SR 04-10-2018 3E
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: April 10, 2018
Agenda Item: 3.E
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Susan Cline, Director, Public Works, Architecture Services
Subject: Award of Commissioning Services Agreement for the City Services Building
Construction Project
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award RFP #2250 to Syska Hennessy Group, Inc., a California-based company,
to perform commissioning services for the City Services Building Construction
Project;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Syska
Hennessy Group, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $95,189 (including 10%
contingency) with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval .
Executive Summary
The City Services Building (CSB) construction phase commenced in December 2017,
with the goals to centralize and streamline city services for the community, eliminate
leased office space saving the City up to $10 million annually, and model the City’s
commitment to sustainability and the environment. The CSB’s sustainable design
includes strategies to achieve net-zero energy (NZE) and net-zero water (NZW)
performance. If these targets are met, the City will benefit from never paying for energy
or water utility costs, which are expected to escalate over time. Commercial office
buildings like the CSB are required by code to hire a third-party commissioning agent to
ensure building systems are designed, coordinated and installed correctly. Because the
CSB includes unique high-performance building systems, staff is recommending
enhanced commissioning services, which are encouraged by California Building Code
and the LEED Rating system for energy savings. For building owners that intend to
operate a building through its useful life, investing in enhanced commissioning
increases life-cycle cost savings. Staff recommends awarding an agreement to Syska
Hennessy Group, Inc. for enhanced commissioning services in an amount not to exceed
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$95,189. The budget for these services was included in the overall cost of construction
for the CSB, approved by Council on August 8, 2017 (Attachment A).
Background
On August 8, 2017, Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute a
second contract modification to Agreement #10051 (CCS) with Hathaway Dinwiddie
Construction Company for a Guaranteed Maximum Price for construction services with
a total amount not to exceed $70,600,507 (Attachment A). At the same meeting,
Council also adopted a Resolution Authorizing Issuance of Series 2017 Bonds, and
approved the related documents required for the Issuance of Lease Revenue Bon ds,
Series 2017, to finance the City Services Building Project for a maximum principal
amount of $76,760,000 (Attachment B).
The City Services Building (CSB) Project brings nearly all core municipal operations
onto one City Hall campus as envisioned in the Civic Center Specific Plan. The
investment in this new building meets three main objectives:
1. Offers a one-stop hub to better serve the community. The CSB would bring
departments and vital public counter functions under one roof to streamline
services in one location.
2. Eliminates all existing city office space leases and consolidates municipal
operations onto city-owned land. City Hall was constructed in 1938 and in 79
years, the services that the City provides to the community has expanded and
outgrown the historic building. For several decades, city divisions have been
spread throughout the downtown, leasing space. With the construction of the City
Services Building, the City will eliminate leases saving as much as $10 million
annually and bring 240 staff under one roof.
3. Achieves a strong return on investment for the City both economically and
environmentally with a resource efficient structure. The building is a long-term
investment that is designed to streamline operational functionality and to be
resource efficient. It is a Living Building and will not have a water or electric bill
because it will produce the energy and water it consumes on site.
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Code Requirement
The California Building Code requires all buildings over 10,000 square feet perform
fundamental commissioning activities. The recommendation of this staff report is to hire
a commissioning agent that will perform enhanced commissioning activities above and
beyond the baseline requirements of the California Building Code to ensure energy and
water savings.
Discussion
The commissioning process is an integrated set of activities intended to ensure that a
project’s energy and water-related systems are coordinated, installed, calibrated and
perform as intended. When properly executed, commissioning’s major benefit is energy
savings. A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study of 643 buildings found that
commissioning provided average whole-building energy savings of between 13 and 16
percent. The same study also found that if every non -residential building in the U.S.
were properly commissioned, the nation would realize $30 billion in energy savings by
2030. Commissioning services also assess project components related to water, indoor
environmental quality and durability.
The City Services Building (CSB) construction phase commenced in December 2017,
and the project targets Living Building Challenge (LBC) certification. LBC is considered
the pinnacle of sustainable design, with net-zero energy (NZE) and net-zero water
(NZW) performance required for certification. Unlike Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the industry standard for sustainable
building design, LBC is a performance standard awarded after the building is
operational and has demonstrated NZE and NZW through actual utility bills. Designing
for performance and auditing the design with enhanced commissioning ensures
operational savings promised during design are achieved through the life of the building.
The CSB represents best practices in sustainable design and construction for Santa
Monica’s Mediterranean climate. The net-zero energy and net-zero water strategies
require complex building systems to operate in concert for optimal performance.
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According to CALGreen, the California Green Building Standards Code (version 2016),
new buildings 10,000 square feet and higher shall include commissioning in the design
and construction processes of the project to verify that the building systems and
components function properly. City Staff is confident in the CSB design but recognize
that achieving its performance targets will depend on an effective commissioning
process to validate the design, installation and proper functioning of all of the building’s
systems.
