SR-502-001-05 (6)
EPWM: H:\Staff Reports In Process\9_27\Flouridation.doc
Council Meeting: October 11, 2005 Santa Monica, California
To: Mayor and City Council
From: City Staff
Subject: Award of Construction Contract for the Fluoridation of Santa Monica Well #1
Introduction
This report recommends that the City Council award a contract to Pascal and Ludwig
Constructors, the best bidder, in the amount of $423,869 and authorize $42,386 in
.
contingency funds for the construction of the Santa Monica Well #1 Fluoridation Project
Background
On October 23, 2001, City Council approved fluoridation of the City's water supply and
directed staff to include the project and appropriate funding in capital and operating
budgets.
Following an extensive design process, including review by the City?s Environmental
Task Force, staff presented to Council a summary of bids received for the construction of
fluoridation facilities on December 14, 2004. Bids substantially exceeded the capital
budget for the project, and Council approved the staff recommendation to reject all bids
and directed the City Manager to negotiate the prices on the open market.
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Community water fluoridation entails an adjustment of the natural fluoride concentration
in water up to the level recommended for optimal dental health (approximately 0.8 parts
per million (ppm), as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. Natural fluoride
levels in drinking water normally fall below this level. In Santa Monica, the water supply
presently contains a natural fluoride level of between 0.2 and 0.4 ppm.
Regionally, the City?s principal supplier of water, the Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California (MWD), has proceeded with plans to upgrade its water treatment
facilities in order to supply fluoridated water to its member agencies in 2006. Currently,
MWD supplies approximately 90% of the City?s water, which is processed through the
City?s Arcadia Water Treatment Plant. It is anticipated that this will continue until
approximately 2009 or 2010, at which time a treatment plant for recovery of the
Charnock wells will be completed, and the city can return to a water supply mix
comprised primarily of local resources. A fluoridation system for the water wells that are
currently shut-down due to MtBE contamination will be designed as a part of the
treatment plant project. Since the fluoridation system will be paid for by the City and not
the settling oil companies, staff will return to Council with proposed construction costs
and project approval once bids are received for the treatment plant project in
approximately two to three years. Once all wells are in production, about 80% of the
City?s water will come from local groundwater and the balance from MWD.
Given the imminent MWD supply of fluoridated water, staff solicited construction bids for
stand-alone fluoridation facilities at Santa Monica Well #1 only. This well is unique in
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that it is the only well that delivers water directly into the distribution system without going
through the Arcadia Water Treatment Plant. This stand alone facility will first operate in
tandem with the MWD water deliveries in order for the overall fluoridation levels to reach
the recommended range of .8 ppm and subsequently with water produced at the City?s
MtBE treatment plant to the same end.
Discussion
Following Council authorization to negotiate on the open market, staff sent bidding
documents to five companies. The City received two bids:
Pascal and Ludwig Constructors $423,869
Pacific Mechanical Corporation $500,000
Engineer?s estimate $365,000
The best bidder, Pascal and Ludwig Constructors, supplied the City with the names of
recent projects. These projects included: ION Exchange Facility at Plant No. 12, in the
City of Upland, CA; Irvine Desalter ? Portable Treatment Plant and Irvine Desalter ? Well
76, 77 & 110, Irvine Ranch Water District; and Platz Reservoir Pump Station Expansion,
Laguna Beach County Water District. Staff contacted representatives of the agencies
and companies representing these projects, and they responded that the Contractor?s
work was very good. The California Contractor?s License Board verified the contractors?
licenses are active and in good standing. City staff also contacted the center for
Contract Compliance which reported that Pascal and Ludwig Constructors file is
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currently clear of compliance violations.
Budget/Financial Impact
FUNDS REQUIRED:
Contract $423,869
Contingency $ 42,386
Total Required $466,255
Funds in the amount of $466,255 are available in account C250786.589000,
?Fluoridation Facility Construction.?
A grant in the amount of $440,000 from the Fluoridation 2010 Work Group has been
approved for the construction of the required facilities on a reimbursement basis and
revenue account 25671.403650 has been established to receive the reimbursements.
Fluoridation 2010 is a collaboration of the California Department of Health Services, the
California Dental Association, California Dental Association Foundation, and the Dental
Health Foundation.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award a contract for the construction of the SM Well #1 Fluoridation Project to
Pascal and Ludwig Constructors, the best bidder, in the amount of $423,869
and approve $42,386 in contingency funds for this contract; and
2. Authorize the City Engineer to issue any necessary change orders to complete
additional work within budget authority.
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Prepared by: Craig Perkins, Director, Environmental and Public Works Management
Anthony Antich, P.E., City Engineer
Gil Borboa, Water Resources Manager
Susan Lowell, P.E. Water Resources Engineer
Dave Britton, P.E., Principal Civil Engineer
Spiros A. Lazaris, P.E., Civil Engineer
Reference Contract No. 8518 (CCS).
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