Subject:     SAN TOMAS AQUINO/SARATOGA BERRYESSA CREEK PARK COYOTE CREEK TRAIL ATCREEK TRAIL REACH 6 FEASIBILITY STUDY AND DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

    IRRIGATION RENOVATION

    YERBA BUENA ROAD REBID2 SUPPLEMENTAL

  COUNCIL AGENDA:    05-02-00

  ITEM: 

 

Memorandum        

 


  To:  HONORABLE MAYOR     From:  Ralph A. Qualls, Jr.

  AND CITY COUNCIL   

 

Subject:  WATSON PARK SOCCER BOWL    Date:  April 12, 2000

    IRRIGATION RENOVATION

                             

Approved         Date:

                             

 

COUNCIL DISTRICT:  1  Citywi

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Approval of an agreement for consultant services with The Planning Collaborative, Inc. for the San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek Trail Reach 6 feasibility study and design development for a base fee amount of $242,000, and $7,500 for additional services, for a total agreement amount not to exceed $249,500.

 

BACKGROUND

 

In September 1999, the City Council approved the San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek Trail Master Plan (1999) prepared by the County of Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department.  This plan provides a detailed description of the trail which extends from the San Francisco Bay Trail near Highway 237 to Prospect Road in San José.  The trail alignment is divided into six reaches to facilitate development.  Reaches 1-4 are being implemented by the City of Santa Clara.  Reach 5 will be jointly done by the City of Cupertino and the City of San José.  Reach 6 is the focus of this project.

 

San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek Trail Reach 6 is a 2.32 mile segment of the trail that will extend from Bollinger Road to Prospect Road.  The proposed alignment extends along City streets and several wooded stretches of Saratoga Creek and includes one existing signalized intersection, a pedestrian/bicycle bridge at Murdock Park and a segment of Class 1 trail parallel to Lawrence Expressway and Saratoga Creek.  A Class 1 trail as stated by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is to be a pathway that provides for bicycle travel on a right of way completely separated from any street or highway.  A spur trail will provide neighborhood access at English Drive to a soft surface, pedestrian-only trail that extends through an oak woodland located adjacent to Saratoga Creek.

 

Since approval of the Master Plan in 1999, there have been significant changes to the creek bank conditions resulting from ongoing erosion and poor surface drainage.  Accordingly, prior to preparing construction documents, it is necessary to conduct a detailed feasibility study and to prepare a design development plan in order to determine the magnitude of work required to design and construct the trail in accordance with the Master Plan, the current requirements of all the involved agencies and the estimated development costs.

 

On May 27, 1999, bids were received for the subject project.  The low bid was 86% above the Engineer’s Estimate.  Staff concluded that the high bid prices were attributed to two factors:  1)    jonlyust two bidss were received, which wasas evidence of high construction activity resulting in a non-competitive bidding environment, and 2)  given the strong construction economy, the appeal of the work of this particular project was low due to the complex, labor -intensive nature of the irrigation replacement. 

 ,,d

On June 29, 1999, City Council rejected all bids and authorized the Director to re-advertise and re--bid the project.  :The project bid documents were revised in response to the first bid results,  to improve the likelihood of receiving better bid results with the re-bid of the project. 

 

On May 11, 2000, bids were received for the re-bid project.  The low bid was 50% above the Engineer’s Estimate.  Staff assessment of the results is, that given the continued strong  construction economy, the appeal of the project work is still low.  Although eight contractors acquired bid sets, just three submitted bid proposals. 

 

On May 30, 2000, the City Council approved the rejection of all bids for the Berryessa Creek Ppark Irrigation Renovation Rebid pProject, and authorized the Director of Public Works to re-advertise and re-bid the project as soon as possible.  

 

The project site is situated within the City’s Coyote Creek Park Chain along the west bank of Coyote Creek at Yerba Buena Road and the northern entrance to Hellyer Park in southeast San Jose.  Single-family residential housing is located on both sides of the creek. 

 

In December 1997, the City received a grant approval from the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) for a Transportation Fund for Clean Air in the amount of $129,500 to provide a pedestrian/bicycle trail connection between two existing trails along the Coyote Creek.  It provides a link between a City of San Jose trail and a County of Santa Clara Trail. 

 

This trail is included in the Santa Clara County’s Countywide Trails Master Plan as a Communter Bicycle Trail and provides a critical link in the 15 mile long Coyote Creek Class I Bike Path. 

 

The consultant firm of Amphion Environmental, Inc., performed consultant services to prepare plans and specifications, an environmental clearance document and coordinate with affected outside agencies for this project.

 

The proposed improvements will connect the existing trail at the top of the bank to the existing trail located at mid bank toward the creek.

 

The proposed trail will be a 300-foot long asphalt concrete path ten foot wide with a retaining wall along one portion of the trail.  The proposed trail is designed to meet acceptable U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Guidelines, 1994.

 

Activities affecting the creek banks and/or streams are regulated by various governmental agencies.  The SCVWD and California Department of Fish and Game require construction permits and approvals.  In order to prevent erosion control during the rainy months, the California Department of Fish and Game requires that construction not be performed in the creek bank during the months between October 15th through April 15th.  This will be stated in the specifications of the project. 

 

On June 17, 1999, bids were received for the Coyote Creek Trail at Yerba Buena Road Project.  The low bid was 76% above the Engineer’s Estimate, and the bidder did not submit the addendum with the bid proposal.  The second low bid was 208% above the Engineer’s estimate.

 

On October 26, 1999 City Council rejected all bids and authorized the Director to re-advertise and rebid.

 

A Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Transportation Fund Clean Air grant has been extended to August 2000 to allow for the rebid and construction of this proposed project. 

