DATE: October 9, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Ashlan Avenue and Van Ness Boulevard Intersection Improvements
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
TITLE
1. Authorize the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning to approve plans and specifications, including plan modifications, and to execute a Contract Change Order for Contract No. 17-28-C - Ashlan Avenue and Van Ness Boulevard Intersection Improvements, which adds work to the original contract, exceeding the authorized Director’s limit of $38,617, increasing the maximum by $89,586 to a total of $611,929.50; and,
2. Approve the addition of two subcontractors: Eco Landscape Management for the planting of three oak trees, three crape myrtle trees, and one deodor cedar tree on the County’s right-of-way near the intersection ($51,180); and, Asphalt Impressions, Inc. for the installation of specialty pavement markings, including markings for the pedestrian crossing on the easterly leg of the Van Ness Boulevard intersection at Ashlan Avenue ($38,406).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended actions will authorize the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning to approve plans and specifications, including plan modifications. Also, authorizes the Director to execute contract changes necessary to authorize the added work, which exceeds the Director’s limit for contract change orders, increases the total contract amount for work done, and approves additional subcontractors on the original safety improvement project. This item pertains to a location in District 2.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
If either recommended action is not approved, there would not be sufficient funds or approved contractors to perform the added work. Therefore, the Department would have the project constructed as previously approved and not authorize the contractor to perform the additional work.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The project ($522,343.50) as approved by the Board on June 5, 2018, is funded with Road Fund 0010. The recommended actions would increase the contract amount by $89,586 to $611,929.50. Sufficient appropriations are included in the Department’s Roads Org 4510 FY 2018-19 Adopted Budget for work authorized in the original contract. The second recommended action is for additional work that will be funded ($51,180) from Supervisorial District 2’s discretionary budget.
DISCUSSION:
On June 5, 2018, your Board awarded Contract No. 17-28-C to Dawson-Mauldin Construction, Inc. (DMCI), for $522,343.50 and authorized the Department Director to execute contract change orders (CCO) up to $38,617. The original project was for safety improvements at the intersection of Ashlan Avenue and Van Ness Boulevard in the unincorporated community of Fig Garden. After the project was awarded, communication and input from the Fig Garden community led to several minor project modifications, which were addressed within the contract terms and compensation.
The second recommended action seeks to address two additions to the contract plans.
The first proposed addition is the replacement of seven of the trees that were removed as part of the project. Originally, to improve driver visibility, twenty-one trees were removed. Tree replacement was not a part of the original plan and a bid item was not included in the contract for planting trees. However, after the trees were removed, Supervisorial District 2 and the Department, working in good faith with the community, identified that there was room for seven replacement trees, as determined by marking out the triangular line-of-sight visibility requirement for a vehicle travelling 30 miles per hour and for pedestrians entering the intersection. Department staff visited the site with a landscape architect who selected the location of the proposed trees based on the line-of-sight restrictions and the space requirements needed for each species of tree.
The placement of all seven trees is outside of the site line for Ashlan Avenue. This section of Ashlan has a right-of-way width of sixty feet. The pavement width is between 22 and 24 feet. The trees shall be set back approximately twelve feet from the edge of pavement along the outside of the right-of-way.
The Department recommends the landscape architect’s proposed locations for the trees since they would be planted outside the driver’s line-of-sight for vehicles and pedestrians entering the intersection. Approval of the second recommended action will approve a landscaping subcontractor that was not listed in the contractor’s bid documents. The added work was not accounted for in the project estimate and will be funded with $51,180 from Supervisorial District 2’s discretionary budget. ECO Landscape Management has been selected by DMCI to serve as the subcontractor for this additional work.
The second proposed addition will be enhanced-visibility pavement markings to increase safety for both pedestrians and vehicles. The original project included standard crosswalk markings, but the markings recommended by the community involve thermoplastic coloring that is imbedded into the pavement. The contractor listed a subcontractor for striping, but the proposed added work is a specialty item, which the original striping subcontractor is not authorized to install. The additional work is estimated not to exceed $38,406 and will add Asphalt Impressions, Inc. as the subcontractor for this work.
As of September 12, 2018, the Director still has an authorized limit balance of approximately $39,000 in the contract. The project is currently in suspension, pending the delivery of some electrical equipment with a long lead time. When the work resumes, the remaining work will be paid at the unit bid prices. The bid quantities are estimates and the payment to the contractor is based on actual quantities used when the project is completed. Without any extra work authorized, the Department anticipates that there will be sufficient funds to cover all or a portion of the enhanced pedestrian crossing. Since there was a crosswalk in the original project, it is appropriate to use any remaining funds within the Director’s limit toward the enhanced crosswalk first; however, Supervisorial District 2’s funds ($51,180) will be necessary for the tree replacements.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #64, June 5, 2018
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Location Map
On file with Clerk - Contract Change Order No. 2
On file with Clerk - New Striping With Signage
On file with Clerk - Plant Legend
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa