To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Mark Marlowe, Director of Castle Rock Water
Title
Resolution Approving the Town of Castle Rock Services Agreement with Muller Engineering Company, Inc. for the McMurdo Gulch Stream Reclamation Priority 2 Project
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Castle Rock Water is seeking Town Council approval of a Resolution (Attachment A) awarding a Services Agreement (Exhibit 1) with Muller Engineering Company, Inc. (Muller), for the McMurdo Gulch Stream Reclamation Priority 2 Project in the amount of $299,365 plus a town-managed 10% contingency in the amount of $29,937 for a total authorization in the amount of $329,302. The scope of work generally includes engineering design, surveying, hydraulic modeling, permitting, subsurface utility engineering and geotechnical services for stream reclamation including restorative grade control structures, bank protection and channel grading.
In 2016, through a Town of Castle Rock Services Agreement, Muller performed a stream assessment of McMurdo Gulch through Castle Rock. The “McMurdo Gulch 2016 Reach Assessment Report” (Report) identified five high priority areas where McMurdo Gulch was experiencing degradation. This Priority 2 project will mitigate impacts and preserve the natural drainageway within some of these areas (see Attachment B). Services under this agreement are anticipated to be completed by June 2021, with construction of the project are scheduled for August 2021 through May 2022. The total project budget including remaining dollars available for construction is shown below:
|
|
Design Services |
Bid/Const. Services |
Construction |
Project Total |
|
Project Budget |
$330,000 |
$114,000 |
$1,838,000 |
$2,282,000 |
This project is part of a broader effort to address legacy Stormwater needs in the Town. Castle Rock Water has closed on a $9.5M bank loan to address some of these legacy Stormwater needs.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
The project is located within Town owned open space and designated drainage easements on vacant land owned by Starwood Land Ventures. Staff will provide notifications via direct mailings to adjacent property owners, news releases and social media postings, as needed. Project details and updates will be provided on CRgov.com/water.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
Castle Rock Water staff presented this construction contract to the Castle Rock Water Commission at their meeting held on December 11, 2019 and the Castle Rock Water Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the resolution by Town Council.
Discussion
McMurdo Gulch is a western tributary to Cherry Creek, extending along the eastern edge of the Town. The entire McMurdo Gulch channel is approximately 6.7 miles long from the headwaters to the confluence with Cherry Creek and encompasses a tributary area of approximately 6.5 square miles. A reclamation plan was implemented in 2011 on McMurdo Gulch by the Town, stabilizing nine improvement reaches along the channel totaling a combined channel improvement length of approximately four thousand lineal feet. These nine improvement reaches were separated by healthy and stable segments of stream that had not experienced degradation yet. The Cherry Creek Basin Water Quality Authority (Authority) was a funding partner with the Town for the design and construction of the 2011 project. The project cost totaled approximately $1.5 million of which the Authority contributed $630,000. The project has shown tremendous success and has demonstrated a measurable improvement to nutrient concentrations through the Authority’s annual monitoring program.
As part of the 2011 project, the Town and the Authority identified a need to assess stream conditions on a regular basis to determine when future improvements would be needed. The Town conducted a stream assessment in 2017 following significant growth in the upper headwaters of McMurdo Gulch. Based on the Report summary, the Stormwater Division prioritized design of the recommended stream improvements in 2018 at four locations where the channel was experiencing stream degradation associated with head-cutting, failing berms with minimal vegetation, steep banks and incised channel areas. The total length of these four areas was approximately two thousand lineal feet. Stream reclamation construction will begin in December 2019 at a project cost totaling approximately $1.677 million of which the Authority is contributing $420,000.
Based on the Report summary, the Stormwater Division prioritized design of additional recommended stream improvements in 2019/2020 with construction of the improvements proposed in 2021 and 2022, based on funding availability. This Priority 2 project will include five locations (approximate length of 3,200 lineal feet) where the channel is currently experiencing stream degradation associated with head-cutting, failing berms with minimal vegetation, steep banks and incised channel areas.
The Town issued a Request for Proposals (RFP), and two (2) proposals were received. The proposals were reviewed and ranked based on a weighted set of criteria included in the RFP document. Following the qualification-based selection process, the fee schedule for each firm was opened and reviewed, “not for low bid, but for a reasonable and appropriate level of effort from each team member.” The two fee schedules ranged from $252,735 to $299,365. The top ranked firm from this selection process was Muller Engineering Company, Inc., with a proposed fee of $299,365.
To aid in evaluating Muller’s proposed design fee since only two proposals were received, Muller’s 2019 Priority 2 design fee ($299,365) was compared to the 2019 project construction budget ($1,853,211) as a percentage (16.2%). Muller’s 2018 design fee ($183,822) was compared to the 2018 construction low bid cost ($1,064,973) as a percentage (17.3%). Based on this evaluation Muller’s proposed Priority 2 design fee was found to be a consistent value for the project size and scope. Overall, Muller’s proposal and fee combination represented the best value for the Town in terms of project approach and understanding, technical expertise, scope of services and fee provided.
Budget Impact
Funds for this Services Agreement will be charged to the Stormwater capital account below. Sufficient stormwater funds for this project were not included in the 2020 budget; however, McMurdo Gulch has been identified as a Legacy Project to be funded through the Stormwater bank loan. Appropriation of the required funds will be accounted for in the first quarter budget amendment.
|
Fund Description |
Account Number |
Amount |
Contingency |
Total |
|
McMurdo Gulch Stream Stbl |
212-4475-444.75-51 |
$299,365 |
$29,937 |
$329,302 |
In August, the Town requested funding participation from the Authority for design engineering based on the budgeted 2020/2021 project in the amount of $60,000. The Authority approved this amount in their 2020 budget based on the estimated water quality benefit provided within the watershed. Later in 2019, the McMurdo project was expanded to include additional priority stream reclamation improvements using funding in part from the Stormwater bank loan. Additional participation funding from the Authority for the expanded project engineering and for construction will be requested in 2020.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends Town Council approval of a Resolution awarding the Services Agreement with Muller Engineering Company, Inc., for the McMurdo Gulch Stream Reclamation Priority 2 Project at a cost of $299,365 plus a town-managed 10% contingency in the amount of $29,937 for a total authorization in the amount of $329,302.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Exhibit 1: Services Agreement
Attachment B: Project Site Map