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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-06-22 09-224 ORDERCOUNCIL ACTION Item No. 09 224 Date: June 22, 2009 Item/Subject: ORDER, Awarding Contract for Pickering Square Parking Garage Restoration Project, Phases 3, 4, and 5 Responsible Department: Community & Economic Development Commentary: On May 22, 2009, the City received four bids for Pickering Square Parking Garage Restoration Project, Phases 3, 4 and 5. The total bid prices ranged from $690,502.24 - $1,805,039 — see attached bid tabulation for breakdown of phases. On June 15, 2009, the Finance Committee reviewed staff recommendation to award the contract to Hascall & Hall of Portland, Maine, the low bidder, in the three-year amount of $690,502.24, subject to annual appropriation. This recommendation was based on the low bid submitted and the recommendation of Becker Structural Engineers, the design firm on this project, which interviewed the references submitted by Hascall & Hall and inspected the work they performed at the site of a similar project that they undertook for Unum Insurance in Portland. A copy of Becker's review of bids is attached. John Hanson, Executive Director of the Maine State Building and Construction Trades Council appeared before the Finance Committee and asked the Committee to recommend the bid be awarded to Contracting Specialist, Inc on the basis of their pre-existing relationship with the City on the first two phases of the garage restoration, the quality of their work, their relationship with the Trades Council and use of local workers, and the benefits they provide their workers. Contracting Specialist bid was $729,734.12, $39,231.88 higher than Hascall & Hall. After some discussion and a request for additional information, which will be available prior to the Council meeting, the Committee voted to refer this item to the full Council without recommendation. Manager's Comments: Associated Information: Bid Tabulation/ IS4rr1 Budget Approval: Legal Approval: Introduced for X Passage First Reading Referral F� Department Head City Manager Finance Director WA=004' Page _ of _ 09 224 Assigned To Councilor D'Errico June 22, 2009 CITY OF BANGOR (TITLE.) Order, Awarding Contract for Pickering Square Parking Garage Restoration Project, Phases 3, 4, and 5 By the City Council of the City of Bangor.• ORDERED, THAT Deborah Cyr, Finance Director, is hereby authorized to execute a contract with in the amount of for phases 3, 4, and 5 of the Pickering Square Parking Garage Restoration project, subject to annual appropriation of the required funding. IN CITY COUNCIL June 22, 2009 # 09-224 Motion made and Seconded for Passage Motion Made and Seconded to Amend by __ ORDER Substitution Motion Doubted Vote: 5-3 (TITLE,) Awarding t:nntraet fnr Councilors Voting Yes: Bronson, D'Errico, Hawes, Palmer, Stone PirkeringySquare Parking Garage Councilors Voting No: Blanchette, Nealley and Wheeler Rpstnratinn Prnject, Phase 3 4 and 5 Councilors Absent: Gratwick Passed Motion Made and Seconded for Passage as Amended t Doubted Vote: 5-3 Assigned to Councilor Councilors Voting Yes: Bronson, D'Errico, Hawes, Palmer and Stone -gh� Councilors Voting No: Blanchette, Nealley and Wheeler Councilors Absent: Gratwick Motion Made and Seconded for Passage as Amended Doubted Vote: 5-3 Councilors Voting Yes: Bronson, D'Errico, Hawes, Palmer and Stone Councilors Voting No: Blanchette, Nealley and Wheeler Councilors Absent: Gratwick Passed As Amended -t;tV CITY CLERK 09 224 AMENDED BY SUBSTITUTION Assigned To Councilor D'Errico June 22, 2009 CI'T'Y OF BANGOR (TITLE.) Order, Awarding Contract for Pickering Square Parking Garage Restoration Project, Phases 3, 4, and 5 By the City Council of the City of Bangor.• ORDERED, THAT Deborah Cyr, Finance Director, is hereby authorized to execute a contract with Hascall & Hall in the amount of$690,502.24 for phases 3, 4, and 5 of the Pickering Square Parking Garage Restoration project, subject to annual appropriation of the required funding. 09 224 City of Bangor Bid Tabulation - Pickering Square Garage Restoration: 3, 4 & 5 Bid Opening: 05/22/09 Summary Hascall & Hall Contracting Specialists Knowles Industrial Sullivan & Merritt Description Total Price Total Price Total Price Total Price Phase 3 218,325.29 266,374.96 294,103.50 602,388.00 Phase 4 284,710.73 271,053.19 309,740.30 748,227.00 Phase 5 187,466.22 192,305.97 229,013.00 454,424.00 Total Bid Price: 690,502.24 1 729,734.12 1 832,856.80 1 1,805,039.00 09 224 B E C K E R structural e n g i veers, inc. June 10, 2009 Ms. Debbie Cyr Finance Department City of Bangor 73 Harlow Street Bangor, ME 04401 Subject: Review of Bids Pickering Square Parking Garage Restoration Phases 3, 4 and 5 Bangor, Maine Dear Debbie: At your request Becker Structural Engineers, Inc (BSE) has reviewed the bids for the above project. The bids were opened and read aloud at 2 PM on May 22, 2009. The four bids received were as follows: Contracting Knowles Industrial Sullivan & Merritt Description Hascall & Hall Specialists, Inc. Services Corn. Constructors, Inc. Phase 3 $218,325.29 $266,374.96 $294,103.50 $602,388.00 Phase 