SR 03-06-2018 3E
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: March 6, 2018
Agenda Item: 3.E
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: David Martin, Director, Building & Safety
Subject: Award Contracts for Seismic Retrofit Program Engineering Reviews
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Award RFP# 147 to the following four firms:
a) Degenkolb Engineers, a California-based company for seismic structural
evaluation report peer review services;
b) IDS Group, a California-based company for seismic structural evaluation
report peer review services;
c) JAS Pacific, a California-based company for plan review services; and
d) Interwest Consulting Group, a California-based company for plan review
services.
2) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute professional service
agreements with:
a) Degenkolb Engineers, in an amount not to exceed $525,000 (for three
years, with one additional one-year renewal option in the amount of
$100,000 on the same terms and conditions) for a total amount not to
exceed $625,000 over a four-year period, with future year funding
contingent on Council budget approval;
b) IDS Group, in an amount not to exceed $525,000 (for three years, with
one additional one-year renewal option in the amount of $100,000 on the
same terms and conditions) for a total amount not to exceed $625,000
over a four-year period, with future year funding contingent on Council
budget approval;
c) JAS Pacific, in an amount not to exceed $125,000 (for three years), with
future year funding contingent on Council budget approval; and
d) Interwest Consulting Group, in an amount not to exceed $125,000 (for
three years), with future year funding contingent on Council budget
approval;
Executive Summary
In order to meet the demands of the City’s Seismic Retrofit program, the Building and
Safety Division will need to hire engineering consultants with expertise in analyzing
large, complex buildings. As part of the Seismic Retrofit Program, engineers and
architects will submit structural evaluation reports regarding buildings on the City’s list of
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Potentially Seismically Vulnerable Buildings (PSVB) for the City’s review. Current
Building and Safety staff do not have the experience necessary to quickly and
accurately review structural evaluation reports for the largest, most complex buildings
on the PSVB list. Similarly, staff do not have the experience necessary to perform Plan
Checks of construction plans submitted for these types of large buildings. Consultant
services may also be necessary to augment existing plan check staff if plan check
volumes increase significantly due to retrofit submissions. As such, the Building and
Safety Division is seeking to contract with consultants to assist with the tasks of
structural report review and plan check review to ensure that 1) structural analyses are
comprehensively reviewed by qualified individuals, and 2) the current level of plan
check service to customers is not compromised. The full cost of these services would
be recouped through seismic fees adopted in the FY2017 -18 budget.
Background
Santa Monica’s Seismic Retrofit Program officially commenced on August 14, 2017 ,
when the Building Officer first issued orders to building owners of 30 Concrete Tilt-Up
buildings to seismically evaluate and, if necessary, retrofit their building(s). Orders will
continue to go out in waves to the owners of various building types through August of
this year.
The Building Officer’s order directs owners to perform a structural analysis of their
building(s) by a licensed engineer or architect for the City’s review, pursuant to SMMC
Section 8.58.030, to determine if the building meets the minimum earthquake standards
specified in the City’s Seismic Retrofit laws. If not in compliance with the minimum
earthquake standards, a structural retrofit of the building is required.
Fees to support the Seismic Retrofit program were established during the 2017 fee
study. Four new fees resulted from the study and were adopted by Resolution No.
11051 (CCS) during the June 27, 2017, budget adoption Council meeting (Attachment
E). The intent of these fees is to make the Seismic Retrofit Program a full cost r ecovery
program.
The four fees and their purpose are as follows:
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1) Seismic Retrofit Report Review – Covers cost of City staff time to review a
structural report of a building subject to the Seismic Retrofit law.
2) Seismic Retrofit Plan Check – Covers cost of City staff time, or outside
consultant, to review a plan check submittal for a proposed retrofit of a building
subject to Seismic Retrofit law.
3) Seismic Retrofit Permit – Covers cost of retrofit permit issuance and subsequent
City inspections associated with retrofit construction for a building subject to
Seismic Retrofit ordinance.
4) Seismic Retrofit Peer Review – Covers cost of peer review of a structural report
by an outside agency for a building subject to the Seismic Retrofit law.
Discussion
The entire PSVB list encompasses just under 2,000 buildings. Non-Ductile Concrete
(NDC) and Steel Moment Frame (SMF) buildings comprise roughly 140 of the overall
total; however, they are the largest and most complex building types on the list. The
submitted structural evaluation reports for these buildings must be reviewed by the City
to determine whether or not the building in question needs to be retrofitted. There is not
a sufficient amount of Building & Safety plan check staff with the technical expertise
necessary to quickly and efficiently evaluate the very dense and highly technical reports
for NDC and SMF building types. Therefore, outside consultant services are needed to
perform these evaluations and make a recommendation to Building and Safety staff
based on their review.
