CITY OF LAKEPORT

City Council
City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District
Lakeport Redevelopment Successor Agency

STAFF REPORT
RE:

Downtown Improvement Project Phase II Design Contract

Amendment No. 1

SUBMITTED BY:

MEETING DATE:

01/05/2016

Paul Curren, Interim City Engineer

Kevin M. Ingram, Community Development Director

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

Information only

Discussion

Action Item

WHAT IS BEING ASKED OF THE CITY COUNCIL/BOARD:

The City Council is being asked to review the proposed addition of supplemental design services for the Downtown
Improvement Project Phase II contract with Crawford and Associates, Inc. as recommended by City staff. The
Council is also being requested to authorize the City Manager to sign Contract Amendment No. 1 which is to
include the supplemental design services that are approved by your Council.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
The Downtown Lakeport Improvement Project has gone through several iterations and Phase II of that project is
currently under design by Crawford and Associates, Inc. It is anticipated that City staff will act as the
construction manager and provide inspection services in house with some outside testing expertise required.
The City has assigned Paul Curren, P.E., interim City Engineer, to be the project manager for the City relative to
both the design and construction of this project. Mr. Curren has extensive background in designing and
constructing such projects having been the designer of the improvements in downtowns of Kelseyville and
Upper Lake.
The original design proposal was based on a much longer design period which would begin early in the spring of
2015 to achieve spring 2016 construction and also anticipated an over summer delay for the completion of
work. The start of the project was delayed due to no fault of the design team. When design was initiated this
summer, much of the anticipated design time was already past. However, initiation of the spring 2016
construction was still perceived as a desirable goal.
At the onset of design, and confirmed by staff meetings with business owners, City staff and design team have
been working to achieve construction in the spring of 2016 rather than the fall of 2016. To meet this goal,
interaction between City staff and the design team has been at least weekly, often more. It has also require
production of many more interim design documents to expedite City reviews of tentative design. This process
literally cuts weeks out of review time but intensifies communications.
The design is now about 65 percent as of the first week in December and progressing rapidly. In reviewing the
scope of design anticipated under the contract as negotiated with previous City staff, several items were not
sufficiently addressed in the past. These items are related to conformance with American with Disability Act
(ADA) requirements: details regarding the scope of utility work: lighting analysis at intersections; irrigation
considerations and coordination: and design services during construction. It also became apparent that City staff
could provide several design elements directly rather than doubling up effort between the design team and City
Meeting Date: January 5, 2016

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staff. Preparation of contract specifications is a prime example. Each of these different approaches will be
discussed in detail.
The City has reviewed the consultant contract costs to date and scope necessary for completion of the project.
This report provides details regarding the changes in scope as the work has progressed and the costs to
complete the design.
It is important to note that skipping important steps during design to save money often results in expenditure
of large portions of the project construction contingency to correct or address issues during construction.
Money is far better spent during design to prevent foreseeable problems rather than wait until they develop
during construction.
City Provided Design Tasks
City staff will provide several items which they are most familiar or have prior information. These include
providing the pavement design, assisting in cost estimating, reduction in City Council meeting attendance, and
preparation of the final contract specifications and estimates, handling project bidding and answering bid
inquiries.
The budget cost savings due to shifting of these activities to the City is a credit of $20,219.
ADA Access to Businesses
The original scope of work included matching the entrances to businesses at the back of the sidewalk at the
building fronts. This approach would leave many businesses with non-compliant access to their inset front
doors due to excessive slopes between the current back of sidewalk and the doorways. This would leave
individual building owners with the responsibility and cost of upgrading to current ADA standards in the future.
With the new City sidewalk at the current elevation, the building owner would have to make the entire
correction within the building footprint. This method is costly both from an initial construction cost but also
from lost building space consumed solely by ADA access.
The alternative approach taken by the design team, at the direction of City staff is to, as much as possible,
provide full ADA compliant access to all of the building entrances. This was a time consuming, reiterative
process by the design team to balance sidewalk slopes and gutter drainage slopes. Several techniques were
used to achieve this objective including using greater than 2 percent slopes outside of the designated ADA
pathway within the sidewalk area, varying curb face between and 4 and 7 inches, and in three locations,
providing a differential sidewalk segment to elevated doorways. The result is that all of the businesses with the
exception of one will have compliant ADA entrances. This process has resulted in a design that provides current
code compliant ADA access to all of the down town businesses involved in the project. This approach adds
enormous value to the downtown overall, but also to each building owner and commercial client.
It is also important to note that this emphasis on provide ADA access significantly reduces the liability of both
business owners and the City for non-compliance suits by citizens. The cost of this additional effort is $48,432.
Support Services, Support Documents and Coordination
As detailed above, the design team has and is meeting with City staff on a weekly or more often basis to discuss
progress, obtain progress review documents and then provide feedback relative to design details. Such
apparently simple things as location of tree wells has taken several iterations to establish a consensus of design
team and City staff. Though most of these meeting are held at the design teams office, it still encompasses
several primary staff hours each week. Other details include investigation the exact location of existing utility
services, deciding on replacement locations and types, and the effect of the locations on other project
amenities. Much of this additional work is ongoing and is necessary to refine the design and reduce
Meeting Date: January 5, 2016

