DATE: September 10, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Fresno County Sheriff Substation - Change Order Process and Status
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Receive update regarding Fresno County Sheriff Substation Construction Change Orders signed under the Chairman’s authority and approve an increase in the Chairman’s authorization to sign Contract Change Order with BMY Construction Group, Inc., by an additional $200,000 which will increase the total Change Order authorization from $246,500 to $446,500.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will increase the maximum authorization of Contract Change Orders (CCO’s) by eight percent (from ten percent to 18.11 percent) of the construction contract total, in order to accommodate final approval and execution of CCO’s as necessary for completion of the construction work associated with the Fresno County Sheriff Substation building. The Substation is located in District 5 and the impact is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended action is not approved, the Chairman will not have sufficient approval authorization for the construction change orders; that staff and contractor need to implement the contract work.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The appropriations in the Department of Public Works and Planning Sheriff Area 2 Substation project are included in the proposed FY 2024-25 Budget Org 8853. The approval of the recommended action will simply increase the authorization for approval of CCO’s by an additional $200,000, based on the total contract amount $2,711,500, and will thereby increase the cost of construction, including the proposed revision to the Chairman’s change order allowance, to a total amount of $2,911,500.
DISCUSSION:
The Sheriff’s Area 2 Substation will serve the unincorporated portions of metropolitan Fresno County which include several communities within the boundaries of American Avenue to the Madera County line and Chateau Fresno to McCall Avenue including Calwa, Malaga, Mayfair, Sunnyside, Fig Garden and Tarpey.
Change Order Status
On May 17, 2022, the Board awarded Contract No. 21-S-01 to BMY Construction Group., 28.63%, below the engineer’s estimate of $3,453,890. The work for Bid Package 2 consists of construction of a new data center located within the existing storage building, expansion of the existing electrical room located in the existing substation building, concrete slabs, concrete pads, interior light gauge metal framing, and storefront glass. The installation of carport canopies and installation of EV Charging Stations are included as additive bids. (The EV charging stations will be provided by the County funded through a “Charge Up!” grant from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District approved by your Board on March 22, 2022).
For contracts in excess of $250,000, California Public Contract Code Section 20142 provides a formula that both limits the extent to which the Director of Public Works and Planning (Director) may be authorized to execute contract change orders and applies a maximum cumulative cap of $135,750 to change orders that can be executed by the Director. The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors pursuant to authority delegated by the Board at the time of award, approved of all subsequent change orders, up to $246,500 (10%) of the contract amount once the cumulative maximum cap on the Director’s authority had been reached. This action significantly facilitated the ability to provide timely approvals of change orders for the project. Authority for the Chairman to sign change orders up to 10% of the contract amount is requested in order to ensure any change orders needed to complete the project’s scope are completed in a timely manner.
The recommended action will authorize the Chairman to execute contract change orders up to 18.11% of the construction contract total, not to exceed the cumulative amount of $446,500 thereby substantially reducing the time required to process changes and minimizing the potential for contractor claims based on administrative delays. In practice, the Director, working with construction and architectural staff, negotiates with the contractor to arrive at a recommended change order amount for labor and materials that is fair and reasonable. Department staff then prepares a change order or a series of change orders which are reviewed and cleared by the Director prior to forwarding to the Chairman for final review and signature.
The project’s General Conditions, specifically Section 7200, provides that only an executed CCO will effectuate a change in either the contract sum and/or the contract time, and the full and final settlement of all costs direct, indirect, and overhead related to the work authorized by the CCO. The requested increase of $200,000 that is now needed will cover the additional CCO’s through project completion for items that could not have been foreseen at the time of the original contract on May 17, 2022.
Plans and Specifications were prepared by the Department’s Capital Projects Division along with their consultants, Lawrence Engineering Group and Hardin-Davidson Engineering, and are on file with the Department.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #56, May 17, 2022
BAI #59, March 22, 2022
BAI #8, July 7, 2020
BAI #7, October 9, 2018
CAO ANALYST:
Salvador Espino