Posting Language
Title
Authorize an amendment to a contract for engineering services for the Barton SoCo Reclaimed Water Main project with K Friese and Associates, Inc., to increase the contract amount by $342,500 for a revised total contract amount not to exceed $1,030,048.
[Note: This amendment will be awarded in compliance with City Code 2-9B (Minority Owned and Women Owned Business Enterprise Procurement Program). Current participation to date is 59.29% MBE and 36.77% WBE].
Body
Lead Department
Financial Services Department.
Managing Department
Capital Delivery Services.
Fiscal Note:
Funding in the amount of $342,500 is available in the Capital Budget of Austin Water.
Purchasing Language:
Contract Amendment.
Prior Council Action:
April 23, 2020 - Council approved the original contract, item 7, on a 11-0 vote.
For More Information:
Direct questions regarding this Recommendation for Council Action to the Financial Services Department - Central Procurement at: FSDCentralProcurementRCAs@austintexas.gov <mailto:FSDCentralProcurementRCAs@austintexas.gov> or 512-974-2500.
Council Committee, Boards and Commission Action:
April 10, 2020 - Recommended by the Water and Wastewater Commission on a 6-0-3-2 vote with commissioners Lee, Michel and Penn recusing and Commissioners Parton and Schmitt absent.
October 11, 2023 - Recommended by the Water and Wastewater Commission on a 7-0 vote with one absence and three vacancies.
Additional Backup Information:
The Barton SoCo Reclaimed Water Main project is identified in Austin Water’s 2011 Reclaimed Water Infrastructure Master Plan Update and in the 2013 Completing-The-Core Near-Term Reclaimed Water Program Focus. This is a series of construction projects to complete a core loop through downtown to interconnect the reclaimed water system north and south of the Colorado River.
The Barton SoCo Reclaimed Water Main project includes installation of approximately 5,300 linear feet of 24-inch reclaimed water main along West Monroe Street from Newton Street to South First Street then north along South First Street to West Riverside Drive. The project has the opportunity to serve the Texas School for the Deaf and Nicholas Dawson Neighborhood Park.
The selected alignment for the Barton SoCo Reclaimed Water Main project requires multiple crossings of East Bouldin Creek. Initial designs proposed conventional crossings at each of the creek locations, but further investigation identified these would neither be feasible nor economical due to various design constraints. A detailed analysis of the alignment determined horizontal directional drilling (HDD) under the creek offers benefits without significantly increasing estimated construction costs. HDD is a specialized design that will require the services of an additional subconsultant and is outside of the original scope of services. This authorization provides funding for additional design phase services necessary to develop and implement the HDD design. This method of construction will significantly decrease the quantity of open-cut construction which is often more disruptive to the community.
Delaying this project could impact the reliability of reclaimed water service. As more customers connect to the system and increase usage for non-drinking purposes such as irrigation, cooling, toilet flushing, and manufacturing, the consequences of an outage become more significant. Other reclaimed water projects have been put on hold to prioritize this and other projects required to complete the core loop.
Final design of the Barton SoCo Reclaimed Water Main project is anticipated at the end of 2024 with construction beginning in early 2025 and lasting through mid-2026.
This amendment was approved by the City’s Change Control Committee. The Change Control Committee was established to comply with Council Resolution No. 20120126-048, which required the establishment of consistent criteria and process to evaluate contractual changes for all contracts administered by the Financial Services Department - Capital Contracting. The Change Control Committee is comprised of management-level subject matter experts.