The following building systems will be commissioned for the CSB Project: heating,
ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC); automated operable windows; photovoltaics
(PV) systems; sub-metering and data collection; lighting controls; occupant pre-settings
and timers; plumbing including heat pumps, potable water treatment system, greywater
system and composting toilets. Because of the innovative building systems in the CSB,
the City seeks commissioning services to provide fundamental commissioning (as
required by CALGreen) as well as the following:
1. Create an Operations & Maintenance Plan for the building;
2. Provide ongoing commissioning of energy systems after the building is
operational to ensure the Living Building Challenge Net-Zero Energy Certification
is met;
3. Provide enhanced commissioning services including:
a. monitoring-based commissioning services to develop procedures and
identify points to be measured and evaluated to assess ongoing
performance of energy and water systems; and
b. building envelope commissioning (the physical separation between the
building’s exterior and interior components like the walls, windows, floors
and doors) to ensure building enclosures meet requirements for
acoustical, structural, thermal, blast resistance, durability and energy and
air/waterproofing performance.
Commissioning services cannot be provided by the project’s contractor for quality
control purposes. The commissioning agent is required to observe the construction
process with frequent site visits and inspections. Site visits may be necessary on short
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notice to keep the project’s construction schedule on track. Ultimately, the
commissioning agent will provide all documentation to demonstrate compliance with
CALGreen requirements and provide a letter certifying that the commissioning plan was
successfully executed. The commissioning report will verify the City’s assumptions
about the performance of the building, which the Total Workplace plan of action will
reference to ensure a smooth and effective transition for building occupants. Total
Workplace is a multi-departmental initiative to ensure City staff are prepared to
transition to the new building and offer efficient services to the community. The budget
for commissioning services was included in the overall cost of construction for the CSB,
approved by Council on August 8, 2017 (Attachment A).
Consultant Selection
On December 12, 2017, the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide
commissioning services for the City Services Building Construction Project. The RFP
was posted on the City’s on-line bidding site, and notices were advertised in the Santa
Monica Daily Press in accordance with the City Charter and Municipal Code Section
2.24.075(a). Forty-five vendors downloaded the RFP. The following 20 firms responded.
Argento / Graham
ARUP
Capital Engineering
CBRE | HEERY
Edison Energy
Engineering Economics, Inc.
Gaia
GLUMAC
Goss Engineering
Green Dinosaur
Harrison Thomas Group
Humann Building Solutions
Kitchell
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kW Engineering
P2S Cx
Partner Energy
Syska Hennessy Group, Inc.
The Cadmus Group
TM Cx Solutions, LLC
VCA Green
Responses to the RFP were reviewed by a selection panel of staff from the Public
Works Department. The selection panel completed an initial review based on the
following criteria: price, previous experience on high performing projects, compa rable
projects, knowledge of the specific systems proposed on the project, key personnel’s
previous experience with the specific systems proposed on the project, quality of work
plan, and compliance with City specifications. The five firms that scored highest in the
initial review were then interviewed by the panel.
Syska Hennessy Group, Inc. presented a unique understanding of the specific systems
proposed on the City Services Building Project and thorough knowledge of LBC
Certification. Syska has previous experience with two LBC projects, which is unique
since there are only 15 fully certified LBC projects worldwide. They articulated their
expert knowledge of natural ventilation systems, composting toilets and rainwater
capture and treatment systems. Additionally, with more than 500 professionals across
16 offices offering a full range of engineering services, Syska Hennessy could draw
from robust resources and experience to support the CSB commissioning activities. Out
of the 20 initial proposals received, Syska Hennessy was the seventh lowest cost. They
were the lowest of the five finalists that were interviewed. These costs, which were
included in the cost of construction approved by Council, include all four of the
additional-alternatives (add-alt) the City requested proposals for. Based on this criteria
and criteria in SMMC 2.24.073, staff recommends Syska as the best qualified firm to
provide commissioning services for the City Services Building Construction Project.
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The agreement to be awarded to Syska Hennessy Group, Inc. is for an amount not to
exceed $95,189. Funds are available in the FY 2017-2018 Capital Improvement
Program budget in account C014083.589000.
Prepared By: Joel Cesare, CIP Project Manager
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. August 8, 2017 Staff Report (GMP) - Weblink
B. August 8, 2017 Staff Report (Bond Award) - Weblink
C. Oaks Form - Syska Hennessy Group
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
OAKS INITIATIVE 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 ha s (e) more than a ten
percent interest in the entity.
Public benefits 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:
Name(s) of trustees, directors, partners, and officers:
Name(s) of persons with more than a 10% equity, participation, or revenue interest:
Prepared by: ____________________________Title: __________________________
Signature: ______________________________________ Date: ________________
Email: ____________________________________ Phone: ____________________
FOR CITY USE ONLY:
Bid/PO/Contract # ____________________________ Permit # ___________________________
Syska Hennessy Group, Inc.
Board of Directors: Gary A. Brennen, Cyrus J. Izzo, G. Venkataramu
Not applicable
Jerry Burkhardt Senior Principal
02/21/2018
jburkhardt@syska.com 310.254.3764
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REFERENCE:
Agreement No. 10653
(CCS)