 

The scope of work for this project includes the following proposed trail improvements:  site preparation, earthwork, grading and drainage, construction of an asphalt concrete trail and a retaining wall, removal of 13 trees, mitigation planting and a 3-year monitoring programANAYLYLSIS

 

The Department of Public Works has a current list of pre-qualified consultants for design services for parks and other public facilities.  The firm of The Planning Collaborative, Inc. is on the consultant list.

 

Staff recommends that an agreement be approved with The Planning Collaborative, Inc. for design services to prepare a feasibility study and design development plan.  The firm has expertise in performing design services for this type of work.  Staff has negotiated a consultant service agreement for a total fee not to exceed $249,500 which is appropriate for the work being performed. 

 

The scope of consultant services will include coordination of the project with other City departments and outside agencies, attendance at community meetings, and preparation of a feasibility study, environmental clearance documents and design development plan for Reach 6 of the San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek Trail. 

 

It is also anticipated that an appropriation action for additional funding will be agendized by the Budget Office concurrently with the award of this project.

 

A supplemental memorandum will be forthcoming after the bid opening on June 15April 20, 2000. 

Minor revisions were made to the pPlans and sSpecifications to improve clarity.  The bBase bBid sScope of wWork for the renovation improvements areis as follows:  site preparation, earthwork, drainage, replacement of irrigation, recircuiting of irrigation lines, turf renovation, capping off of irrigation circuits along the creek side, providing a water audit for the newly- renovated irrigation system, removal of two drinking fountains and replacement with one accessible drinking fountain, tree -planting and a 60 -calendar -day maintenance period.  In addition to the base  bid items, there are four (4) Aadd aAlternates as follows:

 

                         Engineer’s

                         Estimate

 

  Add Alternate 1:  Renovate irrigation, repair turf and concrete work  $40,000

   Add Alternate 2:  Renovate irrigation and repair turf       $26,000

  Add Alternate 3:  Replace decomposed granite and remove concrete  $24,000

  Add Alternate 4:  Place new fir bard mulch in planting area     $  7,000

 

Watson Park Soccer Bowl Irrigation Renovation project is located in central San Jose at the end of Jackson Street near Highway 101.  The soccer bowl is currently irrigated with manually operated quick coupling valves that require extensive labor.  This manual irrigation system also requires that the irrigation be done during normal daytime work hours.  In order to irrigate at night and minimize labor costs, an automatic irrigation system has been proposed.  In addition, there are currently no drinking fountains within the soccer bowl area.  This project will install drinking fountains on both sides of the soccer field.

 

This proposed project will provide an automatic irrigation system and drinking fountains within the soccer bowl area.

 

The scope of work for this project includes removal of the manually operated quick coupling valves, installation of new automatic irrigation and controller, and two drinking fountains.  The construction of the improvements is scheduled to start on May 1, 2000 after the completion of the normal soccer season.

 

 

 

 

PUBLIC OUTREACH

 

A pre-qualified consultant list was established in December 2000 as the product of a consultant selection process conducted in accordance with Public Works Policy for Retaining Consultants to Provide Services.  Outreach to the consultant community included advertisement in the San José Mercury News and the City of San José website.

 

 

ANALYSIS

 

Bids were received on March 30, 2000 with the following results:

 

    Base    Variance    Over/Under   

Contractor    Bid    Amount    Percent      

 

RMT Landscape Contractors, Inc.    $195,231    $50,231    35

(San Leandro)

 

Lone Star Landscape    190,240    44,240    30

(San Jose)

 

 

West Coast Engineering, Inc.    185,310    39,310    27

(Santa Clara)

 

Blossom Valley Constr., Inc.    157,130    11,130    7

(San Jose)   

 

Engineer's Estimate    146,000    ----    ----

 

Robt. A. Bothman, Inc.    138,000    8,000    (5)

(San Jose)

 

Boulder Rock Landscape    $129,540    $16,460    (11)

(San Jose)

 

The low bidder, Boulder Rock Landscape, submitted a bid amount of $129,540, which is eleven percent below the Engineer’s Estimate.  The Project Manager anticipated higher electrical installation costs based on similar projects.  The bid is considered to be acceptable for the work involved in the proposed project.

 

A contingency in the amount of $8,000 is requested for unforeseen conditions that may arise during construction.

 

 

 

 

COORDINATION

 

This proposede project has been coordinated with the Departments of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement; and the Offices of the City Attorney, Equality Assurance and Risk Manager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COST IMPLICATIONS

 

1.         COST OF RECOMMENDATION:  :   $249,500129,540

 

2.                  COST OF PROJECT:

 

Consultant Basic Fees

$242,000

Additional Services

$7,500

Agreement Administration

  $25,000

         TOTAL

$274,500

167174,540

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.       SOURCE OF FUNDING: 377 – Construction & Conveyance Tax, Council District 4

 

4.                  ESTIMATED START DATE OF AGREEMENT:   June 2001

 

5.         ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF AGREEMENT:   December 2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ESTIMATED COMPLETION OF MITIGATION

PLANT ESTABLISHMENT:    November, 2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BUDGET REFERENCE

 

Fund:

377

Appn:

6692

RC:

112233

Amount:

$150,000

Budget Document:

2000-1 Appropriation Ordinance, Section 12.01, Item 1(h).

 

 

Fund:

377

Appn:

6693

RC:

112243

Amount:

$140,000

Budget Document:

2000-1 Appropriation Ordinance, Section 12.01, Item 1 (k).

 

Capital Budget, Ppage ,.420, item 60.

  Page 146, Item 2(l).

 

 

 

 

RAJEEV BATRA

 

Acting Director, Public Works Department of