Title
Contract No. 2203638
Engineering Project Management and Inspection Staff Augmentation
O&M
Body
Agenda of: October 25, 2023
Item No.: 2023-369
Amount: $2,300,000.00
TO: The Honorable
Board of Directors
Great Lakes Water Authority
FROM: Suzanne R. Coffey, P.E.
Chief Executive Officer
Great Lakes Water Authority
DATE: October 4, 2023
RE: Contract No. 2203638
Engineering Project Management and Inspection Staff Augmentation
Vendor: PMA Consultants LLC
MOTION
Upon recommendation of Navid Mehram, Chief Operating Officer - Wastewater Operating Services, the Board of Directors (Board) of the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), authorizes the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to enter into Contract No. 2203638, “Engineering Project Management and Inspection Staff Augmentation” with PMA Consultants LLC, at a cost not to exceed $2,300,000.00 for a duration of three (3) years; and authorizes the CEO to take such other action as may be necessary to accomplish the intent of this vote.
BACKGROUND
The Wastewater Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) consists of 78 CIP projects focused on making necessary improvements to the wastewater system, including the collection system, the sewage pumping stations (SPS), the combined sewer overflow (CSO) facilities, and the Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF). These CIP projects are necessary to ensure proper system operation during dry and wet weather, and to ensure compliance with all regulatory driven requirements. The projects may focus on increasing resilience of the system, major rehabilitation, or completely new systems/processes to take the wastewater system into the future. The CIP projects are in various states of progress now, from Request for Proposal (RFP) development to study, to engineering design and finally construction/closeout and turnover. Proper execution of these projects is critical to permit compliance and to meet the planned CIP execution.
More important than simple CIP execution is ensuring the projects are being performed properly and informed properly so that years after the project is completed and turned over (and during the various phases of execution) there aren’t unforeseen issues which arise and change the complexion of the project from a successful one to one that requires future improvements. Therefore, having proper staffing levels and associated competence to execute these projects will result in successful execution of the planned CIP and overall successful projects.
Furthermore, proper execution of any project requires owner representation in the field to ensure the contractor is providing and installing all materials, equipment, and supplies in accordance with the contract. The requirements for inspector presence varies by project. Some projects require full-time inspection while others can be fine with part-time inspection. The GLWA wastewater inspection team currently consists of 5 inspectors who supply inspection services for the various CIP projects and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) projects for GLWA. Often the largest projects include inspection services by a successful consultant, but there are smaller projects where GLWA attempts to provide its own inspection.
JUSTIFICATION
The GLWA Program Manager evaluated the Wastewater Engineering CIP portfolio of projects and recommended that the wastewater team staff consist of 17 to 21 life cycle project managers. Hiring this many life cycle project managers in a short period is not practical given the current market for candidates with this skillset and the high demand for their skills. However, the need to execute and adhere to the planned CIP still exists. This contract will allow Wastewater Engineering to expand and contract candidates to meet the needs of the planned CIP projects for project delivery. This also allows GLWA to consolidate project management services being provided for execution of projects into a single contract.
Inspection services provided within this contract will ensure construction projects are executed in the intended manner for the design work and will supplement GLWA inspection staff where the existing team cannot supply the necessary inspection services to ensure the project is being constructed properly.
FINANCIAL PLAN IMPACT
Summary: This contract will be available for Wastewater Engineering for CIP, Job Order Contracts (JOC), and O&M projects on an as-needed bases. The use of this contract will be controlled by the project approval process and the associated approval process and the associated budget for these services will be managed within the project scope. With these controls in place this contract is within the financial plan.
Funding Source (depending on task): Wastewater Construction Fund (5421)
Wastewater Improvement and Extension Fund (5404)
Wastewater Operating and Maintenance Fund (5960)
Cost Center: Wastewater Engineering (892211)
Expense Type (depending on task): Construction allocation (601998)
Contractual Professional Services (617903)
Capital Outlay (901100)
Estimated Cost by Year and Related Forecast Variance: See table below.
Fiscal Year O&M I&E CIP Total
FY 2024 Budget (Prorated) $190,000 $83,300 $247,000 $520,300
FY 2025 Financial Plan 230,000 100,000 423,400 330,000
FY 2026 Financial Plan 230,000 100,000 423,400 330,000
FY 2027 Financial Plan (Prorated) 63,300 33,300 176,300 146,600
Total Financial Plan $713,300 $316,600 $1,270,100 $2,300,000
Maximum Proposed Contract: $2,300,000
Variance (positive/ (negative)) 0
Due to nature of this contract the budgeted values are estimated and would not be known until a specific task is requested.
COMMITTEE REVIEW
This item was presented to the Operations and Resources Committee at its meeting on October 11, 2023. The Operations and Resources Committee recommended by a 2/1 vote that the GLWA Board adopt the resolution as presented.
SHARED SERVICES IMPACT
This item does not impact the shared services agreement between GLWA and DWSD.