CIP 97-182 MYRTLE AVENUE UNDERGROUND UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 97-1   AND CIP 97-183 LOMA DRIVE UNDERGROUND UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 97-2 

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION/INSPECTION SERVICES

 

Recommendation:

It is recommended that the City Council:

1. Approve payment of $42,000 to Quantum Consulting for contract administration and inspection services rendered in association with construction of the Loma Drive Underground Utility District and the Myrtle Avenue Underground Utility District,

2. Approve the transfer of $22,000 from Construction Costs to Incidental Expenses.

 

Background:

On October 25, 1999 staff engaged the services of Quantum Consulting to provide contract administration/inspection services for the Loma Drive Underground Utility District and the Myrtle Avenue Underground Utility District for a fee of $5,000 for each District. This was done in accordance with the approved Contract Purchase Order process.

Staff selected to use the informal Contract Purchase Order process because it was anticipated that 150 hours of contract administration/inspection services would be sufficient for these projects and full time inspection was not needed. Staff expected to utilize the consultant for a short time until a Public Works Inspector was hired who would then provide inspection for these projects. However, hiring of a Public Works Inspector has been delayed.

 

Analysis:

Since a Public Works Inspector was not hired when expected, Quantum Consulting had to remain on the job to avoid delaying the project. In addition, once the project got underway it became evident that part time inspection would not be adequate. Described below are critical tasks that require fulltime inspection.

A full time inspector is needed to coordinate with Southern California Edison and other utility companies to ensure these projects are constructed in full compliance with contract requirements. Second, this is necessary because the construction documents for the Edison facilities and the construction documents for the telephone lines are presented on different sets of plans. Third, in many instances the two sets of plans are not coordinated with each other. It requires constant coordination with the two utility companies and the contractor to reconcile the two plans. Finally, a full time inspector is needed to coordinate community issues. Since the residents are paying for this construction through the assessments to their properties, this contract has generated more community interest than most construction projects and a greater effort than anticipated is required by the inspector to coordinate the community issues.

This contract administration and inspection project is more demanding than a typical project of this magnitude for the reasons stated above. It would be unwise to start the new Public works inspector in the middle of this difficult project. In addition, Quantum Consulting has diligently attended to all the matters of this project. Because of this consultant’s history and expertise with the fine details of this project it would be prudent to maintain their involvement until the project’s completion.

 

Fiscal Impact

A total transfer of $22,000 is needed for contract administration and inspection for these projects. The current budget for construction inspection is $10,000 for each project for a total of $20,000. Therefore, transfer $11,000 from Construction Costs to Incidental Expenses on the Loma Drive Underground Utility District and $11,000 from Construction Costs to Incidental Expenses on the Myrtle Avenue Underground Utility District.

DESCRIPTION	CURRENT AMOUNT	PROPOSED AMOUNT
Construction Cost (Loma)	$1,503,740	$1,492,740
Incidental Expenses (Loma)	$98,650	$109,650
Construction Cost (Myrtle)	$1,354,100	$1,343,100
Incidental Expenses (Myrtle)	$98,650	$109,650

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