To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Daniel Sailer, P.E., Director of Public Works
Brian Kelley, Engineering Manager
Title
Resolution Expressing the Town’s Concurrence with the Determination of the Lowest Responsible Bidder for the South & Wilcox Roundabout Improvement Project; Authorizing the Expenditure and Payment of Funds for Such Project; and Approving a Variance Pursuant to Section 9.16.070.E of the Castle Rock Municipal Code for Nighttime Construction Activities Related to Such Project
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Staff is seeking Town Council approval of a Resolution (Attachment A) concurring with the lowest responsible construction bid for the South & Wilcox Roundabout Improvement Project. This concurrence fulfills a Town requirement per the Redevelopment Agreement (RDA) with CD-Festival Commons (“CDFC” i.e., Confluence). This project exemplifies the Department pursuit of maximizing the value our community receives from transportation assets. This includes: 1) high safety for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, 2) low downtime due to high operational efficiencies throughout the full day for all travel modes, 3) low environmental impacts with reduced noise as a result of less frequent vehicle stops, and decreased vehicle emissions associated with these reduced stops, and 4) Improved reliability with no mechanical equipment needs. A roundabout at this intersection is a recommended action in the approved Downtown Mobility Master Plan.
Construction is anticipated to begin April 15, 2021 and be completed by June 14, 2021. This includes an accelerated option at an additional cost of $167,422. This accelerated option involves multiple daily work shifts during the weekdays, inclusive of nighttime work. Confluence is holding the contractor to the reduced schedule by way of liquidated damages in the amount of $5,000 daily for exceeding the 60 days, notwithstanding legitimate weather, or unforeseen condition delays. The total amount of the requested project budget is $2,063,857 plus a 10% staff managed contingency in the amount of $206,385 for a total authorization of $2,270,243. While this is higher than the existing $1.85 Million budget, this difference can be accommodated with the $750,000 from the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Special Fund. The primary difference between the received bid and the available budget is: 1) Inflationary costs since the budget was developed in 2018, and 2) additional scope of work associated with the detour route.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
A concentrated effort to minimize potential construction impacts to adjacent businesses has been made for this project, especially at a time when increased strain due to the declared pandemic response is continuing to impact the Castle Rock business community. The project team has performed outreach efforts to inform and collect feedback from businesses in proximity of the intersection. These efforts include; sharing project information, door-to-door informative sessions, and collecting project feedback. Town staff has received positive feedback from adjacent stakeholders. Additionally, the project takes special considerations to minimize project impacts including:
• Project phasing to maintain pedestrian and traffic access to downtown businesses
• Partnering with the Encore developer to provide additional parking in the new downtown parking structure in time for impacted businesses, employees and clientele
• Signage around the perimeter of the intersection closure to provide messaging that the businesses in and around the closure area are still open
Staff and Confluence’s project team will continue to engage the surrounding property owners throughout the duration of the project to strive to minimize disruptions.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
On the August 20, 2019 Town Council Meeting, Ordinance 2019-021, the Encore CR Downtown
Redevelopment and Financing Agreement, was approved on First Reading by a vote of 6-1.
On the September 3, 2019 Town Council Meeting, Ordinance 2019-021, the Encore CR Downtown Redevelopment and Financing Agreement, was approved on the Second and Final Reading by a vote of 6-1.
The lowest responsible bid will be formally requested for Public Works Commission (PWC) recommendation on 4/5/21. The recommendation received by PWC will be presented at the Town Council meeting.
Discussion
The Town Council approved the Encore CR Downtown Redevelopment and Financing Agreement (“RDA”) on September 3, 2019. The RDA provided for the roundabout project as part of the required public improvements at the intersection of South and Wilcox Streets (Attachment B). This public improvement is in line with the approved Downtown Mobility Master Plan. Per the RDA, the design and construction is to be executed by Confluence, and the cost is to be borne entirely by the Town.
CDFC has competitively advertised, per the RDA, a construction contract for the project. The project budget and bids resulting from the contract advertisement are illustrated below on Table 1. Staff compared the bid with current bid estimates for similar Town projects and recommends Elite Surface Infrastructure (ESI) be awarded the construction contract as they are the low-bidder for the contract and have been vetted as a reputable contractor.
