SR-506-003-10 (3)~_ . .
~ ~;tyof City Council Report
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: September 12, 2006
Agenda Item: 1-B
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Andy Agle, Interim Director, Planning and Community Development
Subject: Award of Professional Service Agreement for the Design of the Exposition
Corridor Bicycle and Pedestrian Path to Crain & Associates in an amount
not to exceed $537,000
Recommended Action
This report recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate
and execute an Agreement with Crain & Associates for design, bid preparation and
construction monitoring of the Exposition Corridor Bicycle and Pedestrian Path, in an
amount not to exceed $537,000.
Executive Summary
The project is a 1.3-mile C{ass I(off-street) bike path a{ong the Exposition rail right-of-
way from the eastern City limit at Centinela and to 17th Street. The scope of work
includes design of the bike path, an adjacent pedestrian path, a sidewalk, curb and
gutter section on the south side of Olympic Boulevard; signal modifications; new
signals; signage and striping; perimeter landscaping; pathway lighting; fencing; and
integrated public art as part of the project. This is a re-procurement of a contract
originally awarded by Council on March 14, 2006. The re-procurement was required as
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a result of a May 1, 2006 Caltrans directive instituting a new Disadvantaged Business
Enterprise (DBE) program.
Discussion
Backqround
Federal Transportation Enhancement Activity (TEA) funds were competitively awarded
in 1999 by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("Metro") to
the City of Santa Monica for this project. The Bike Path is part of the Exposition
Boulevard Right-of-Way Regional Bikeway that connects Downtown Los Angeles to
Santa Monica through the Cities of Los Angeles and Culver City. The bike and
pedestrian pathway are included in the City of Santa Monica's adopted Land Use and
Circulation Elements and the Open Space Element. The project will be designed so as
not to preclude the future Exposition light rail line.
As noted in a June 14, 2006 Information Item to Council, this federally funded project
administered by Caltrans had to be re-procured to comply with a recent Caltrans
directive responding to a federal court decision concerning Disadvantaged Enterprise
Business (DBE) programs. Caltrans issued a directive on May 1, 2006 announcing that
all outstanding procurements, that had not yet been executed, must be re-procured
using new DBE "race-neutral" language to replace the existing goal-driven program.
On March 14, 2006 City Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute
a professional services agreement with Crain & Associates for design, bid preparation
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and construction monitoring of the Exposition Corridor Bicycle and Pedestrian Path.
Staff had negotiated the final terms of the agreement and was ready to convey the
contract to Caltrans. Since the contract had not been executed by May 1, 2006, the
design contract needed to be re-procured using the new language.
Consultant Selection
Three proposals were submitted in response to the revised Request for Proposals
(RFP.) A selection committee consisted of six City staff from different divisions
representing three City departments and the Metro Bike Program Manager. Evaluation
criteria for both the written proposals and the interviews were clearly stated in the RFP:
1) Understanding and approach to the work; 2) Team composition: 3) Quafity and
experience of each team member; 4) Creativity, design values and state-of-the-art
practices; 5) Familiarity with state and federal procedures and design requirements; and
6) Financial responsibility, cost control and cost estimation.
After review of the written proposals the selection committee determined that two were
qualified to be interviewed. The two teams are:
Alta Planning + Design
Crain & Associates
These teams were interviewed in December as part of the original procurement process
Staff confirmed that the resubmittals were identical to the original submittals and neither
team needed to be re-interviewed. Crain & Associates was selected as the top ranked
firm based on: the quality of the key personnel; the overall strength of the team; their
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strong comprehensive approach to addressing the City's sustainable planting and green
building practices; experience in addressing state and federal requirements; a well
thought out work plan; and experience in working with adjacent jurisdictions and
property owners. Sub-consultants include Katherine Spitz as the landscape architect;
KPFF Consulting Engineers as the civil engineer; Lenax Construction Services, for cost
estimating; and Barbara Grygutis as the public artist.
The consultant's scope of services is intended to engage the design team throughout
the entire process from concept development through construction consultation,
including cost estimation at appropriate stages. Specific stages include schematic
design; design development; bid package development; and construction consultation
including review of submittals. The project poses a number of challenging issues,
including; the multiple street crossings, preserving sufficient space for the future light rail
line, coordination with hazard review activities, the transition with the City of Los
Angeles and attention to future operating and maintenance costs. Caltrans, as the
federal designee, will be monitoring the project and will be required to review and
approve the bid package. Construction of the project is anticipated to begin early 2008
and is anticipated to take six months to complete.
Public Outreach
A key component of the design process will be an ongoing community outreach
process, including three iterations of outreach: one near the outset of the project; one to
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review preliminary design concepts; and one to review recommended schematic design
concepts. There will also be outreach with several City commissions and boards.
Bud~et/Financial Impact
Funding for design and construction of the project has been programmed in previous
CIP budgets and include: Transportation Enhancement Activity (TEA) funds, Proposition
`A' funds, TDA Article 3 Local Return funds and Office District Mitigation Funds (for
sidewalk improvements), totaling $2.9 million. The project has not been designed yet
and construction costs have gone up quite significantly since this grant was obtained in
1999. The design team will focus its effort on designing to the $2.4 million available for
construction. However, there is potential for the final project budget to exceed the funds
available, creating the need to identify additional non-General Fund resources. The
project will also result in increase ongoing maintenance and operating costs.
The funding for this design contract includes the design firm's role in construction
monitoring stage. This contract is funded as follows:
Sources of Funds:
C200561.589006 Exposition Bike Path (TEA) $352,350
C200561.589007 Exposition Bike Path (Prop A) 64,650
C200561.589008 Exposition Bike Path (TDA Art. 3) 120,000
Total $537,000
Prepared by:
Ellen Gelbard, Deputy Director for Special Projects
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Development
Approved: Forwarded to Council:
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