Honorable Mayor Moore Wolfe and City Council Members

Scot Wrighton, City Manager

Matt Newell, P.E., Public Works Director

Paul Caswell, P.E., City Engineer

Robert Weil, P.E., Assistant City Engineer

It is recommended that the City Council approve the attached resolutions:

1. Resolution awarding a contract in the amount of $5,378,271.00 for the Chemical Feed Upgrades and Bulk Water Upgrades, City Projects 2022-02 and 2022-16, with Henson Robinson Company, Inc. as the lowest qualified and responsible bidder, and that the Mayor be authorized to execute the contract and the City Clerk to attest. 

Attachments to the Resolution include all contract documents except for standard “boilerplate” language and project specific drawings and specifications, general conditions, and standard provisions, common to all City Contracts.  Anyone wishing to review the full set of contract documents may obtain copies from the City Clerk.

2. Resolution authorizing a professional services agreement with Crawford, Murphy and Tilly for construction support in the amount of $350,000.

Project Description

The Chemical Feed Upgrades project, City Project 2022-02 and the Bulk Water Upgrades project, City Project 2022-16 are similar projects that were designed separately but were bundled together to attract more competitive bids.

Chemical Feed Upgrades - The purpose of the Chemical Feed Upgrades project is to replace essential chemical feed equipment that dates back to 1988 when the SWTP was originally built. Technology has evolved over the past 35 years and will be updated where cost-effective. Specifically, improvements will be made to the following chemical feed systems: lime, chlorine gas, chlorine dioxide, cationic polymer, powdered activated carbon slurry, sodium bisulfite, polyphosphate, sodium hydroxide, and fluoride.

For lime the base bid includes replacing existing equipment with four new high density hydrated lime feed systems and control panels.  The alternate bid includes replacing existing equipment with four new pebble lime slaker feed system with control panels. Existing bulk storage liquid gas feed system will be replaced with a new bulk storage vacuum gas feed system. All chlorine gas PVC piping will be replaced with new PE piping. Adding a new chlorine dioxide generator to match the existing one to remain for one duty / one stand-by operation. Replacement of existing roto-dips system with three new peristaltic tube pumps for feeding powdered activated carbon. Replacement of existing metering pumps and piping for polyphosphate, sodium hydroxide, sodium bisulfite, fluoride, and cationic polymer.

Bulk Water Upgrades - The City’s bulk water dispenser is located near the north side of the dam and provides access for large water users to fill tanks on a pay as you go basis.  The current system was constructed in 1988 and is outmoded and difficult to maintain.  The Bulk Water Upgrades project will replace the vintage 1988 equipment and upgrade the payment and dispensing technology.  It includes structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, exterior concrete and control upgrades.

Public Bid Letting Results

The project was advertised on January 24, 2024, and bids were opened on March 20, 2024.  Numerous bidders were contacted, but only two bids were received. The bid results are as follows: 

Lime Slaking Alternates

During the September 25, 2023, Council study session held at the South Water Treatment Plant, particular attention was paid to the outdated lime system and the desire replace it with a more modern high density hydrated lime feed system.  There are significant advantages to upgrading the lime feed system to high-density lime technology.

The current lime slaker design was first used for water treatment in 1841.  It uses a material called pebble lime, which is basically crushed limestone that has been burned in an oven.  Pebble lime is mixed with water and fed into the water treatment process to soften the water.  The pebble lime process is effective but very labor-intensive in terms of operation and maintenance and is being replaced in the water industry by a new design using hydrated lime.

A technical memo comparing the two processes and costs is attached.

The new hydrated lime process has many benefits, but cost is a factor. The cost-benefit analysis estimates that the hydrated lime alternate has higher capital costs (about $2 Million) and slightly higher material costs (about 4%) but lower electrical usage, part replacement, contracted repairs and labor. After accounting for all of the above, the 20-year life cycle costs were estimated to be $3,356,000 lower for hydrated lime than for replacing the current pebble lime system in kind.  The bid cost for replacing the current lime system to the newer technology is $1.5 million and is included in the current bid price.  This is well within the life cycle costs savings estimated for the change.  Staff recommends going forward with the new lime slaking technology which is included in the base bid.

MINORITY PARTICIPATION GOALS:

Contractors for City Projects shall comply with City Code Chapter 28, Article 10, “Minority Participation Goals for Public Works Contracts.” 

Contractors for City projects shall make a good faith effort to comply with the following minimum goals:

1. Ten (10) percent of the total dollar amount of the contract should be performed by Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) if subcontracting opportunities are available and/or ten (10) percent of the total dollar amount should be for the purchase of goods, material, and equipment to MBE; and, 
2. Eighteen (18) percent of the total hours worked should be performed by minority workers. 
3. If the use of Minority Business Enterprise meets or exceeds 20% of the final contract value, the City will award a 2% Bonus based on the final contract amount up to a maximum of $50,000.

The bid proposal from Henson Robinson did not meet the MBE participation goal, and staff asked them for documentation of their good faith efforts in meeting this goal.  The attached response letter from Henson Robinson outlined their efforts and laid out a written plan to increase MBE participation in the project.  They noted that this project calls for highly specialized equipment with only a few available subcontractors but that they will be able to meet the goal with MBE supplier(s).  Henson Robinson also confirmed in writing their intent to use at least 18% MBE labor on the project.  The Public Works Department finds Henson Robinson’s plan to be acceptable and consistent with the goals of the MBE ordinance.

SCHEDULE:   

Work on this project is expected to start in May 2024 and be complete by October 31, 2025. A separate completion date of October 31, 2024 has been specified for the Bulk Water Station upgrades. The specifications also call for the Bulk Water Station to be taken out of service for no more than 30 days.

LEGAL REVIEW:  The project plans and specifications were provided to the Legal Department for review on January 12, 2024. 

1. July 12, 2022 – Study session in which the Mayor and City Council were briefed on the Water Utility Long Term Sustainability Plan, which recommended replacement of aging electrical equipment at the South Water Treatment Plant.

2. July 18, 2022 – Approval of a consulting services agreement with Crawford, Murphy and Tilly (CMT) to design four improvement projects identified in the Water Utility Long Term Sustainability Plan, including the Chemical Feed Upgrades, City Project 2022-02 and the Bulk Water Upgrades, City Project 2022-16.

3. September 25, 2023 – Study session in which the Mayor and City Council received a tour of the South Water Treatment Plant and observed some of the 35-year old chemical feed equipment.  Particular attention was paid to the outdated lime system and the treatment plant staff’s desire replace it with a new high density hydrated lime feed system.  It was decided to include it in the bid and then make a recommendation when the costs are known.

Budget Impact:   The adopted budget is based on an estimate of $7,775,000 for both projects. The total cost of the construction contract and the professional engineering contract for construction support is $5,728,271, resulting in a positive budget impact of $2,046,729. This will allow additional projects to be completed with Fund 89, the Water Bond Fund.

Considerable attention has been given to financial options for making sure that the City has sufficient funds to sustain and support this and other water system supply capital cost in the years ahead.  Therefore, the cost of this project has been added to the planned bond issue also included on the April 15th agenda. 

The alternate bid proposes a deduct in the amount of $1,537,369.00, which represents the cost savings if the City were to retain the existing pebble lime feed system. Since the potential $3,500,000 life cycle cost savings for the hydrated lime system is far larger than the amount of the alternate bid, staff recommends awarding only the base bid, which will provide the more efficient, modern hydrated lime system.

Staff Impact:  Staff has allocated time to manage this project.