REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
DATE: 01/17/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
SUBJECT:
Title
FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH COMMONWEALTH ASSOCIATES INC. FOR PROFESSIONAL ARC FLASH STUDY CONSULTING SERVICES
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to consider the approval of the First Amendment to Professional Services Agreement with Commonwealth Associates Inc. for professional Arc Flash Study consulting services. The existing agreement involves a system-wide Arc Flash analysis and the development of a customized electrical safety program for the City of Corona Utilities Department’s employees and facilities. This amendment expands the scope of work to also include onsite staff training and the installation of arc flash labels. These additional services are essential to maintain alignment with the evolving safety requirements and standards of the Utilities Department’s facilities.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Approve the First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with Commonwealth Associates Inc. for the Arc Flash Study Consulting Services to increase the total compensation by $48,818 for additional services.
b. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with Commonwealth Associates Inc. for Arc Flash Study Consulting Services for a total contract amount of $358,986.
c. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to issue a Change Order to Purchase Order P22756 to Commonwealth Associates for an additional $48,818, bringing the new total to $358,986.
d. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to approve amendments and change orders necessary for the execution of the work, in accordance with the Corona Municipal Code Section 3.08.060(J), up to 10 percent of the amended contract amount, or $35,898.60.
That the Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct that the City Council take the above actions.
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Arc flash ratings are a measure of the amount of potential danger that someone operating an electrical device faces in an area. A higher rating means more personnel protective equipment and/or safety activities are required. When working in areas where an arc flash is possible, it is important to evaluate what the risk is to know how to best protect those in the area. The Arc Flash Study project is a system-wide evaluation and implementation to reduce the arc flash rating (a safety requirement) at all Utility Department’s (UD) Wholesale Distribution Access Tariff (WDAT) locations, also known as Electric Substations, and other electrical equipment in its service areas, including Water Treatment Facilities, Water Reclamation Facilities, well sites, booster stations, and lift stations. This project evaluates and reduces the arc flash rating to minimize the danger to operations and maintenance staff.
Pursuing essential safety measures, a Request For Proposals (RFP) 22-045H was advertised pursuant to Corona Municipal Code (CMC) Section 3.08.110, non-public projects formal bidding procedure requirements on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, in the Sentinel Weekly and other digital platforms. Four proposals were received and subsequently evaluated by three staff members from different divisions. The evaluation focused on criteria based on work plan/work organization, qualifications of the company and personnel, approach to safety measures, and proposal cost. Following this evaluation, City Staff awarded the project to Commonwealth Associates Inc. (Commonwealth) in the amount of $310,168. Commonwealth demonstrated a thorough understanding of the requested scope of work and was the highest-rated proposal.
This project focuses on enhancing electrical safety through various analyses, including short circuit analysis, protective device coordination, arc flash hazard, and interrupting-rating analyses. Additionally, it involves developing a customized electrical safety program and implementing arc flash and shock hazard warning labels. This comprehensive approach is designed to significantly improve safety within UD’s operations.
ANALYSIS:
Recognizing the multifaceted challenges involved in the system-wide Arc Flash electrical safety program, UD is seeking to incorporate additional services in the First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with Commonwealth in the amount of $48,818. This expansion in scope, driven by various factors including the extended duration required to gather short circuit equivalent data from Southern California Edison and the necessity for on-site staff training, has led to several changes in the scope of work, each addressing different needs. The project's timeline has been significantly extended, requiring an augmentation in project management, additional meetings for updates, and the strategic retention of project engineers by the consultant to ensure the continuity and consistency of the project.
In the initial proposal dated May 18, 2022, Commonwealth was tasked with creating and delivering over 1,000 arc flash labels. However, the application of these labels was not included. To address this, an additional provision has been proposed, allocating three weeks for travel and on-site application of the arc flash labels at all studied sites. Staff believes that the installation of labels by the consultant firm will ensure that warning and hazard labels are installed as per their specific design for each location.
The First Amendment to Commonwealth’s PSA is a crucial step in ensuring the thorough and effective execution of the Arc Flash Study, aiming to enhance the safety protocols within UD’s operations while adapting to the extended timeline. The inclusion of label application and on-site staff training is essential for the comprehensive implementation of the safety measures. This approach ensures that UD's facilities are not only equipped with necessary safety labels but also that these labels are correctly and effectively applied, and that staff are adequately trained in safety protocols.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for the recommended action is available in the Fiscal Year 2024 Arc Flash Study Operating & Maintenance Project No. 76280 within the Sewer Utility Fund (572), Water Utility Fund (570), Reclaimed Water Utility Fund (567), and Greenfield Electric Utility Fund (578).
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301 of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion to use beyond that existing at the time of the CEQA determination, and is therefore exempt from CEQA. This action is simply to approve the First Amendment to a Professional Services Agreement for an expanded scope of services and there is no possibility this will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: AFTAB HUSSAIN, MAINTENANCE MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - First Amendment to Professional Services Agreement