A similar situation will arise when NDC and SMF owners submit plans for a retrofit plan
check review. The complexity of these building types demands a high level of structural
expertise to thoroughly evaluate a plan submission. Additional consultant services will
also be necessary to assist the City with the review of these plan checks.
The final round of Building Officer orders for the Seismic Retrofit Program is scheduled
to be distributed to property owners on August 6, 2018. Property owners will have
anywhere from two to twenty years (depending on the building type) from the date their
order was issued to complete the retrofit of their building(s). It is anticipated that the
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increase in plan check submittals as a result of the retrofit plan submissions will
necessitate additional reviewers to supplement the capacity that City plan check staff is
able to accommodate without compromising a satisfactory level of service to the public.
As such, consultant services will be required to perform plan check reviews and
accommodate this additional plan check volume.
The 60 NDC and 78 SMF buildings on the PSVB list are required, pursuant to SMMC
Chapters 8.76 and 8.80, to submit a structural evaluation report to the City within three
years from the date of issuance of the Building Officer order (October 23, 2017). This
assumes that approximately 140 structural reports will require review by consultants.
Each report would be charged a $121.84 fee for staff processing when it is submitted ,
with an additional hourly review rate of $256.68 for the peer review by an engineer.
Assuming that reports will take, on average, 35 hours to review (based on past
experience), Building and Safety is requesting authority to award $1,250,000 to fund
these reviews. All expenditures to consultants for these reviews would be recouped in-
full through the established Seismic Retrofit fees. Staff recommends executing contracts
with both Degenkolb Engineers and IDS Group to perform these structural evaluation
report reviews. Having two firms available for this task gives the City flexibility in
assigning the reviews and makes it possible to send reports to multiple firms if a high
volume is received in a short period of time to e nsure that turn-around times remain
reasonable for customers.
Plan Check fees for seismic retrofit plan reviews would be charged in exactly the same
way. Every submission will receive a $121.84 fee for intake, along with $256.84 per
hour for review. NDC buildings have 10 years from October 23, 2017, to complete a
retrofit, and SMF buildings have 20 years from the same date to complete construction.
It is difficult to predict when these buildings will actually submit for plan check and
initiate the construction phase of their retrofits, but staff does not anticipate many
submissions in the first few years of the program. At this time, Building and Safety
would like to request authority to award $250,000 to fund consultant plan check services
to cover the review of these projects. This will allow any early plan checks submitted for
NDC or SMF buildings to be reviewed, as well as provide funding to address any
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overflow of retrofit plan check submissions due to the Seismic Retrofit program. If a
consistent increase in volume occurs, additional funding will be necessary to
accommodate the increase and staff, as authorized by Council. Again, all expenditures
for seismic retrofit plan checks to outside consultants would be entirely recouped
through Seismic Retrofit Plan Check fees. Staff recommends executing contracts with
both JAS Pacific and Interwest Consulting Group to perform the seismic retrofit plan
check reviews for the same reasons stated above regarding structural evaluation report
reviews.
Vendor/Consultant Selection
In November 2017, the City published a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide both
structural evaluation report peer review services and seismic retrofit plan check services
to the Building and Safety Division in accordance with City specifications. The RFP was
posted on the City’s online bidding site, and notices were advertised in the Santa
Monica Daily Press in accordance with City Charter and Municipal Code provisions. The
City received 15 proposals. Proposals were evaluated and the respondents were
ranked based on the criteria in SMMC Section 2.24.073 for selecting the best qualified
person or firm. Firms had the option to submit only for structural evaluation report peer
review, only retrofit plan check, or both. After considering the proposals, evaluators
selected the top two firms for structural report review and the top two firms for plan
check services based on overall qualifications.
The firms selected for structural report review are 1) Degenkolb Engineers and 2) IDS
Group. The firms selected for plan check services are 1) JAS Pacific and 2) Interwest
Consulting Group. All four companies specialize in the areas they were selected for
and excel in at least three of the four major evaluation criteria: engineering experience,
staff qualifications, record of success with past clients, and fee proposal.
Staff recommends that Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a
professional services agreement with Degenkolb Engineers and IDS Group for
structural report peer review services. Each agreement would be for an amount not to
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exceed $625,000 over a four year period. This would allow for any buildings needing
extensions on their structural report submissions that may carry over beyond the three
year deadline for submissions. Both companies would be assigned to peer review
structural evaluation reports submitted to the Building and Safety Division as part of the
Seismic Retrofit program. Staff also recommends that Council authorize the City
Manager to negotiate and execute a professional services agr eement with JAS Pacific
and Interwest Consulting Services for retrofit plan check services. Each agreement
would be for an amount not to exceed $125,000 over a three year period. Both
companies would be assigned to review seismic retrofit plans submitted to the Building
and Safety Division for plan check review as part of the Seismic Retrofit Program
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The agreements to be awarded to Degenkolb Engineers, IDS Group, JAS Pacific, and
Interwest Consulting Group are for an amount not to exceed $1,500,000. Funds of
$408,000 are available in the FY 2017-18 budget in the Planning and Community
Development Department. The agreements will be charged to account 01321.555060.
