DEPARTMENT: Transportation & Capital Improvements
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Mike Frisbie, P.E.
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S) IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT: On-Call Geotechnical and Material Testing Services Contracts
SUMMARY:
An ordinance authorizing the execution of ten On-Call Geotechnical and Material Testing Services Contracts with Alpha Testing, Inc., Arias & Associates, In., CMT Engineering, Inc. dba Pave Tex, Fugro USA Land, Inc., HVJ South Central-M&J, Inc., InTEC of San Antonio, Professional Service Industries, Inc. (PSI), Raba Kistner, Inc., Rock Engineering & Testing Laboratory, Inc. and Terracon Consultants, Inc., each in the amount not to exceed $1,000,000.00 per contract term, to provide as-needed professional geotechnical and construction material testing services for City-owned facilities and improvements, construction projects and planning projects for a term of two years with an option to renew each agreement for two, optional two-year extensions under the same terms and conditions, at the City’s discretion.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Currently, Transportation & Capital Improvements (TCI) contracts with eight companies which provide on-call geotechnical and construction material testing services for the City. The consultants are Arias & Associates, Inc., Burge Martinez Consulting, Inc., Fugro USA Land, Inc., InTEC of San Antonio, Professional Service Industries, Inc. (PSI), Raba Kistner, Inc., Rock Engineering & Testing Laboratory, Inc. and Terracon Consultants, Inc These consultants are used on an as-needed basis on City capital improvements and transportation related projects and funded through the projects where the services are provided. The contracts with these firms will expire in July and August of 2017.
Procurement of Services
A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was released in February of 2017. This RFQ was advertised through the San Antonio Hart Beat, TVSA, City’s website, Texas Electronic State Business and an Eblast sent from Transportation and Capital Improvements SBEDA. Responses were due on March 28, 2017. Thirteen firms responded to the RFQ. An approved selection committee, consisting of representatives from Transportation and Capital Improvements (TCI), evaluated, scored and ranked the submissions. Scoring was based on the published evaluation criteria, which included evaluation of Background, Experience and Qualifications of Prime Firm, its Key Personnel and Key Subconsultants; Project Management Plan; and Team's Experience with San Antonio Region issues, including past experience with City of San Antonio contracts.
The on-call services will extend to federal projects, which require compliance with Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) requirements. A 10% DBE goal has been outlined for the professional geotechnical and construction material testing services.
Based on the evaluations and rankings made in the selection process, staff recommends: Alpha Testing, Inc., Arias & Associates, Inc., CMT Engineering, Inc. dba Pave Tex, Fugro USA Land, Inc., HVJ South Central Texas-M&J, Inc., InTEC of San Antonio, LP, Professional Service Industries, Inc. (PSI), Raba Kistner, Inc., Rock Engineering & Testing Laboratory, Inc. and Terracon Consultants, Inc.
These contracts were developed utilizing a formal request for qualifications process; therefore, as required by the Ethics Ordinance, Discretionary Contracts Disclosure Forms have been included herein as an attachments.
ISSUE:
This ordinance authorizes the negotiation and execution of ten On-Call Geotechnical and Material Testing Services Contracts with Alpha Testing, Inc., Arias & Associates, Inc., CMT Engineering, Inc. dba Pave Tex, Fugro USA Land, Inc., HVJ South Central Texas-M&J, Inc., InTEC of San Antonio, Professional Service Industries, Inc. (PSI), Raba Kistner, Inc., Rock Engineering & Testing Laboratory, Inc. and Terracon Consultants, Inc., each in the amount not-to-exceed $1,000,000.00 per contract term, to provide as-needed professional geotechnical and construction material testing services for City-owned facilities and improvements, construction projects and planning projects for a term of two years with an option to renew each agreement for two, optional two-year extensions under the same terms and conditions, at the City’s discretion and funded through the project where the services are performed.
The geotechnical and material testing services are utilized in the planning phase and execution of City projects and the on-call contract allows quick turnaround times for services, based on negotiated pricing or specific project proposals. It is anticipated that these contracts will be utilized for new 2017 Bond projects and non-bond, capital projects. The previous on-call agreements for these types of services were for eight firms at $800,000.00 per term for a two year term. The proposed agreements increase the number of firms to 10 consultants and increase the amount to $1 million per term for a two year term. The increase in firms and available capacity reflect the known increase of bond projects from the 2012 Bond to the 2017 Bond Program. Having an adequate number of available consultants on hand to provide services for the volume of projects to be delivered allows the City to plan projects more efficiently. Especially important is that increasing the number of consultants provides increased opportunity to bring new firms in to work for the City.
The necessity of these services will be determined by size and sensitivity of each individual project, as determined by the Transportation and Capital Improvement’s staff. Services to be provided under this agreement may include, but are not limited to the following:
• Geotechnical Engineering - site investigation;
• Geotechnical Engineering - laboratory testing;
• Construction Materials Testing;
• Building Inspections;
• Street Evaluation and Assessment; and
• Special Inspections and Observations
On-call services allow for the immediate execution of work as opposed to soliciting for these services on a per project basis. The City will utilize these professional services to expedite project delivery and completion. For those firms that the City currently has a contract with, namely Arias & Associates, Inc., Fugro USA Land, Inc., InTEC of San Antonio, Professional Service Industries, Inc. (PSI), Raba Kistner, Inc., Rock Engineering & Testing Laboratory, Inc. and Terracon Consultants, Inc., this ordinance will replace these contracts as their contracts expire in July and August of 2017.
Consultants will be paid based on the tasks they perform for each specific project. These professional services may be utilized as needed during the execution of City capital planning or maintenance projects.
Approval of this ordinance will be a continuation of City Council policy to utilize outside consultants for the purpose of assisting staff to complete projects and provide services where City staff resources are not available.
ALTERNATIVES:
An alternative option is to submit a request for qualifications per individual project and select a firm based on its qualified experience in working with similar projects. To solicit for services on a per project basis would adversely affect the timely completion of the projects.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Each of these agreements shall have a value not to exceed $1,000,000.00 per contract term. Each agreement is for a term of two years, with an option to renew each agreement for two, optional two-year extensions under the same terms and conditions, at the City’s discretion. No funds are appropriated by this action. Expenditures for these services are subject to available funding and are authorized by individual project capital budgets at the time work is requested or project funds are appropriated through ordinance. The City will make no minimum guarantee pertaining to the volume of work which may be expected from each consultant.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of this ordinance authorizing the negotiation and execution of ten On-Call Geotechnical and Material Testing Services Contracts.