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CONSIDERATION OF AWARDING OF BID NO. 1213-80 TO JIM COOLEY CONSTRUCTION, INC., FOR THE NORMAN ANIMAL WELFARE IMPOUND FACILITY RENOVATION AND ADDITION PROJECT, ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION NO. R-1213-129, AND BUDGET APPROPRIATION.
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BACKGROUND: The City of Norman's original Animal Welfare “Impound” building was constructed in 1973. In 2003, the City of Norman expanded the facility by constructing and opening the Denese Miles Adoption Center . In FYE 2008, the Norman City Council appropriated funds to conduct a feasibility study to determine current and future animal service needs to meet community expectations and demands. On April 1, 2008, during a City Council Study Session, the City of Norman Animal Welfare Animal Shelter Feasibility Study was presented. The study detailed several areas in need of improvement including animal holding capacity, disease control, and equipment. The study identified that the current facility presented multiple issues that needed to be addressed. The current facility presents challenges in controlling the spread of diseases from sick animals to healthy animals because there is no isolation area for sick animals. The existing caging system does not meet the current standards of the Humane Society of the United States since they are stacked kennels and the current cage size is too small. The current holding capacities will not accommodate the projected future needs for housing of dogs and cats. Additionally, the mechanical and plumbing in the impound facility is aged and in need of updating.
On November 8, 2011 the citizens of Norman were asked to vote on whether to authorize the issuance of debt in the amount of $3,035,000 to remodel and expand the City of Norman Animal Welfare facility. The citizens voted in favor of funding the project through the issuance of general obligation bonds.
Following the vote, a multi-disciplinary committee consisting of City Staff and community representatives was formed to review responses to the City's Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for architectural services related to the Animal Welfare Facility remodel and construction.
An RFP was prepared and nine (9) architect firms submitted proposals. After reviewing the proposals and presentations the City of Norman approved a contract with Tevis Architectural Group on June 26, 2012. Tevis Architectural Group partnered with Barrett Williamson, a local architectural firm. The item now before Council is a contract for the renovation and expansion construction at the Norman Animal Welfare Center.
DISCUSSION: The Tevis Architectural Group worked with members of the Animal Welfare Oversight Committee and city staff to review and develop plans and architectural drawings for this project. Several significant issues had to be addressed during the project development. There is a large city sewer line that runs across the southwest portion of the property which restricts the location of the construction site. The buildings have multiple height roofs and limited access space for duct work and ventilation control, which is important for control of disease. The construction plans and design had to address the engineering design and materials in the current buildings which has caused restrictions on performing modifications to the current building. Adjustments and modifications have been made throughout the design and plan development phases to overcome these and other issues in the most cost effective manner. The final developed plans address operational issues identified in the feasibility study and those identified by the Animal Welfare Oversight Committee and staff.
The City issued a bid and solicited proposals for a qualified, experienced General Contractor to provide the construction of the renovation and expansion at the Animal Welfare Center. A mandatory Pre-Bid meeting was conducted on April 16, 2013. At this meeting Architect Barrett Williamson, on behalf of Tevis Architecture Group, explained the required elements of the contractor's proposal, highlighted unique aspects of the project and fielded questions. The attendees were then invited to walk the site. Thirteen (13) companies attended that meeting.
The request for bid included eleven alternate bid options. Six were deductive alternates and five were additive alternates. Bidding certain items as alternates is often done when a project faces potential budgetary constraints because it allows the awarding agency to pick and choose certain aspects of the project to be included in the final project. By offering these options, bidders could show how much of a decrease or increase would be achieved in the overall bid if certain options were excluded or included in the project. The following alternates were included:
1. Add Cat Porch
2. Delete SMT Cleaning System
3. Add Generator
4. Add Synthetic Turf System and Play Yards
4. Add Sloped Roof Systems
5. Delete Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV)
6. Delete Powered Ultra-Violet Filtration Units
7. Delete Sally Port
8. Delete Multipurpose Room
9. Add Resinous Flooring
10. Delete Skylights
On April 25, 2013 the submitted bids were publically opened and read aloud as prescribed by law. Bid packets were received from eight (8) general contractors. A complete listing of the bids is attached. The bids ranged from $2,588,000 to $3,825,000.
On April 26, 2013 representatives from Tevis Architectural Group, City Staff and two members of the Animal Welfare Oversight Committee reviewed the bids and the contractors' qualifications and experience. The proposals were evaluated based on the following:
Proposed Contract Amount - 35%
Time of Construction -15%
Relevant Experience -15%
Past Performance on Similar Projects -20%
Team Experience - 10%
Quality Control and Warranty Program - 5%
Based on the evaluations, the bid submitted by Jim Cooley Construction was determined to be most advantageous to the City. Shortly after the evaluations were complete, the Architect received notice from Jim Cooley Construction that two errors had been discovered in its bid. First, the base bid contained an error related to the HVAC system due to an Excel spreadsheet formula error. This error resulted in the base bid being $622,000 lower than it should have been. Had it been submitted correctly, the base bid would have been $3,210,000 instead of $2,588,000 and Jim Cooley would have still been the lowest bidder. The second error was made on Alternate No. 6, Deletion of the ERV. This alternate was shown as being a deduction of $9,000 when it should've shown a deduction of $90,000.
The contract now before Council proposes to award the contract to Jim Cooley Construction based on the bid as submitted and including two alternates: Alternate No. 6, Deletion of the ERV (bid as a $9,000 reduction) and Alternate No. 10, Addition of Resinous Flooring (bid as $45,000 addition), resulting in a contract in the amount of $2,624,000.
Because all bids (corrected) were more than the project budget, Staff met with the Architects and two representatives from the Animal Oversight Committee to discuss potential aspects of the project that could be modified in order to achieve cost savings without sacrificing project quality. These items were presented to Jim Cooley Construction in Proposal Request No. 1.
Change Order No. 1 to Contract No. K-1213-190 reflects three changes. First, the change order increases the contract amount by $ 622,000 to reflect the error in the HVAC portion of the base bid. Second, the change order increases the deductive amount for Alternate No. 6, Deletion of the ERC from $9,000 to $90,000 ($81,000 additional deduction). Third, the change order decreases the contract by $362,000 due to the modifications outlined in Proposal Request No. 1. The change order results in a net increase to the contract of $179,000 and a modified contract amount of $2,803,000.
Funds are available in the Animal Welfare Project Construction Account (050-9699-441-61.01 - BP0188) in the amount of $2,631,180. Staff proposes additional funding of $171,820 come from Capital Fund Balance (050-0000-253.20-00) with $3,382 representing interest earned from bond proceeds through June 30, 2013.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 1: It is recommended that Bid No. 1213-80 for the Animal Welfare Center Renovation Project be awarded to Jim Cooley Construction, Inc. in the amount of $2,624,000.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 2: It is further recommended upon awarding Bid No. 1213-80 that the Mayor be authorized to sign Contract No. K-1213-190, Change Order No. One increasing the contract by $179,000, Performance Bond No. B-1213-85, Statutory Bond No. B-1213-86 and Maintenance Bond No. B-1213-73 contingent upon approval by the City Attorney.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 3: It is further recommended that Resolution No. R-1213-129 be adopted which grants tax-exempt status to Jim Cooley Construction
RECOMMENDATION NO. 4: It is further recommended that $171,820 be appropriated from Capital Fund Balance (050-0000-253.20-00) to Animal Welfare Impound Building Construction (account 050-9699-441.61-01; project BP0188).