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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 1992-26 - Board RESOLUTION NO. 9226 OF THE TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT DIRECTING THAT COMPETITIVE BIDDING BE DISPENSED WITH IN CONNECTION WITH THE DISTRICT'S CONSTRUCTION OF A WATER LINE ON THE NEW DOWNTOWN TRUCKEE BRIDGE WHEREAS,the California Department of Transportation("CALTRANS")began construction of a new highway bridge in downtown Truckee in the spring of 1992; and WHEREAS, CALTRANS' plan calls for it to construct one span of the new bridge immediately to the east of the old bridge, then demolish the old bridge and build the second span of the new bridge where the old bridge was located; and WHEREAS, the District owns a 12" water line which is located underground and immediately to the west of the old bridge and within CALTRANS' right of way. This main water line supplies water to a large portion of the District's water customers; and WHEREAS, this 12" water line is crucial to the operation of the District's entire water system, including the fireflow component of the District's water system; and WHEREAS, any interruption in the flow of water through the 12" water line could result in a loss of water and/or water pressure to thousands of District customers throughout its water system, and could result in an insufficient amount of water in District storage tanks available to fight structure and wildland fires; and WHEREAS, California is in the sixth year of drought and there is and will be an extreme risk of wildland fire throughout the remainder of the 1992 fire season; and WHEREAS, the existing 12" water line is encased in concrete along with communication conduit owned by Pacific Bell. Both the District and Pacific Bell have been required by CALTRANS to either remove and relocate their facilities, or lower the facilities approximately 15 feet below their current level; and WHEREAS, the District has considered the possibility of lowering its 12" water line, but the District's engineers have concluded that it is not possible to lower the water line 15 feet without a substantial risk of damage to the line and interruption of water service; and WHEREAS, the District's engineers have advised that it would be possible to relocate the water line laterally, to the west, without substantial risk of interruption of water service. In order to do so, however, the District would need to acquire an easement from the neighboring property owner, and the neighboring property owner has indicated an unwillingness to grant the necessary easement; and WHEREAS, the necessary easement might be obtainable by the District through the exercise of the power of eminent domain, but it is unlikely that the District could actually acquire the right to use the easement sooner than sixty days after the initiation of eminent domain proceedings, which would be too late to allow the District to meet the deadlines set forth herein; and WHEREAS, the District has previously contracted with CALTRANS to have its bridge contractor install a section of 18" water pipe in the new bridge, so that, if needed, the District would have a second river crossing. The District's contract with CALTRANS does not call for this 18" water line to be actually attached to the District water system. Instead, the 18" water line would remain unconnected until needed at a future date; and WHEREAS, the eastern span of the new bridge has been partially completed, and the 18" water line is being installed and will be available for use by the District; and WHEREAS, the District's engineers have advised the District that because of the difficulty and delay involved in relocating the existing 12" water line to the west, it would be advantageous to the District to connect its existing water system to the 18" pipe located in the new bridge, and temporarily abandon that portion of the 12" water line that CALTRANS has indicated must be relocated. The District's engineers have advised the District that it would be possible to connect the District's existing water system to the 18" water line in the bridge without any substantial interruption in service to the District's water system; and WHEREAS, the District has moved expeditiously in response to CALTRANS' requirement that its 12" water line be relocated, but because of various technical problems, including those described above, the District has not been able as of this date to complete the relocation; and WHEREAS, it was not until August 7, 1992, that the District discovered that it would not be able to acquire an easement from the neighboring property owner without substantial delay. The District's engineers' recommendation that the District's water system be connected to the 18" water line in the bridge was delivered to the Board of Directors on August 10, 1992; and WHEREAS, the District has been informed by CALTRANS that the District will be permitted to negotiate with Perata Excavation Company, Inc., CALTRANS' subcontractor, who is currently on-site and engaged in utility construction at the new bridge location; and WHEREAS, Public Contract Code Section 20201 generally requires that the District seek competitive bids when engaging in new construction if the cost of materials, supplies and labor exceed $10,000.00; and WHEREAS, the District's engineers have estimated that the cost to connect the District water system to the 18" pipe in the new bridge will exceed $10,000.00; and -2- WHEREAS, various California court decisions, including Graydon v. Pasadena