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Kevin Purcell, Principal Administrative Analyst
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Degenkolb Oaks 2018
B. IDS Group - Oaks Initiative Disclosure Form
C. JAS - Oaks Initiative Disclosure Form
D. Interwest - Oaks Initiative Disclosure Form
E. June 27, 2017 Item 9A
(http://santamonicacityca.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=30&ID=15662
&MeetingID=1096)
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
OAKS INITI ATIVE NOTICE
NOTICE TO APPLICANTS, BIDDERS, PROPOSERS
AND OTHERS SEEKING DISCRETIONARY PERMITS, CONTRACTS,
OR OTHER BENEFITS FROM THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
Santa Monica’s voters adopted a City Charter amendment commonly known as
the Oaks Initiative. The Oaks Initiative requires the City to provide this notice and
information about the Initiative’s requirements. You may obtain a full copy of the Initiative’s
text from the City Clerk.
This information is required by City Charter Article XXII—Taxpayer Protection. It
prohibits a public off icial from receiving, and a person or entity from conferring, specified
personal benef its or campaign advantages from a person or entity after the official votes,
or otherwise takes official action, to award a “public benefit” to that person or entity. The
prohibition applies within and outside of the geographical boundaries of Santa Monica.
All persons or entities applying or receiving public benefits from the City of Santa
Monica shall provide the names of trustees, directors, partners, and officers, and names
of persons with more than a 10% equity, participation or revenue interest. An exception
exists f or persons serving in those capacities as volunteers, without compensation, for
organizations exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3), (4), or (6), of the
Internal Revenue Code. However, this exception does not apply if the organization is a
political committee or controls political committees. Examples of a “public benefit” include
public contracts to provide goods or services worth more than $25,000 or a land use
approval worth more than $25,000 over a 12-month period.
In order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Oaks Initiative, the City
compiles and maintains certain information. That information includes the name of any
person or persons who is seeking a “public benefit.” If the “public benefit” is sought by an
entity, rather than an individual person, the information includes the name of every person
who is: (a) trustee, (b) director, (c) partner, (d) officer, or has (e) more than a ten percent
interest in the entity. Therefore, if you are seeking a “public benefit” covered by the Oaks
Initiative, you must supply that information on the Oaks Initiative Disclosure Form. This
inf ormation must be updated and supplied every 12 months.
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
OAKS INITI ATIVE DISCLOSURE FORM
In order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Oaks Initiative, the City
compiles and maintains certain information. That information includes the name of any
person or persons who is seeking a “public benefit.” If the “public benefit” is sought by
an entity, rather than an individual person, the information includes the name of every
person who is: (a) trustee, (b) director, (c) partner, (d) officer, or has (e) more than a ten
percent interest in the entity.
Public benef its include:
1. Personal services contracts in excess of $25,000 over any 12-month period;
2. Sale of material, equipment or supplies to the City in excess of $25,000 over a 12-
month period;
3. Purchase, sale or lease of real property to or from the City in excess of $25,000
over a 12- month period;
4. Non-competitive franchise awards with gross revenue of $50,000 or more in any
12-month period;
5. Land use variance, special use permit, or other exception to an established land
use plan, where the decision has a value in excess of $25,000;
6. Tax “abatement, exception, or benefit” of a value in excess of $5,000 in any 12-
month period; or
7. Payment of “cash or specie” of a net value to the recipient of $10,000 in any 12-
month period.
Name(s) of persons or entities receiving public benefit:
JASON ADDISON SMITH CONSULTING SERVICES INC, DBA JAS PACIFIC
Name(s) of trustees, directors, partners, and officers:
JASON ADDISON SMITH
Name(s) of persons with more than a 10% equity, participation, or revenue interest:
JASON ADDISON SMITH
Prepared by: CHRISTINE CHAMPANY Title: REGIONAL MANAGER
Signature: ______________________________________ Date: DECEMBER 15, 2017
Email: CHRISTINE@JASPACIFIC.COM Phone: 909.605.7777
FOR CITY USE ONLY:
Bid/PO/Contract # ____________________________ Permit # ___________________________
REFERENCE:
Agreement No. 10635 -
10638
(CCS)