Full Text
AGENDA BILL Agenda Item No. 5(0) Date: January 17, 2012 To: El Cerrito City Council From: Yvetteh Ortiz, Engineering Manager Jerry Bradshaw, Public Works Director I City Engineer Subject: On-Call Transportation Engineering Agreements ACTION REQUESTED Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute professional services agreements with two consultant firms, Whitlock & Weinberger Transportation, Inc. Trans) and F ehr & Peers, for on-call transportation engineering services for periods of three years with options to extend for an additional two years. DISCUSSION The City occasionally requires the services of a consultant firm to perform transportation engineering work for various projects and efforts in the City of El Cerrito. This type of work is usually variable in scope that may be short-term assignments or may be part of larger capital or planning projects. As a result, most cities, big and small, enter into on- call agreements with consultant firms to assign work as needed. Government Code Section 4526 requires the State and local agencies to select consultant firms such as these on the basis of "demonstrated competency and on professional qualifications." Because of this, the consultant selection is not based on cost proposals. That approach is reinforced by the nature of an on-call agreement where the scope of work is not specified ahead of time. Therefore, in soliciting these services, staff issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) instead of a Request for Proposals (RFP). For the past eight years the City of El Cerrito has had one firm under contract for on-call services. Given the length of time, staff determined that it was time for a new consultant solicitation. Many cities choose to enter into on-call agreements with multiple firms in order to assure that a consultant's workload issues will not get in the way of a city's critical-path needs, and also to allow staff to best fit the expertise of a particular firm with the specific needs of an assignment. For complex projects, a city may ask for task proposals from more than one of their on-call firms to further ensure compatibility. Since El Cerrito's demand for these services is not large, Public Works staff chose to craft the RFQ to select no more than two firms. The selected firms will provide services and have staffing within the specialized categories listed below: • Traffic Control Evaluation and Implementation ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(0) • Traffic Calming/Neighborhood Traffic Management • Speed Zoning • Traffic Operations and Safety Analysis • Traffic Signal Timing and Design • Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning and Design • Complete Streets/Context Sensitive Solutions • Roadway Design • Parking Analysis • Transportation Planning/Impact Assessment Transportation engineering services provided by the selected firms will likely include field investigation and measurement, traffic and parking data collection and surveys, feasibility evaluation, alternatives analysis, design development, detailed design, and cost estimating. Examples of recent work by our current on-call firm include evaluation of all-way stop at Cutting Boulevard and Arlington Boulevard and development of the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program. Staff sent the RFQ to 20 firms on November 18, 2011 requesting Statements of Qualifications (SOQs which were due on December 15, 2011. Staff received seven responses. The SOQs were evaluated by City staff and two firms rose to the top of the list: W-Trans and Fehr & Peers. Both firms possess all the requested areas of expertise, have vast experience handling on-call services for municipalities, and are available to commence services immediately. The contract is crafted as a master agreement, with specific scope of work and cost to be determined on an as-needed basis. The contracts have an initial term of three years with options to extend for up to two additional years. This time frame will allow the City and the respective consultants to develop significant relationships to better serve the City's residents. Both firms have submitted billing rate sheets for the various skill levels and specific team members listed in their SOQs along with other charge conditions such as direct costs and mileage. These have been reviewed and agreed to by staff. The terms for the agreements are three years, with options to renew for up to two additional years. As needs arise, one or both firms will be asked to propose on the scope for an individual task. Once a proposal is agreed upon, the Public Works Director will issue a notice to proceed and work will begin. The RFQ stated that the first two tasks to be assigned include the citywide engineering and traffic surveys for speed zoning and evaluation of several neighborhood traffic management requests. The scope of services for each is currently being developed. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS The on-call agreements do not have dollar amounts directly associated with them. The agreed upon proposal for each task will be subject to funding available for that project or operational need. Page 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(0) The fiscal controls are the various budgets for related projects and operations accounts. Rev~&- Scott Hanin, City Manager Attachment: 1. Accompanying Resolution Page 3 ---PAGE BREAK--- RESOLUTION 2012-:XX Agenda Item No. 5(D) Attachment 1 RESOLUTION OF THE EL CERRITO CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENTS WITH WHITLOCK & WEINBERGER TRANSPORTATION, INC. AND FEHR & PEERS FOR ON-CALL TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING SERVICES WHEREAS, the City occasionally requires the services of a consultant firm to perform transportation engineering work for various projects and efforts in the City ofEl Cerrito; and WHEREAS, it is customary for a city to enter into one or more agreements for these services on an as-needed basis; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 4526 requires the State and local agencies to select professional services firms such as these on the basis of demonstrated competency and on professional · qualifications; and WHEREAS, the City issued a Request for Qualifications to 20 firms for on-call transportation engineering services; and WHEREAS, Whitlock & Weinberger Transportation, Inc. and Fehr & Peers were selected from a field of seven proposing consultants as the most qualified for the requested services. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City ofEl Cerrito that it hereby authorizes the City Manager to execute agreements with two firms, Whitlock & Weinberger Transportation, Inc. (W-Transportation) and· F ehr & Peers, for on-call transportation engineering services for periods of three years with options for two additional years. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall become effective immediately upon passage and adoption. I CERTIFY that at a regular meeting on January 17,2012 the City Council of the City ofEl Cerrito passed this Resolution by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: IN WITNESS of this action, I sign this document and affix the corporate seal of the City ofEl Cerrito on January XX, 2012. Cheryl Morse, City Clerk APPROVED: William C. Jones III, Mayor