RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Adopt Resolutions Making Public Interest Findings and Determinations and Declaring The Board's Intention to Order The Preparation and Execution of Consultant Services Contracts With The Consulting Engineering Firms of Record to Complete The Engineering of The Rocks Road Bridge, Rosa Morada Bridge and Union Road Bridge Replacement Projects, and The Shore Road Bridge and San Felipe Road Bridge Guardrail Replacement Project.

SBC FILE NUMBER: 105

RESOLUTION NO'S: 2017-39, 2017-40, 2017-41, 2017-42

The following list of San Benito County projects (collectively “Project(s)”) is funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA):

1.      Rocks Road Bridge Replacement Project (Federal Project No. BRLO-5943(054));

2.      Shore Rd & San Felipe Rd Bridge Rail Replacement Project (Federal Project No. BRLO-5943(043));

3.      Rosa Morada Bridge Replacement Project (Federal Project No. STPLX-5943(057)); and

4.      Union Road Bridge Replacement Project (Federal Project No. BRLO-5943(055)).

The consultant contracts for the subject projects have expired.  Since the expired contracts are no longer in force, federal funding guidelines require that any further work to be performed that would otherwise be completed by the previously retained consultants, are to be completed by a consultant selected pursuant to a competitive negotiation, except as noted below. 

As a condition of funding, the FHWA requires that recipients of said funding adhere to federal procurement guidelines.  These guidelines found in 23 CFR 172.5 require that procurement of professional services be through competitive negotiation.  This requires that the request for qualifications and proposal be publicly advertised and selection of the engineering consultant be based on qualifications.  Each consultant selected and contracted with was retained through competitive negotiation including public advertisement for consulting engineering services and qualifications based selection in accordance with 23 CFR 172.5. 

Consultant services included preparation of all environmental documents required under the California Environmental Quality Act, performance of all investigations necessary to design the respective replacement bridge or rail, and preparation of the plans and specifications for construction of the Project(s) (collectively, “Construction Documents”).  Specific project information and status regarding the consultant contracts of concern are as follows:

Federal funding guidelines do allow noncompetitive negotiation in order to procure engineering and design related services on federal-aid participating projects when it is not feasible to award the contract using competitive negotiation.

The California Code  of Regulations (CCR) requires that any professional engineer may assume responsible charge of a project (successor licensee) as long as the successor licensee exercises the requisite extent of control and assumes responsibility for all the engineering decisions involved in the design (16 CCR, 404.1(c)). This would essentially require any engineer/firm that would take over one of the mentioned projects to re-evaluate/re-create the entire design to satisfy requisite responsible charge. 

The current consulting firms/engineers of record for the referenced projects are qualified and capable of finishing the Construction Documents.  Retaining consulting firms/engineers to complete the Construction Documents would require competitive negotiation as described herein.  This process would disrupt design continuity, will result in further delay of the Project(s), and increase the respective Project costs.  Caltrans administers FHWY federal-aid projects for local agencies in California.  Caltrans requires the governing or legislative board for the local agency desiring to enter into a non-negotiated contract to make certain findings supporting non-competitive negotiated contract.

The County’s Public Works Division (PW) recommends that the Board adopt Public Interest Findings (PIF) and enter into new sole source (non-competitive negotiation) contracts with the current consultants of record for each of the projects of concern (see table above).  The plans and specifications for these projects are at least 65% complete and most of them are 95% complete.  It is PW’s opinion that only the current firms have the base of knowledge in the projects’ design to maintain status as responsible charge as defined in 16 CCR Section 404.1.

1.     Adopt Resolution 2017-___, Making Certain Public Interest Findings and Determinations and Declaring The Board's Intention to Order The Preparation and Execution of a Consultant Services Contract with The Consulting Engineering Firm of Record (NV5, Inc.) to Complete The Engineering of The Rocks Road Bridge Replacement Project (Federal Project No. BRLO-5943(054));

2.    Adopt Resolution 2017-___, Making Certain Public Interest Findings and Determinations and Declaring The Board's Intention to Order The Preparation and Execution of a Consultant Services Contract with The Consulting Engineering Firm of Record (Cornerstone Structural Engineering Group, Inc.) to Complete The Engineering of The Shore Rd & San Felipe Rd Bridge Rail Replacement Project (Federal Project No. BRLO-5943(043));

3.     Adopt Resolution 2017-___, Making Certain Public Interest Findings and Determinations and Declaring The Board's Intention to Order The Preparation and Execution of a Consultant Services Contract with The Consulting Engineering Firm of Record (Biggs Cardosa & Associates, Inc.) to Complete The Engineering of The Rosa Morada Bridge Replacement Project (Federal Project No. STPLX-5943(057));

4.     Adopt Resolution 2017-___, Making Certain Public Interest Findings and Determinations and Declaring The Board's Intention to Order The Preparation and Execution of a Consultant Services Contract with The Consulting Engineering Firm of Record (Biggs Cardosa & Associates, Inc.) to Complete The Engineering of The  Union Road Bridge Replacement Project (Federal Project No. BRLO-5943(055)); and

5.     Authorize the Board Chair to sign the Resolutions.