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Bid Award - Grassy Branch WRF Expansion
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INFORMATION CONTACT:
John Shutak, Union County Water - Engineering, Director, 704-283-3651
ACTION REQUESTED:
1) Adopt Resolution for Tentative Award of the Grassy Branch WRF Expansion project construction, 2) contingent upon North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s issuance of the Authority to Award, accept the low bidder, authorize award of the construction contract to Dellinger, Inc. in the amount of $10,161,266.00, 3) authorize the County Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement substantially consistent with this agenda item, 4) adopt Resolution Providing Notice of the Grassy Branch WRF Expansion Project Construction, and 5) accept the scope of engineering services for construction administration as shown in the attached Task Order 7882-3 with Hazen and Sawyer, P.C., in the amount of $757,700.00 and authorize the County Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement substantially consistent with this agenda item.
PRIOR BOARD ACTIONS:
1) April 4, 2022, Regular Meeting, Agenda Item #22-195 - Approved Special Order of Consent (SOC) with the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission.
2) July 17, 2023, Regular Meeting, Agenda Item #23-423 - Approved the scope of services for engineering design, permitting, and bid phase services for the Grassy Branch WRF Facility Expansion project as shown in the attached Hazen and Sawyer Task Order 7882-2 in the amount of $741,495.00 and authorized the County Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement.
3) October 16, 2023, Regular Meeting, Agenda Item #23-719 - Re-adopted resolution accepting ARPA funds in the amount of $8,000,000.00 from NCDEQ and authorized the County Manager to execute all necessary documentation to add the Grassy Branch WRF Expansion project to the acceptable uses of the funds.
4) March 18, 2024, Regular Meeting, Agenda Item #24-161 - Approved preferred brand alternative procurement for the disk filtration and UV disinfection equipment.
5) May 6, 2024, Regular Meeting, Agenda Item #24-302 - Re-adopted resolution accepting ARPA funds in the amount of $9,750,000.00 from NCDEQ and authorized the County Manager to execute all necessary documentation related to the acceptance.
BACKGROUND:
The Capital Improvement Program, as adopted by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), includes an allocation for the design and construction of the Grassy Branch WRF Expansion to 120,000 gallons per day (gpd). The facility is currently under consent order due to permit violations related to daily discharge flow exceeding the current permitted flow of 50,000 gpd. This expansion to 120,000 gpd should prevent future violations for exceeding the permitted discharge flow.
On April 2, 2022, the BOCC authorized the County Manager to execute a Special Order of Consent with the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission to address regulatory compliance violations issued by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ). The consent order requires the Grassy Branch WRF to be expanded to a permitted capacity of 120,000 gpd by March 31, 2027.
The BOCC approved Hazen and Sawyer Task Order 7882-2 on July 17, 2023, for engineering design and bid phase services for this expansion project in the amount of $741,495.00. The BOCC adopted a resolution at the October 16, 2023 meeting to accept ARPA funds from NCDEQ in the amount of $8,000,000.00, and then re-adopted a resolution to increase the ARPA fund acceptance amount to $9,750,000.00 on May 6, 2024. The BOCC also approved use of preferred brand alternate procurement of disk filter and UV disinfection equipment at the March 18, 2024 meeting.
Union County advertised the project on May 10, 2024 and received two bids at the bid opening on June 21, 2024. Since fewer than three responses were received, the bids were returned to the bidders unopened. The project was re-advertised on June 21, 2024, and received two (2) bids at the re-bid opening on July 1, 2024. The bids were reviewed and certified by the engineer per the attached award recommendation letter and bid tabulation. Based on the engineer’s review and Procurement Division approval of the bid, UCW engineering staff recommends that the project be awarded to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, Dellinger, Inc., in the amount of $10,161,266.00.
To support the construction of the project, construction administration services are required to ensure the project is constructed to meet the requirements set forth in the project plans and specifications. The scope of services for construction administration services identified in the attached Hazen and Sawyer Task Order 7882-3 has been reviewed by UCW engineering staff and is appropriate for the project. Services are to be provided on a per diem not to exceed basis in the amount of $757,700.00.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for the project had been previously allocated to include $5.1M from state budget ARPA funds, which included the direct allocation of $1.75M for the project and $3.35M in funding remaining from the $8.0M allocation following the purchase of Site B for $4.65M, and $2.35M from the water and sewer fund totaling $7.45M in available funding for the project. Considering that approval of reimbursement for the Site B land purchase is unknown at this time, funding for the Grassy Branch WRF project has been revised to include the full $9.75M from state ARPA allocations and $2.0M from the water and sewer fund totaling $11.75M which is sufficient to support the total project cost of $11,660,461.
Funding is available within the adopted Capital Improvement Program for the Grassy Branch WRF Expansion project to support the construction contract amount of $10,161,266.00 with Dellinger, Inc. and construction administration services described in Hazen and Sawyer Task Order 7882-3 in the amount of $757,700.00.