The project costs exceed the available budget of $1,850,000 that was set aside in 2019. However, it is reasonable to assume inflation costs for the past two years on par with typical increases for construction projects in the range of 3 to 5%. Using a 4% average annual increase puts the budget at $2,000,960 which is consistent with the low bid costs shown in Table 1. Also, some cost increases are due to additional scope of work associated with the detour route and providing for the accelerated schedule option.
|
TABLE 1: Bid Result & Schedule Cost |
|
Budget (from 2019) |
$ 1,850,000 |
|
Engineer's Opinion of Probable Costs |
$ 1,857,815 |
|
Costs with Low Bidder |
$ 1,896,435 |
|
Cost to Accelerate Schedule |
$ 167,422 |
|
Total Cost with 60-day Schedule |
$ 2,063,857 |
Construction Scope
The work that will be completed as a part of the “South & Wilcox Roundabout Improvements”
project includes:
• Pavement Replacement (Asphalt and Concrete)
• Roundabout Operational Improvements
• Drainage Improvements
• ADA and Access Improvements
• Hardscape Improvements
• Traffic Signage and Markings Improvements
• Water, Electric and Fiber Optic Utilities Relocations
• Connection of Phelps Drive to Perry Street
The new South & Wilcox roundabout is different in several ways from the 3rd and Perry roundabout. These differences include a larger radius and footprint as shown in (Attachment D). A raised center island also exists to allow for future public art features. The pedestrian islands will also be raised to offer additional safety.
Anticipated Construction Timeframes
Construction is anticipated to begin April 15, 2021 and be completed by June 14, 2021. This includes an accelerated option at an additional cost of $167,422. Accelerating the project will reduce the schedule to 60 days. This involves multiple daily work shifts during the weekdays, inclusive of nighttime work. Accelerating the schedule would allow the project to be completed in June as opposed to the beginning of August. The accelerated schedule is helpful to local businesses and downtown events as summer approaches. Confluence is holding the contractor to the reduced schedule by way of liquidated damages in the amount of $5,000 daily for exceeding the 60-day window, notwithstanding legitimate weather delays.
Variance for Nighttime Construction Activities
The present noise ordinance prohibits construction activities that create noise disturbances between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Monday through Friday, and between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Saturday through Sunday, including holidays. By authorizing night work, impacts to the traveling public and businesses will be reduced. Construction activities suitable for night work will, in general, have the project duration reduced by half. This is due to the ability to have two construction crews working separate shifts in order to increase productivity. The night work, in general, will start at approximately 6:30 p.m. and be completed by 4:30 a.m. The option to work at night will minimize the overall impact to the public. The attached location map (Attachment C) illustrates the noise buffer from the construction limits of the South & Wilcox Roundabout Improvements Project. It is anticipated that construction work may create a noise disturbance. In this circumstance, residents will be offered hotel accommodations on the nights when work is in close proximity of their residences. This is a continued practice of the Town to offer residents hotel accommodations during the nighttime construction activities.
Budget Impact
The total estimated cost, with accelerated construction fees, for a construction purchase order is $2,270,243 as shown in Table 2 below. This allows for a Town managed 10% contingency. While the RDA caps the contingency at 5%, we are requesting 10% to be safe in order to keep the project to the shortest duration should unexpected conditions warrant a higher than 5% amount. With the total project cost higher than the existing $1.85 Million budget, this difference can be accommodated with the $750,000 available from the DDA Special Fund, account number 126-6400-464.79-10.
As this project has been planned and approved with the approval of the “2021 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget” in account number 135-3175-431.79-10, the funds from the DDA Special Fund will be transferred into this single funding account as follows:
|
TABLE 2: FUNDING ACCOUNT ASSIGNMENTS |
|
Account Number |
Account Name |
Contract Amount |
Contingency |
Total |
|
135-3175-431.79-10 |
South & Wilcox Roundabout Improvements |
$ 2,063,857 |
$ 206,385 |
$ 2,270,243 |
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends Town Council approve the resolution as introduced by title. The Public Works Commission recommendation will be provided at the Town Council meeting.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Attachment B: Project Location
Attachment C: Project Noise Buffer
Attachment D: Roundabout Size Comparison
Attachment E: DDA Memo