4 $284,710.73 $271,053.19 $309,740.30 $748,227.00 Phase 5 $187,466.22 $192,305.97 $229.013.00 $454,424.00 Total Bid Price $690,502.24 $729,734.12 $832,856.80 $1,805,039.00 Our opinion of the probable construction cost for Phases 3, 4 and 5 which included a 3% annual inflation factor was $880,000.00. Reflecting the current favorable bidding climate, three of the four bidders were below this estimate. This is good news for the City during these difficult economic times. The two low bidders are Hascall & Hall and Contracting Specialists, Inc (CSI). The difference between their bids is $39,231.88. CSI has two years experience working in the Pickering Square Parking Garage (Restoration Phases 1 and 2) and the quality of their work is well regarded with the City as well as BSE. The City of Bangor and BSE do not have prior experience working with Hascall & Hall. As part of the bid form, the contractors were required to list five similar projects which demonstrate a minimum of five years experience in parking garage restoration work and provide telephone numbers of appropriate contacts. We called all of Hascall & Hall references including Ed Mirecki of Aramark Facilities Services, John Peverada, Parking Manager for the City of Portland and Paul Ureneck of the Boulos Property Management Company. Mr. Mirecki said that Unum hired Hascall & Hall in 2007 to remove and replace the joint sealant in their three-story parking garage in Portland. Built in the late 1990's the garage joints had significant leaks. Mr. Mirecki noted that the project was successful and that he would not 49 224. Pickering Square Bid Review Page 2 of 2 hesitate to hire Hascall & Hall again. The contractor had one unexpected rain storm which damaged some of the sealant before it was fully cured. Hascall & Hall replaced the effected work without question. They stood behind their work and were responsive to any issues brought to their attention. We visited the Unum garage to review Hascall & Hall's work first hand. The sealant appears to have been properly installed and to be performing well. John Peverada had similar positive experiences with Hascall & Hall. He said he would hire them "any day of the week". The more recent projects with the City of Portland have been on a smaller scale. The largest concrete restoration project Hascall & Hall performed for the City was the Fore Street Parking Garage in 1998, eleven years ago. Paul Ureneck said Hascall & Hall did an excellent job on the Portland Public Market Parking Garage Repairs in 2008. We examined the breakdown of Hascall & Hall's bid and raised concerns to them about the low unit pricing compared to the other bidders on their DT to DT connection, jumper plate welding and joint sealant repairs. Hascall & Hall reviewed the bid documents again and said that they were comfortable with their pricing. They felt that they were low on some items and high on others and that the difference tended to average out over the duration of the project. CSI offers several intangible benefits to the City of Bangor including a proven record of success in the garage, a positive relationship with the City and the advantage of having one contractor perform all of the repairs in the Pickering Square Garage. A single contractor would allow the City to deal with one entity for all warrantee issues. Although $39,000 higher than the low bidder, CSI's bid was still $150,000.00 below the construction cost estimate. If the City decided that these intangibles justified the additional cost, we would certainly not disagree. It is our opinion that the City would be well served to accept the bid from Hascall & Hall. They received positive recommendations from past clients and our review did not find any obvious deficiency which would warrant the disqualification of their bid. We trust this addresses your concerns at this time. We look forward to working with Hascall & Hall and the City on this project. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Regards, Becker Structural Engineers, Inc. Jack A. Burgess, P.E. 09 224 To: Finance Committee From: Debbie Cyr Date: June 16, 2009 RE: Pickering Square Restoration Bid Phase 3-5 Background On June 15, 2009, the Finance Committee reviewed staff's recommendation to award the contract for Pickering Square Restoration Phases 3-5 to Hascall & Hall of Portland, Maine, the low bidder, in the three year amount of $690,502.24, subject to annual appropriation. This recommendation was based on the bid submitted and the recommendation of Becker Structural Engineers, the design firm on this project, which interviewed the references submitted by Hascall & Hall and inspected the work they performed at the site of a similar project. John Hanson, Executive Director of the Maine State Building and Construction Trades Council appeared before the Finance Committee and asked the Committee to recommend the bid be awarded to Contracting Specialists, Inc on the basis of (1) their preexisting relationship with the City on the first two phases of the garage restoration, (2) the quality of their work, (3) their relationship with the Trades Council and use of local workers, (4) the benefits they provide to their workers, and (5) the idea that lowest bid is not always the cheapest bid (citing the issue with the Police Dept HVAC system). Contracting Specialists Inc's bid of $729,734.12 was $39,231.88 higher than Hascall & Hall. Issues discussed by the Committee included: maintaining a known relationship versus selecting a contractor with whom we have no direct experience; providing opportunities for the local work force; the City's purchasing regulations; affirming that the final decision rests with the Council; the provision of benefits to workers; and the location of the companies. