SUBJECT: 1^st Amendment to Downtown Plaza Design Services Agreement with Amphion Environmental, Inc. and Budget Modification No. 32

REPORT IN BRIEF

Staff is recommending an amendment to the Plaza Design Services agreement with Amphion Environmental, Inc. for additional construction support services for the Sunnyvale Downtown Plaza project. The amendment is for increased services amounting to an additional $60,000 on the existing $583,000 contract.  This cost increase can be accommodated within the project contingency and there are no additional funds being requested.

BACKGROUND

On June 18, 2002 the City Council awarded a contract for professional design and construction support services to Amphion Environmental, Inc. (Attachment A).   Initial estimates for the Plaza project indicated that the costs to construct would likely exceed the available budget.  Council therefore directed staff to proceed with a phased project that would allow construction of the major elements of the Plaza with the opportunity to construct the remaining features in the future.  The most significant items that were deferred included fountains, the overlook feature, the pump room and restrooms.

Council awarded a contract on July 15, 2003 to Devcon Construction, Inc. in the amount of $5,003,000 to construct Phase I of the Sunnyvale Downtown Plaza.

DISCUSSION

When the original budget for the Downtown Plaza was established it was anticipated that there would be only a modest level of construction support services necessary during construction.  Their involvement was expected to be primarily limited to review of contractor submittals and requests for information.  The budget for construction support services was therefore established at only $61, 200.  This level of construction support is relatively low for a complex project such as the Downtown Plaza. 

During construction, there has been a significantly greater need for construction support services than was originally expected.  For example, there has been over two hundred requests for information from the contractor that required review.  There is alsosome unanticipated electrical service issues that will require additional design work, and it was also necessary to address an issue where storm waters from adjacent properties were impacting the project site. 

One area of work that with a significant increase is the coordination of the existing and new waterproofing work.  The Mozart development constructed an underground parking structure that included waterproofing as part of that project.  The entire roof of the parking structure was covered with a waterproofing system that needed to be modified with the Plaza construction.  There has been, and continues to be, considerable coordination and analysis needed for the waterproofing work in order to ensure that the original waterproofing warranty was not jeopardized by the new construction. It should be noted that Amphion’s design for the modifications to the existing waterproofing was acceptable.  The extra effort is to respond to new issues and questions that are being raised by the waterproofing vendor during the construction phases of the Plaza project.

Due to the increased demand for support services during construction, staff is recommending that the construction support services be augmented by $60,000.  The existing construction budget in the Amphion Agreement has covered these services to date, but continued construction support by Amphion and their sub-consultants will require augmenting the pDesignrofessional sServices Agreement.  Based on current estimates and known conditions, the necessary level of support services can continue to be provided throughout the duration of the Plaza construction with the recommended increase.  It should be noted that this change to the Amphion agreement does not require any additional funding for the Plaza project.

Staff believes this change to the Amphion agreement is cost effective for the Plaza Project.  Having the ability to utilize Amphion’s specialized technical services continues the positive trend in schedule compliance and the continued cost control of the project.  For example, the usage of the approved contingency for construction related changes has been less than 25% though the project is now more than half complete. This level of cost control during construction by City staff is directly linked to the active involvement by Amphion and their sub-consultants.  Their prompt analysis and review of technical issues helps to avoid unnecessary contract expenditures or potential construction claims.

Staff anticipates that the project, including this proposed change to the professional support services contract, will be delivered within the budget established by Council at the time of award.  The completion of the project is expected to meet the scheduled August 2004 completion date.

FISCAL IMPACT

The remaining contingency in the project is $394,300 at this stage which is sufficient to accommodate this additional cost of consultant services.  During the course of reviewing the contract amendment with Amphion, it was noted that there was an error in the project carryover amount for the Downtown Plaza Project.  This budget modification requests Council approve the correction to the project budget.

The current budget of $5,137,519 includes the FY 2002/03 carryover of $3,231,083 plus an additional $1,906,436 appropriated by Council on July 15, 2003 (RTC 03-246). The carryover should have been $4,090,397, but $3,231,083 was carried over by error because the FY 2002/03 year-to-date expenditures were accounted for twice.  With this adjustment, the correct project budget for FY 2003/04 should be $5,996,833.

PUBLIC CONTACT

This report was included in the publication and posting of the Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board, and the City’s web page. This report is also available at the Sunnyvale Public Library and the City Clerk’s Office.

ALTERNATIVES

1. Approve an amendment to the Downtown Plaza Design Services Contract in the amount of $60,000.

2. Approve Budget Modification No. 32.

3. Take no action.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends approval of Alternatives 1 and 2.

Prepared by:

Barbara Keegan
Assistant Director of Public Works

Reviewed by:

Marvin A. Rose
Director, Public Works

Reviewed by:

Mary Bradley
Director, Finance

Approved by:

Amy Chan
Interim City Manager

Attachments

A. Consultant Services Agreement Between the City of Sunnyvale and Amphion Environmental Services, Inc. (pdf format)