulting with a geotechnieal fwm, the WGW staff selected the most
economic, least disturbing, and expeditious method to correct the problem. This method chosen to stabilize the existing
street base was to treat the saturated soil with lime ash (14 -inch or deeper) and to increase the depth of asphalt concrete
from 3 to 5 inches. The agreed price was 15% over the actual additional cost of labor and material to stabilize the street
base. The actual cost for the lime stabilization process was submitted to the WGW stafffor approval prior to proceeding.
The additional asphalt and labor to install pavement costs were dose to the previous bid amount for a 6" AC pavement
section.
(Justification)
This extra expense to stabilize the existing street base was due to the unexpected soil condition.
This change order item #1 will:( . )Not change the amount payable under this
(XX)Increase
()Decrease
contract by $17,771.00 based on () Agreed Lump Sum.
() Agreed Unit Prices.
( XX ) Cost plus 15% Percent
CHANGE ORDER ITEM #2: (Deducting area to be repaved)
DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE:
(Background Info)
The original contract called for approximately 9,820 s.f. of pavement to be i’epaired.
(Scope of work change)
On 1/29/97, Hewlett-Packard (HP) expressed strong concern about accessibility to their driveway. The WGW staff
therefore deleted the area of 1,300 s.f. to be repaved in front of HP’s driveway to insure the accessibility for their
employees and the ddivery trucks. The Contractor agreed to credit the City the actual cost to repair 1,300 s.f of
pavement.
(Justification)
The deletion of repairing 1,300 s.f of pavement was due to the Waffle constraints into the Hewlett-Packard driveway.
This change order item #2 will:( )Not change the amount payableunder this
( )Increase
(XX’)Decrease
contract by $2~964 based on ( XX ) Agreed Lump Sum.
() Agreed Unit Prices,
(.) Cost plus __ Percent
CHANGE ORDER SUMMARY
Change Order Item #1 (Stabilizing existing street base & increasing AC thickness)
Chang, e Order Item #2 (Deduetin$ area to be repaved)
Total Price for this Change Order
PRICE
$17,771.00
$(2,964.00) "
$14,807.00
ACCEPTED FOR
Edward Wu
TITLE: WGW Senior Eng leer, Project Manager
DATE:
SUMMARY OF AMOUNTS PAYABLE UNDER CONTRACT
Net effect of all previous Ch.ange Orders:
Amount of this Change Order:
Net eff~t of all Change Ord~s:
Amount of Original Contract:
Contract total including all Change Orders:
$0.00
$ ’ 14,807.00
$14,807.00
$ 22,388.00
$ 37,195.00
Distribution:Original. City of Palo Alto Project Manager
Copy - Contractor
Copy - Utilities Financial Services
Revised 3119196