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Committee requested additional information and voted to refer this item to the Council without a recommendation. City Policy & Charter Provisions The purpose of the City's Purchasing Regulations/ Policy is to provide for the fair and equitable treatment of all persons involved in City purchasing, to maximize the purchasing value of public funds in procurement, and to provide safeguards for maintaining a procurement system of quality and integrity. Without quality and integrity in the process, the City's ability to attract competitive bids would be severely compromised and we could be open to complaints of cronyism, a common criticism of governmental entities. 09 224 Per the City's policy, bids are evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspections, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose. Those criteria that affect the bid price and that should be considered in evaluation for award shall be objectively measurable, such as discounts, transportation costs, and total or life cycle costs. The invitation for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. No criteria should be used in bid evaluations that are not set forth in the invitation for bids. In accordance with the City's Code, the Finance Committee is charged with the review of bids and advisory comment to the City Council on proposed contracts for the purchase of supplies, equipment and services and the construction of public facilities. The Committee has the authority to award bids for under $100,000 while those over that amount must be awarded by the City Council. Pickering Square Restoration Bid Criteria The following excerpts are from the Project Manual and Specifications for the Pickering Square Parking Garage Restoration Phases 3, 4 and 5 invitation for bids; Award of Contract will be based on the following considerations: • Proposed Cost of Work to be completed within available resources as determined by the City • Qualifications, experience and capabilities of the Contractor • Past experience, references and quality of work previously completed by Contractor • Demonstrated ability to complete projects on time and within budget. Owner reserves the right to reject any or all Bids, including without limitation, nonconforming, nonresponsive, unbalanced or conditional Bids. Owner further reserves the right to reject the Bid of any Bidder whom it finds, after reasonable inquiry and evaluation, to not be responsible. Owner may also reject the Bid of any Bidder if Owner believes that it would not be in the best interest of the Project to make an award to that Bidder. Owner also reserves the right to waive all informalities not involving price, time or changes in the Work and to negotiate contract terms with the Successful Bidder. In evaluating Bids, Owner will consider whether or not the Bids comply with the prescribed requirements, and such alternates, unit prices and other data, as may be requested in the Bid Form or prior to the Notice of Award. Owner may conduct such investigations as Owner deems necessary to establish responsibility, qualifications, and financial ability of Bidders, 09 224 proposed Subcontractors, Suppliers, individuals, or entities to perform Work in accordance with the Contract Documents. If the Contract is to be awarded, Owner will award the Contract to the Bidder whose Bid is in the best interests of the Project. Issues/Questions Raised at Finance Committee Meeting Continue Existing Relationships Versus Establishing New Vendor Relationships — This issue arises on a fairly regular basis. In fact, this same concern was raised when the Phase 1 work was awarded to Contracting Specialist Inc (CSI) in 2007. At that time, neither the City nor Becker Structural had any experience with CSI, who was the low bidder by $31,308. The second bidder was Knowles Industrial of Gorham, with whom Becker had significant experience and had developed a level of trust and mutual expectation of the quality of their workmanship, managers and superintendents. The primary concerns with the bid of CSI were that they were new to the Maine market, the experience of their work force was unknown, and that their pricing appeared to be developed to ensure they were low bidder and that it did not necessarily reflect the actual cost to complete the project. In the end and based upon the City's and Becker's interview and reference process, there was no clear or compelling reason to recommend the bid be awarded to anyone other than the low bidder, CSI. In the current bid