Development Agency, 104 Cal.App.3d 631 (1980), hold that if the subject of a contract is such that competitive proposals would be unavailing or would not produce an advantage, and the advertisement for competitive bids would thus be undesirable or impractical, or impossible, a public agency may dispense with competitive bidding; and WHEREAS, for the following reasons, there is not sufficient time available to the District to advertise for, receive, analyze, and consider competitive bids and then to award the bid with an allowance of time for the contractor to mobilize: a. Pacific Bell, whose conduit is encased in the same concrete as the District's 12" water pipe, has indicated that it cannot delay relocation of its conduit past September 15, 1992. Pacific Bell has indicated that it intends to use mechanical equipment to break its conduit out of the same concrete that encases the District's 12" water line. The District's engineers have advised the District that Pacific Bell's work will create a substantial risk of damage to the District's 12" water line and a substantial risk of an interruption in water service. If the District were to engage in competitive bidding, it would not be possible to perform the necessary work to safeguard the District's water supply prior to Pacific Bell's September 15, 1992 deadline. b. The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board requires that all -. construction in the river channel be completed by October 15, 1992. If the District were to engage in competitive bidding, it would not be possible for it to complete all construction in the river channel prior to October 15, 1992. C. The California Department of Fish and Game requires that all construction in the river channel be completed by October 15, 1992. If the District were to engage in competitive bidding, it would not be possible for it to complete all construction in the river channel prior to October 15, 1992. d. It is not possible for the District to take the time necessary to solicit competitive proposals, and allow time for a contractor to mobilize and come on site, without missing all of the deadlines set forth above. e. If the District engages in competitive bidding, it is possible that the resulting delay would prevent CALTRANS from proceeding on schedule with other portions of the bridge construction. If CALTRANS, or its contractors, were damaged as a result of such delay, it is possible that they would then seek to recover such damages from the District. WHEREAS, it is likely that it would be advantageous to the District to engage Perata Excavation Company, Inc. to perform the work of connecting the District's water system to the 18" pipe in the new bridge, for the following reasons: a. Perata Excavation Company, Inc. is currently on-site and fully mobilized, and would not need any additional time before beginning work. -3- b. Perata Excavation Company, Inc. is currently on-site, engaged in utility construction at the new bridge, and has already incurred all expenses of mobilization. It is likely that the District would be able to save the mobilization expenses that it could otherwise expect to pay to a contractor for the work that needs to be done. C. Perata Excavation Company, Inc. is currently on-site, familiar with the area and the work to be done, and is already installing the 18" pipe to which the District water system would be connected. It is likely that Perata Excavation Company, Inc. could formulate a proposal that would constitute its precise cost of performing the necessary work, and it would not need to include costs for contingencies and unexpected occurrences. d. Because construction on the bridge is currently going on, and traffic control is in place, it is likely that the work could be done by Perata Excavation Company, Inc. without substantial additional expenses of traffic control and traffic routing. WHEREAS, for all of the reasons set forth above, competitive proposals would be unavailing and would not produce an advantage, and the advertisement for competitive bids would thus be undesirable, impractical, and impossible, and engaging in a competitive bidding process would cause the District to miss the deadlines imposed by CALTRANS, Pacific Bell, the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the California Department of Fish and Game, could expose the District to claims for damages as a result of the delay that would be caused by engaging in the competitive bidding process, and could jeopardize the District's water system, including the fireflow component, if Pacific Bell proceeds with its work before the 12" water line can be abandoned or relocated. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors, as follows: 1. All of the recitals set forth above are adopted as findings of the Board of Directors. 2. The District shall dispense with competitive bidding for all of the reasons set forth above. 3. The District General Manager, assisted by District staff and the District's engineers, is directed to negotiate a contract with Perata Excavation Company, Inc. to perform the work of connecting the District water system to the existing 18" pipe located in the new bridge. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District duly called and held in said District on the 10th day of August -- 1990 by the following roll call vote: -4- AYES: Corbett, Curran and Aguera NOES: Sutton ABSENT: Maass TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT By (',/ld9epK Ague-r , President ATTEST: /L Susan M. Craig, Deputy District C `k a -5-