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CONSIDERATION OF BID 1516-35, CONTRACT K-1516-88 BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AND BOYCE INDUSTRIES, INC., D/B/A MISSOURI NEON/SIGNLINK IN THE AMOUNT OF $42,371.50, CHANGE ORDER NO. ONE INCREASING THE CONTRACT AMOUNT BY $636, PERFORMANCE BOND B-1516-42, STATUTORY BOND B-1516-43, AND MAINTENANCE BOND MB-1516-28 FOR THE WAYFINDING PILOT PROJECT; ADOPTION OF PROJECT AGENT RESOLUTION R-1516-83; AND BUDGET APPROPRIATION FROM THE CAPITAL FUND BALANCE.
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BACKGROUND: It is important to establish a sense of entry that indicates arrival in a special place. This applies to all of the gateways into the City of Norman. For Norman, wayfinding should also be a community-wide initiative that directs travelers to the downtown area as well as to many of the other amenities of the community. The concepts of attracting businesses, residents, and visitors/tourists are closely linked to creating an aesthetically pleasing area from an architectural, streetscape and beautification standpoint.
Located within the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Norman is actually the third largest city in the State of Oklahoma with nearly 120,000 residents. In addition, Norman is home to the University of Oklahoma. The size of the City coupled with the location of the University make Norman a destination for many tourists, visitors, and commuters.
In December, 2013, City Council adopted the Norman Signage and Wayfinding Plan. This was adopted as the first phase of an overall plan for the City of Norman. The Norman Signage and Wayfinding Plan involved significant public input into potential destinations, potential districts, development of a hierarchy of destinations, and preliminary input into sign colors and fonts. One of the conclusions of the Norman Signage and Wayfinding Plan was to embark on a follow-up process to include the “fabrication and installation of a pilot project that will help to refine the detailed design of the system components”.
Council approved a design contract with the C.H. Guernsey team to refine the Wayfinding system components and to design the Wayfinding Pilot Project on April 14, 2015. This project was a collaborative effort between the City of Norman, the Noman Chamber of Commerce, and Visit Norman, Incorporated (the Norman Convention and Visitor’s Bureau). From that contract came the finished plans for the City of Norman Wayfinding Pilot Project for implementation on Main Street between I-35 and Downtown.
DISCUSSION: Bid packets for the Wayfinding Pilot Project were issued on December 26, 2015. Bid No. 1516-35 was opened on January 14, 2016. The Wayfinding Pilot Project consists of a total of eight signs placed along Main Street between I-35 and Downtown with one additional sign each on University Boulevard and Webster Avenue.
Bid packets were sent to a total of eight vendors and the bid was advertised in the local newspaper. Bids were received from two vendors. The bids received were from ArtoGrafx (Dallas, Texas) and Boyce Industries, Inc., d/b/a Missouri Neon/Signlink (Springfield, Missouri). Missouri Neon Company was the low bidder with a bid of $42,371.50. Missouri Neon/Signlink was not among the list of six companies that bid packets were sent to, but responded to the advertisement in the newspaper. Upon request, Missouri Neon/Signlink provided a list of wayfinding projects previously completed in Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The design team reviewed the company information for Missouri Neon/Signlink and found the company to be more than qualified to undertake this Wayfinding Pilot Project.
The contractor has also been asked to submit performance, statutory and maintenance bonds for the proposed work. Due to a misunderstanding, bonding requirements were not included in the bid packets so the cost for these bonds was not included in the original bid. A change order in the amount of $636 is required to cover the bonding costs, resulting in a new contract amount of $43,007.50. The next lowest bid is $64,192.50 higher than the new contract amount. City Council is asked to consider granting the Mayor the authority to complete the execution of the bonds and the change order.
Staff recommends proceeding with the award of the bid to Missouri Neon/Signlink. From a Notice of Award, the Wayfinding Pilot Project will be completely installed within 75 days.
Financing for the Wayfinding Pilot Project is to be an equal split between the City of Norman and the Norman Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Based upon the low bid, the share for each entity will be $21,503.75.
RECOMMENDATION 1: It is recommended that Bid 1516-35 for the Norman Wayfinding Pilot Project be awarded to Boyce Industries, Inc., d/b/a Missouri Neon/Signlink of Springfield, Missouri in the total amount of $43,007.50 including Change Order No. One.
RECOMMENDATION 2: Staff recommends that Contract K-1516-88 with Boyce Industries, Inc., d/b/a Missouri Neon/Signlink and Change Order No. 1, for a total amount of $43,007.50, as well as the following bonds:
Performance Bond B-1516-42
Statutory Bond B-1516-43
Maintenance Bond MB-1516-28
RECOMMENDATION 3: Staff recommends that City Council adopt Project Agent Resolution R-1516-83 granting tax-exempt status to Boyce Industries, Inc., d/b/a Missouri Neon/Signlink.
RECOMMENDATION 4: A portion of the funds are available in Wayfinding Pilot (account 050-9611-431.61-01; Project TC0041). The amount available in this account is $20,000. Staff recommends that $23,007.50 be appropriated to this account from Capital Fund Balance (account 050-0000-253.20-00). The Norman Convention and Visitor’s Bureau will then be invoiced their share of the cost ($21,503.75) for reimbursement and when received will be receipted into Capital Fund Organization Revenue (account 050-0000-365.13-73).