process, as neither the City nor Becker has had any direct experience with Hascall and Hall, a similar process was undertaken. All of Hascall and Hall's references were contacted, and one particular project was reviewed first hand by Becker. All of the references (Unum, City of Portland, Boulos Property Management) were positive and all who were contacted indicated their willingness to engage them again. Becker's on site review of Hascall and Hall's work at the Unum garage indicated that the sealant they installed was properly applied and performing well. Quality of Work — The City is pleased with the quality of CSI's work. Based on the references and the review of Hascall and Hall's work, nothing has come to our attention that would cause us to question the quality of their work. Use of Local Workers — To date, experience on this restoration work shows that, on average, there are four laborers and a supervisor on the job site daily. CSI indicated that there was also a mason on site most days as well. CSI has pulled from the local work force for the laborer and mason positions, and the supervisor/foreman has been a regular CSI employee from the Skowhegan area. Hascall and Hall anticipates staffing the project with their own year round full- time work force and supplementing with local workers as needed. 09 224 Benefits Provided to Workers — Mr. Hanson indicated that workers employed by CSI are provided with healthcare benefits at no cost to the employee and that the entire cost of the healthcare program offered by Hascall and Hall falls to the employees. CSI has indicated that when using local union workers, the workers do receive credit towards their individual healthcare coverage through the union contracts. Hascall and Hall indicated that they do provide healthcare coverage to their employees and, until recently, that they provided this at no cost to the employees. This year they have asked their employees to pay a small share of the cost. In addition, Hascall and Hall provides the usual array of benefits seen in businesses (uniforms, 401k contributions, holiday and vacation pay, etc). Lowest Bid not Always Cheapest Bid — The ultimate cost of any project is subject to any number of factors, many of which are unknown at the time of the bid. In evaluating bid responses, the cost of goods or services is one of the common criteria used for the majority of City contracts. While we have certainly had low bid situations that have not turned out as anticipated, the vast majority of our vendor relationships based on our bid process have been and continue to be positive and productive. Location of the Companies — CSI was established in Attleboro, MA in 1996 and maintains offices in Fort Lauderdale FL, Washington D.C. and Portland, ME. Hascall and Hall is located in Portland ME and has been in business since 1948. Summary It is our belief that this memo provides the additional information requested during the discussion of this bid at the recent Finance Committee meeting. As always, the award of a contract of this magnitude rests with the full City Council. It has always been the preference of the Council that staff make a recommendation based upon the information available through the bid process and subsequent investigation. Staff's recommendation is as follows. Recommendation Staff recommends that the contract for Pickering Square Restoration Phase 3-5 be awarded to Hascall & Hall of Portland, ME, the low bidder at $690,502.24 (attached please find the Award Recommendation, Bid Tabulation, and Becker Structural Engineers Memo from the June 15"' Finance Committee Agenda). While it has been the City's practice to consider cost as one among a number of components of most bids, it is normally the basis from which bid evaluations begin. Sound and verifiable reasons are required for staff to disqualify the low priced offer in a formal bid situation. Examples of such reasons include: failure 09 224 to meet specifications; cost savings and efficiencies that result from conformity of inventory; past poor experience with a company; availability of parts; warranty concerns; delivery issue; etc. Throughout this process, the City has not come across or been made aware of any concerns related to Hascall and Hall's qualifications and capabilities related to this type of project, the quality of their work, or their ability to complete projects on time and within budget. We have concluded that the only discernible difference between the two lowest bids is overall price. The quality and integrity of the City's bid process is paramount in maintaining the credibility the City has established in the overall market place over the last twenty plus years. In a bid situation, there is only one selected vendor and, frequently, a number of disappointed bidders. Through our honesty and commitment to the process, we have continued to maintain long term productive relationships with vendors even when they are not the recommended vendor. All understand that the City will be in the marketplace again for similar or other like services and that they will be treated fairly and equitably based on their submission at any given time.