Loading...
SR 05-24-2022 3A City Council Report City Council Meeting: May 24, 2022 Agenda Item: 3.A 1 of 5 To: Mayor and City Council From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Water Resources Subject: Award Bid and Enter Into an Agreement with Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC for the Construction of Two Replacement Groundwater Supply Wells Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council: 1. Award Bid #SP2663 to Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC for the drilling of two replacement groundwater supply wells; 2. Adopt determination that the project is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15302 (Class 2 – Replacement/ Reconstruction; 3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC, in an amount not to exceed $4,854,450 (including a $231,165 contingency); and 4. Authorize the Director of Public Works to issue any necessary change orders to complete additional work within contract authority. Summary Two of the City’s groundwater production wells at the Charnock Well Field, Charnock Well 13 (CH-13) and Charnock Well 18 (CH-18), need to be replaced to maintain groundwater production and resiliency to preserve the City’s ability to reliably deliver safe, clean potable water to our customers. Access to groundwater helps the City reduce its reliance on imported water supplies that have been severely impacted by on- going drought conditions across the southwest United States. Due to their age and multiple rehabilitation/repairs over their operating lives, both groundwater production wells have experienced a significant decrease in production capacity. Replacement of the two groundwater production wells is part of the City’s overall plan to enhance the resiliency of the local water supply and reduce reliance on imported water supplies. The 3.A Packet Pg. 16 2 of 5 well replacement project is funded by Water Revenue Bonds issued in August 2021. Staff solicited bids for drilling and constructing two groundwater supply wells to replace CH-13 and CH-18 and recommends awarding bid #SP2663 to Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC. Discussion The Charnock Well Field is the City’s largest source of local groundwater supply. CH-13 (constructed in 1966) and CH-18 (constructed in 1984) have experienced ongoing maintenance issues, including extended outages of approximately nine months within the last two years, and production capacity has decreased significantly (35% reduction for CH-13 and 45% reduction for CH-18). The two Charnock Wells, which account for nearly 35% of the City’s total groundwater production capacity, are both well beyond their useful lives. Replacing the two aging wells would restore local groundwater production at the two wells to their original production capacity. Production of local groundwater has historically been 30% cheaper than purchasing imported water supplies for potable use. The agreement with Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC would complete the first phase of the well replacement project, which includes the drilling of two groundwater supply wells to replace CH-13 and CH-18. Drilling of the two replacement wells is expected to be completed before summer of 2023. During drilling operations, the City would need to turn off the entire Charnock Well Field to minimize water quality impacts to the groundwater aquifer and would result in an increase in imported water purchase during this time. Design for the second phase of the well replacement project, which includes the mechanical equipping of the replacement wells, is underway and will be finalized once the first phase of the well drilling is complete. It is estimated that the well replacement project will be completed by fall 2024. Replacing the two aging groundwater production wells would assist the City in enhancing the resiliency in its groundwater supply and maximizing groundwater production within sustainable yield limits to reduce the City’s reliance on imported water supplies. The replacement wells would be located in the Charnock Well Field, near the existing CH-13 and CH-18 locations. 3.A Packet Pg. 17 3 of 5 Past Council Actions Meeting Date Description 7/27/2021 (Attachment A) Council authorized issuance of Water Enterprise revenue bonds Public Outreach The Charnock Well Field is located in West Los Angeles on property owned by the City of Santa Monica. The property is currently being leased to Windward School, a private college preparatory school. The Water Resources Division has coordinated with Windward School representatives throughout the development of this project, including two meetings held on December 2, 2021, and March 22, 2022, to discuss the construction timing and logistics. The CH-13 and CH-18 replacement wells would be located in the Windward School parking lot and perimeter of the sports field, respectively. During construction, a portion of the parking lot and sports field would need to be temporarily closed. Windward School staff has begun identifying temporary parking locations to make up for the temporary loss of parking and planning for the closure of the sports field during construction. Environmental Analysis The project is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15302 (Class 2 – Replacement/Reconstruction), which provides exemptions for the replacement/reconstruction of existing facilities, including the replacement of existing utility systems involving negligible or no capacity expansion. The replacement wells would be designed to the original design capacity of CH-13 and CH-18 and would not represent an increase in the City’s groundwater production capacity. In addition, none of the exceptions specified in Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines would apply that would preclude use of this CEQA exemption. The project site is not located in a sensitive environment, would not have a significant effect on the 3.A Packet Pg. 18 4 of 5 environment, would not damage scenic resources, would not be located on a hazardous waste site, and would not cause a change to a historical resources. Vendor Selection Best and Only Bidder Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC Submittals Received Selection Criteria Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC $4,854,450 Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.180 Evaluation Criteria Price; the ability, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform or provide the materials or services; and the capacity of the bidder to perform the contract or provide the service promptly, within the time specified, and without delay or interference. Bid Data Date Posted Posted On Advertise In (City Charter & SMMC) Vendors Downloaded Date Publicly Opened 3/16/2022 City’s Online Bidding Site 3/17/2022 and 4/4/2022 41 4/11/2022 Additional Vendor Outreach & Justification to Award The bid for this project was posted on the City’s online bidding site and advertised in the Santa Monica Daily Press. In addition, staff contacted seven potential well drilling contractors upon release of the bid. Staff provided two dates for prospective contractors to attend a mandatory pre-bid job walk, with a total of four contractors attending. Contractors who attended a pre-bid job walk but did not submit a bid stated the City’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement as the reason for not bidding on this project. Staff evaluated the sole bid from Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC based on the criteria in SMMC 2.24.180, including price, previous experience, ability to deliver, quality of product, and compliance with City specifications. Prior to this bid, Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC also successfully completed four municipal groundwater wells similar to the wells being awarded as part of this bid. Financial Impacts and Budget Actions Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Water Fund to award an agreement 3.A Packet Pg. 19 5 of 5 with Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC for the construction of two replacement groundwater production wells. Drilling of the two groundwater production wells would be funded through the Water Revenue Bonds issued in August 2021 – Groundwater Resiliency at Charnock Well Field. Agreement Request FY 2022-23 Budget Request Amount CIP Account # Total Contract Amount $4,854,450 C5007760.689740 $4,854,450 Prepared By: Chris Aguillon, Water Resources Protection Specialist Approved Forwarded to Council Attachments: A. July 27, 2021 Staff Report (Web Link) B. Oaks Initiative Form 3.A Packet Pg. 20 3.A.b Packet Pg. 21 Attachment: Oaks Initiative Form (4943 : Award Bid for Charnock Replacement Wells) 3.A.b Packet Pg. 22 Attachment: Oaks Initiative Form (4943 : Award Bid for Charnock Replacement Wells)