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construction contingencies. The consultant is requesting $14,868 for the anticipated cost to complete the
enhanced work effort of design, particularly regarding utilities. Staff recognizes that the proposed design
changes will increase the need for additional support services beyond what was originally budgeted. However,
staff is recommending that an increase of $7,434 (50% of the request) will be adequate to address the needs for
additional support services, documentation and coordination.
Street Lighting Upgrades
Intersection Lighting: In reviewing the project lighting scope of work, the electrical design consultant noted that
the intersection lighting does not comply with current code requirements. For the intersection lighting analysis,
and design, the additional fee will be $1,980.
LED Lighting Upgrades: There is significant potential for annual electrical cost savings by retrofitting the existing
lights with LED type bulbs. The cost to investigate and design the LED upgrades $2,270
Modify Lighting/Light Pole Receptacles north of 3th Street: The street lights/light pole receptacles north of 3th
street operate differently than those south of 4th Street. South of 3th street, the receptacles are controlled by
the street light photo cell controllers. The receptacles are turned on and off with the street lights.
The receptacles north of 4th street are on 24 hours a day and cannot be turned off by City staff. If any lighting
utilizes this power source, the lighting is on 24 hours a day until removed.
The City staff would like the street light receptacles north of 3th street to be modified to operate in the same
manner as those south of 4th Street.
The cost to investigate what changes are required and to provide a cost estimate for the work is $3,885. The
cost to prepare the design if work is approved for the contract is $2,862. The total cost for this work item is
$6,457.
Provide Power at Each Street Tree: The City desires to investigate, and if costs allow, include providing a
receptacle under the grate of each street tree to power lighting of the trees. The fee to investigate the cost of
this work is $1,091. The fee to provide the design for the street tree receptacles is $4,435. The total fee for this
work is $5,526.
Design Services during Construction
The City will be providing construction management during the project including inspection. City staff is
requesting a budget be set aside for the project designer to provide consultation during the construction
process. The project designers have key information regarding the design that can affect construction decisions.
Anticipated minimum effort in this regard is attendance at the pre-bid meeting, answering technical bid
inquiries, attendance at the pre-construction conference, technical submittal reviews and consultation as
requested by City staff during construction. It is requested that a budget allowance of $15,000 be provided for
this item with services to be provided on a as requested basis by City staff.

Meeting Date: January 5, 2016

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Agenda Item #

Cost Summary
Original Agreement Fee

$164,835

Amendment 1
Credits for City Supplied Design Elements
Additional ADA Design
Additional Support, Service and Consultation
Intersection Lighting
LED analysis
Modify Street Light Receptacles n/o 3th
Include Street Tree Receptacles
Design Services during Construction
Total Amendment 1

<$20,219>
$48,651
$7,434
$ 2,490
$ 2,270
$ 6,747
$ 5,526
$15,000
$67,899

Total Revised Agreement

$232,734

Budget Analysis
The total project budget is $2,592,299 and is composed of three funding elements: The Redevelopment Funds
($1,967,128), Water Enterprise Fund ($254,946) and Sewer Enterprise Fund ($370,225). This includes design,
contingencies, and construction management. It does not include any City administrative fee. The construction
portion of this budget is $2,044,931. The design cost, including amendment 1, equals a design percentage fee of
11.4 percent. Without the construction services portion of the amendment, the percentage is 10.6 percent. This
is well within range of design costs for similarly complex projects.
OPTIONS:
1. Review and consider the proposed addition of supplemental design services for the Downtown Improvement
Project Phase II and authorize the City Manager to sign Contract Amendment No. 1 with Crawford and
Associates, Inc. consistent with the Councils recommendations.
2. Request additional project information from City staff and/or the consulting project engineer.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None

$67,899

Budget Adjustment Needed?

Affected fund(s):

Budgeted Item?
Yes

General Fund

No

Yes

No

If yes, amount of appropriation increase: $

Water OM Fund

Sewer OM Fund

Other: RDA

Comments: Proposed increase to project design costs are well within planned contingencies for the project and
will not result in the need for additional monies from the General Fund. Proposed costs associated with the
Water and Sewer Enterprise Funds are not currently budgeted and will need to be adjusted as part of the midyear budget review.
SUGGESTED MOTIONS:
Move to authorize the City Manager to sign the Contract Amendment No. 1 for the Downtown Improvement
Project Phase II to include the proposed addition of supplemental design services consistent with the City
Councils recommendations.
Attachments:

Meeting Date: January 5, 2016

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