REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 11/15/2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
SUBJECT:
Title
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH IDS GROUP INC. FOR ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE OLD POLICE DEPARTMENT BUILDING DEMOLITION PROJECT, NO. FC-2023-09, REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS 23-097AT, IN THE AMOUNT OF $178,337
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve the Professional Services Agreement with IDS Group Inc. in the amount of $178,337 for the architectural design and engineering services for the Old Police Department Building Demolition Project, No. FC-2023-09. The project will demolish the building located at 849 W. Sixth Street, which is being demolished due to its current state of disrepair and underlying issues, which include the presence of lead paint and asbestos, water damage, non-compliance with current earthquake retrofit standards and issues with vandalism.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Approve the Professional Services Agreement with IDS Group Inc. for architectural design and engineering services in the amount of $178,337, and waive any and all minor irregularities in the proposal.
b. Award Request for Proposal 23-097AT to IDS Group Inc. for architectural design and engineering services for the Old Police Department Building Demolition Project, No. FC-2023-09.
c. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Professional Services Agreement with IDS Group Inc. in the amount of $178,337, including any non-substantive extensions, change orders, purchase orders, and amendments up to the amount authorized in Corona Municipal Code Section 3.08.070(I), which is equivalent to 10% or $17,834.
Body
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The City of Corona’s former 24,000-square-foot Police Station, located at 849 West Sixth Street, was constructed in 1978. In 2009, the Police Station at Sixth Street was closed when the Police Department moved to its current location at 730 Public Safety Way. The building remained vacant until recently, when it became a temporary storage facility for the non-profit organization Make It Cozy, which donates furniture and household items for transitional housing in conjunction with Corona’s Homeless Strategic Plan goals. The building is currently not suitable for full-time occupancy due to issues including the presence of lead paint and asbestos, the need for extensive water and sewer repairs, required earthquake retrofits to meet current building standards, and other necessary repairs and replacements. It is also frequently the target of break-ins and vandalism.
On September 28, 2022, at the Fall Policy Workshop, the Corona City Council was provided with a presentation on the current state of the Old Police Department Building and three options to consider for the building, which included to take no action with no costs associated, demolish the building and create a green space for an estimated project cost of $580,000, and renovate the building at an estimated cost of $4 million. After a brief discussion, the City Council provided direction to proceed with demolishing the old Police Station and adding green space. Funding for the project was provided by reallocating $1 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
In order to demolish a structure, the 2022 California Building Code Section 105.1 states that:
"Any owner or owner’s authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by this code, or to cause any such work to be performed, shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit.”
A demolition permit is required to be obtained from the City of Corona Planning and Development Department, Building Division for all buildings that are demolished in the City of Corona. The requirements to obtain a demolition permit include the submission of a site plan that identifies all of the utilities, how they will be disconnected, a hazardous materials survey for asbestos and lead, among other items, notification and removal and clean-up procedures for asbestos abatement in compliance with Rule 1403 from the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
There are other complexities involved with the demolition of the old PD Building. First, the City requires an improvement plan to address the cut-and-fill quantities, grading, and drainage plan. Since the Old PD Building Demolition Project area is over one acre, the preparation of a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) is also required.
Also, the current secured parking area is shared with the County of Riverside Courthouse. The County owns two of the vehicular gates and portions of the block walls that currently enclose the secured parking area. Demolishing the old PD building will require coordination with the County to ensure the courthouse continues to have a secured parking area for personnel and appropriate emergency vehicular access. Moreover, the main fiber connection from the Library to City Hall currently is housed in the Old PD Building and will need to be re-routed prior to demolition to ensure operations continue without interruption. Additionally, a topographic survey needs to be performed to develop a base map for grading plan purposes. A grading and drainage plan will be necessary due to the varied elevations and proximity of the Historic Civic Center, as well as a wall and fencing plan for the changes to the block walls and metal fencing. All of these components were included in the Scope of Work developed by staff for this project.
ANALYSIS:
Request for Proposals (“RFP”) 23-046AS was posted on the City’s PlanetBids bidding portal on February 28, 2023. A total of 209 prospective consulting firms were solicited, but only one proposal was received by the due date and time of May 2, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. The prospective consultants who did not submit a proposal were contacted by Public Works staff to determine the reason for not submitting a proposal. Those that responded indicated that the RFP was of interest but that they did not have enough time to respond to the request for proposals or that their workload at the time was such that they could not take on another project.
As per federal guidelines, the City must demonstrate a reasonable and competitive proposal, therefore, the single proposal was rejected and a second Request for Proposals 23-097AT was posted on the City’s bidding portal on June 8, 2023. A total of 300 prospective consultants were solicited. Emails were also sent to the original consultants from the first RFP. A total of two proposals were received by the due date and time of August 15, 2023, at 5:00 p.m.
Proposals were evaluated by a panel of City staff based upon the evaluation criteria, which included completeness of response, qualifications of the firm, qualifications of the personnel, and the work plan and project understanding and approach. Based upon the evaluation, the proposals were ranked as follows:
|
Proposal Ranking |
Company |
Location |
|
1 |
IDS Group Inc. |
Irvine, CA |
|
2 |
Pettit |
Corona, CA |
IDS Group Inc.’s (IDS) original proposal amount was $254,924. After providing further clarification to the consultant regarding the scope of work to be performed, City Staff worked with IDS regarding the proposal and associated fees to refine the scope. Based on this information, IDS was able to reduce their proposed scope and fees by 30%, from $254,924 to $178,337.
Federal Procurement Standards are defined in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 2, Subtitle A, Chapter II Part 200. Section 200.320(b)(2)(iv) states that the non-Federal entity may use competitive proposal procedures for qualifications-based procurement of architectural/engineering (A/E) professional services whereby offeror's qualifications are evaluated, and the most qualified offeror is selected, subject to negotiation of fair and reasonable compensation. The method, where price is not used as a selection factor, can only be used in procurement of A/E professional services.
The City has met the federal procurement requirements for the qualifications-based procurement of A/E professional services. Based on the proposal evaluation analysis, IDS’ team possesses the skills, experience, and staffing necessary to execute the scope of work for this project successfully. Staff recommends that the top firm, IDS be retained to perform the architectural design and engineering services.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for the project is available in the Old Police Department Building Demolition Capital Improvement Project No. FC-2023-09 with a current balance of $999,040, which is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds. The recommended action would authorize a professional services agreement in the amount of $178,337. There are sufficient funds available for the recommended action.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
These actions are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Action (CEQA), as the actions are not a “project” as defined by CEQA (PRC Section 21065 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15378) guidelines defining a “project” as the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or reasonable foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and that is an activity directly undertaking by any public agency including public works construction and related activities. These actions involve the approval of a professional services agreement. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required at this time. After approval of the recommended actions herein, staff will proceed with the design and environmental document phase of this project. Any applicable documentation will be prepared and filed at that time.
PREPARED BY: TRACY MARTIN, SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: SAVAT KHAMPHOU, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Location Map
2. Exhibit 2 - Professional Services Agreement