TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Steven Lederer, Director of Public Works
REPORT BY: Liang Chin Su, Assistant Engineer
SUBJECT: Award of Construction Contract for the South Campus Buildings A & B Maintenance Project, PW 21-37B and Budget Amendment
RECOMMENDATION
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Award of Construction Contract to CWS Construction Group, Inc., of Novato, California in the amount of $5,145,000 for the “South Campus Buildings A & B Maintenance Project”, PW 21-37B, and approve a Budget Amendment. (Fiscal Impact: $6,864,115 Expense; Capital Improvement Projects Fund; Not Budgeted; Discretionary).
[4/5 vote required]
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BACKGROUND
On December 14, 2021, the Board of Supervisors approved the creation of Project 22008 and approved a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with YEI Engineers to assess the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system for necessary upgrades for buildings A and B at South Campus. Since then, YEI Engineers has completed the investigation and provided the technical memorandum to the Public Works staff. The HVAC equipment has exceeded its useful life and is unable to meet the cooling demands during the intense summer heat. The assessment also revealed that not only do the air conditioning units need to be replaced but upsized as well.
During the HVAC assessment, staff also identified several building maintenances needs which include a roof replacement for Building A and new paint and window sealant for Buildings A & B to address energy saving needs and leakage issues. On July 18, 2023, the Board of Supervisors approved a budget amendment of $250,000 to utilize the on-call contract with Nacht & Lewis Architects, Inc. (N&L), who were selected through a Request for Qualifications, to investigate the building exteriors and provide design recommendations with cost estimates and construction timeline to properly maintain South Campus Building A and B.
Staff also conducted a benefit and cost analysis to replace existing windows on Building A to assist with the cooling needs and reduce the tonnage required from the new HVAC units. The cost of replacing all the existing single pane windows is approximately $4 million. Replacing the windows would allow a reduction in HVAC tonnages by 12 tons per unit, which would reduce the cost of HVAC units by $300,000. Property Management reported most maintenance calls are regarding leaks from the windows. As a result, staff recommended to only replace the window sealant in order to address the maintenance needs. The window project is already underway.
On March 26, 2024, the Board approved and signed a PSA for a maximum of $418,320 with N&L to prepare construction documents. Due to a lack of available funding for the whole project, the project has been split in two, with the window sealing portion approved and under construction now, and the remaining portion (roof replacement, HVAC upgrades, and painting) to be conducted in the spring of 2025.
On August 6, 2024, the Board approved the plans and specification for the window sealant portion of the South Campus Buildings A & B Maintenance Project and on September 10, 2024, the Board awarded a construction contract to Bridges Construction of Kelseyville for their low bid of $509,760 and approved a budget amendment of $714,664 to fund the project which is currently ongoing.
On December 17, 2024, the Board approved the plans and specification for the HVAC, Roof Replacement, and the painting of South Campus Building A (and B for painting only) and authorized to advertise for sealed bids and opening of the bids pursuant to Section 20150.8 of the Public Contract Code. Some mechanical components are specified as sole sourced to be compatible with the Napa County Public Works Property Management existing Siemens global control system.
Bids were received and opened on February 12, 2025. The bid results are attached for reference. Staff recommends awarding the contract to the lowest responsive bidder, CWS Construction Group, Inc., of Novato, California for their base bid of $5,145,000. The base bid is lower than the engineer’s estimate of $7,700,000. The total project cost, including construction, construction management, contingency, and previous design costs, is estimated at $7,451,720.
CWS Construction Group, Inc., is not a local vendor however, the Public Contract Code requires that the construction contract be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder regardless of whether the low bidder is local or not. Staff reached out to the local construction contractor community by advertising the request for bids in the Napa Valley Register and the Solano-Napa Builder's Exchange, and by posting on the County website. Staff also sent "Notices to Contractors" to the local construction community.
Requested Actions:
1. Award of the construction contract for the “South Campus Buildings A & B Maintenance Project”, PW 21-37B to CWS Construction Group, Inc., of Novato, California for their low base bid of $5,145,000;
2. Approve a Budget Amendment for the following (4/5 vote required):
a. Increase Intrafund Transfers Out appropriations by $6,864,115 in the Capital Improvement Projects Fund (Fund 3000, Sub-Division 3000000, Account 57900) offset by use of its available fund balance to transfer to Project 22008; and
b. Increase Construction Services appropriations by $6,864,115 in Project 22008 budget (Fund 3000, Sub-Division 3000504, Project 22008, Account 52360) offset by a transfer-in revenue from Capital Improvement Projects.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
No |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
Approval is needed to bring the project to construction |
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Is the general fund affected? |
Yes |
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Future fiscal impact: |
Construction will begin FY 2024-2025 and will likely go into FY 2025-2026 |
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Consequences if not approved: |
The HVAC equipment could fail due to old age and will not be able to provide air conditioning to staff and the public at South Campus. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: It has been determined that this type of project does not have a significant effect on the environment and is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. [See Class 1 (“Existing Facilities”) which may be found in the guidelines for the implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act at 14 CCR §15301; see also Napa County’s Local Procedures for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act, Appendix B.]