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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/06/2001, C8 - LIGHTING SYSTEMS FOR MID-BLOCK PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS council Mrtl, v Noovember 6,2001 j acEnaa izEpoat 1�N� G8 CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO FROM: Michael McCluskey,Director of Public Works Prepared By: Jim Hanson,Associate Transportation Engineer SUBJECT: LIGHTING SYSTEMS FOR MID-BLOCK PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS CAO RECOMMENDATION Authorize staff to purchase and install in-roadway lighting equipment for the mid-block pedestrian crossing located in the 800 block of Marsh Street and the 800 block of Higuera Street. DISCUSSION On August 8, 2001, the City received bids for the purchase and installation of an In-Roadway Lighting System at the mid-block pedestrian crossing located in the 800 block of Marsh Street (between Chorro and Morro Streets). Only one bid was received to purchase and install the equipment. The $40,700 bid, submitted by Lee Wilson Electric Company, was approximately $11,000 over the engineer's estimate of $30,000. Contact with other cities that have completed similar projects, as well as with the equipment manufacturer, verify that the bid was $10,000 - $17,000 over what the actual cost should be to purchase and install the equipment. Because no additional monies are available for this project, and staff believes the bid excessive, a CAO Report has been submitted recommending the rejection of the bid made by Lee Wilson Electric Company. As established by Council resolution and outlined in the City's Finance Management Manual: "If, after rejecting bids, or if no bids are received, the City Council may determine that, based on estimates approved by the City Administrative Officer, a project may be performed better or more economically by the city with its own employees. This work may be authorized with the adoption of a resolution by at least four affirmative votes (of the City Council)." Information provided by other cities and discussions with the City streets department indicate that City staff should be able to install this equipment with relatively little staff time and lower equipment costs than provided in the Lee Wilson bid. Staff is proposing that in order to get the project accomplished in a timely manner that: a) the best supplier of equipment be selected; b) key specialty contractors be hired (Muff Construction for concrete cutting, etc) and c) staff use in-house expertise to install equipment. It is estimated that total costs for contractor work, staff work and equipment will be $26,000-$29,000, within the engineers estimate. In addition to the in-ground lighting system approved for the Marsh Street crosswalk, the City received a SLOCOG grant in the amount of$35,000 to install a similar system for the crosswalk located in the 800 block of Higuera Street (between the Ross store and the Gap). Due to the limited number of C g- I 1 \1 Council Agenda Report-IN-ROADWAY LIGHTING SYSTEMS Page 2 electrical contractors available to do the work, staff believes that a competitive bid for this system will yield the same results as the Marsh Street bid. Therefore staff is recommending that Council also approve purchase and installation of this system at the same time as the Marsh Street crosswalk system. FISCAL IMPACT The budget for the Marsh Street Expansion project contains adequate funding for the project. SLOCOG allocated $35,000 in the 2000 STIP cycle for the project located in the 800 Block of Higuera. Since it appears that Lee Wilson would be the only bidder for the similar system on the Higuera Street project, staff is requesting authorization for both projects at this time. The Higuera project will get accomplished in a timely manner and will follow immediately after the Marsh Street project. Utilizing City staff should result in significant cost savings for these projects. The table below illustrates the expected costs of installing the Marsh Street in-roadway system using City staff. Table 1—Marsh Street In-Roadway System Estimated Costs ITEM HOURS COST_ Specialty contractors $1,500 Supplies $20,305 Staff effort 120 $6,465 Total 110 $28,270 Staff has not yet estimated the costs for installing the Higuera Street system. However, based upon initial field review, staff believes that that system will have similar costs to those identified above and that performing the work using City staff will guarantee delivery of the project below the SLOCOG grant amount of$35,000. ALTERNATIVES 1. Re-Bid the Marsh project. This alternative would increase the amount of time that it will take to complete the projects and the cost may still be higher than the engineer's estimate. There is no indication that re-bidding the project will have different results than before. 2. Competitively Bid Supplies and still do work witli in-house forces. While this alternative may marginally reduce the equipment cost, there are no substitutes for the equipment recommended by staff and therefore the vendor's costs are the lowest that the City will receive. Other manufacturers do not supply the necessary system components such as battery backup, the low energy consumption rate of the specified system, and do not use a passive detection system that staff believes is critical to proper performance of the system. L\Council Agenda Reports\800MaahCrosswalk101701.doc cg z