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Approve Job Order Contracting Construction Agreements with Granite Rock Construction; Mark Scott Construction Inc. (two contracts); Aztec Consultants, Inc.; and Rodan Builders, Inc. each for a minimum of $25,000 and an initial maximum contract value of $1,000,000; Authorize the County Administrator to execute the Agreements, any amendments, and respective job orders greater than $200,000 within the approved project budgets; Delegate signing authority to the fiscally-responsible department head to sign respective job orders of $200,000 or less within the approved project budgets; and Delegate signing authority to the General Services Director to execute any Notice of Completion for any projects completed through the JOC program
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of General Services recommends that the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve Job Order Contracting Construction Agreements (GSD JOC 2024) with:
• A.1 to Granite Rock Construction
• A.2 to Mark Scott Construction Inc.
• B.1 to Mark Scott Construction Inc.
• B.2 to Aztec Consultants, Inc.
• B.3 to Rodan Builders, Inc.
each for a minimum opportunity amount of $25,000 and an initial maximum contract value of $1,000,000;
2. Authorize the County Administrator to execute the Agreements, any amendments, and respective Job Orders greater than $200,000 within the approved project budgets;
3. Delegate signing authority to the fiscally responsible department head to sign respective job orders of $200,000 or less within the approved project budgets; and
4. Delegate signing authority to the General Services Director to execute any Notice of Completion for any projects completed through the JOC program.
SUMMARY:
General Services Department (GSD) recommends the Board of Supervisors approve five Job Order Contracting Construction Agreements (Attachments A - E). The agreements are for specific license classifications needed to address anticipated County facility maintenance and repair workload over the coming year. GSD’s 2024 Job Order Contracts (JOC) were publicly advertised for competitive bidding and awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidders per the state Public Contracting Code.
The Board of Supervisors established the current JOC Program on September 13, 2022. The program enables the County to efficiently complete numerous construction and maintenance projects with a single, competitively-award bidding process, while providing fast-tracked project delivery, lowered administrative costs, and reduced direct construction costs. The JOC agreements are for a one-year term with pre-set unit prices to deliver projects within their respectively approved budget.
These new JOC agreements are intended to supplement the expiring JOC agreements that were previously approved by the Board on May 23, 2023 that will terminate on June 4, 2024.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The initial maximum potential value of each contract is $1,000,000, with a minimum opportunity value of $25,000. There is no further financial obligation under a JOC Agreement beyond the initial $25,000 opportunity. Funding for projects delivered by the awarded JOC contractors will be provided from capital project budgets or departmental operating budgets as approved by the Board. The use of JOC as a delivery method for qualifying projects will be made on a case-by-case basis. If necessary to meet the needs of a project, the maximum value of a given contract may be raised via amendment, up to the statutory limit (currently $6 million).
The costs associated with preparing this agenda item are nominal and absorbed by the department’s FY2023/24 Working Budget.
DISCUSSION:
JOC Program
The JOC program was established to simplify the procurement process for select small to medium-sized projects. On September 13, 2022, the Board approved a service agreement with Gordian Group Inc, (Gordian) allowing the implementation of the JOC program for Solano County. A JOC agreement is an indefinite quantity construction contract pursuant to which the County may accomplish a series of projects (small to medium-sized repairs, renovations, replacement in-kind, maintenance, time sensitive, and alteration projects) at different locations and facilities with a single, competitively bid contracts award.
The JOC program provides the County with an entire catalogue of pre-priced work items, known as the Construction Task Catalog®, based on local labor, material, and equipment costs. The Construction Task Catalog® is updated annually based on the Construction Cost Index published for the closest market area location (e.g. Vallejo, CA). The bid contractors then submit price adjustment factors (modifications to the pre-priced items, which includes overhead and profit) for different work conditions. The pre-priced work items plus respective adjustment factor establishes total pre-pricing for the term of the one-year JOC agreement for each contractor awarded. Work is subsequently authorized by issuing job orders (“projects”) to the awarded JOC contractors on an as-needed basis. Each job order is assigned to a JOC contractor based upon the type of work and the JOC contractor’s corresponding qualifications and ability to perform the work.
The benefits of using JOC program include shorter project delivery times, earlier project start times, greater transparency, quicker reduction of deferred maintenance backlog, and more efficient use of project funding. With JOC agreements bidding annually, there is significantly less staff time spent on bidding individual projects allowing more time to focus on delivering the work. In addition, JOC reduces the potential for contractor bid protests, defaults, terminations, and claims for work delivered through the JOC program. It also allows for construction input to be incorporated into the design process, which can expedite the work and enhance cost savings.
The awarded JOC contractors can be issued job orders (“projects”) up to the maximum statutory limit of their contract - currently about $6M. The term of each JOC agreement is one year. Nevertheless, contract terms will govern work for job orders issued that extend beyond the term of the respective JOC agreement, until the corresponding work is completed.
Local Construction Industry Outreach/Participation
Awarded JOC contractors are required to make and document good faith outreach efforts to employ local subcontractors as individual job orders are prepared for authorization. For the purposes of this good faith effort, “local” is defined as a business with “A valid business license issued from the County of Solano or a political subdivision within the County; and its principal business office, or a satellite office with at least one full-time employee, located in the County.”
In the past year under the current JOC program, eight job orders/projects have been approved, to which over thirty-six county-based subcontractors participated in the bid phase with six local companies successfully awarded work. A total of $3,800,557 was awarded to local subcontractors out of the aggregate total of $8,359,608 in JOC job orders/projects (Attachment) G). Staff will continually work with JOC contractors to increase outreach efforts to local subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers.
JOC Solicitation/Bid Process
On March 4, 2024, General Services issued a “Notice to Bidders” for GSD 2024 JOCs to award at least one contract for each of the license classifications: A (General Engineering) and B (General Building). Notices to Bidders were published in local newspaper on February 25, 2024, and March 3, 2024; posted with the local trade organization, area plan rooms, trade journals, and the County’s purchasing platform (OpenGov); issued to County’s comprehensive list of interested bidders, GSD’s Capital Project Management (CPM) Division’s website; and distributed to CPM’s consolidated contractor listing.
The bid package included Project Manual, Technical Specifications, and Construction Task Catalog® (pre-priced unit prices). Contractors were then to bid adjustment factors to the pre-priced unit prices. The adjustment factor represents the contractor’s costs (indirect and direct) and profit not otherwise included in the pre-priced unit prices. With support from Gordian, the JOC Program administrators, an instructive Mandatory Pre-Bid meeting was held on March 14, 2024, with 20 contractors attending the meeting, including four Solano County-based contractors, at which the JOC bidding process was explained in detail and questions were answered.
Bid Results
Bids were received and publicly opened on March 28, 2024. A total of twelve bids were received, of which none from Solano County (see Attachment F). The bid rankings are based on the combined lowest award criteria factor and a standard review of the bid packages to ensure inclusion of all required documents. Evaluation of the bids, along with a review of capital projects anticipated to be delivered via JOC (Attachment H), allowed the identification of a sufficient number of contractors deemed lowest responsive and responsible bidders commensurate with the workload to be assigned. By awarding multiple JOC Contracts, the County’s JOC Program will enjoy a range of contractor expertise and capacity, maintaining flexibility in managing several critical and time-sensitive projects.
While the initial JOC contract may stipulate a minimum opportunity amount of $25,000 and an initial maximum amount of $1,000,000, it does not guarantee the maximum amount. In some instances, the initial $1,000,000 contract maximum may need to be amended to a higher amount to address workload. The annual statutory limit for a JOC agreement is approximately $6 million.
The contractors recommended for JOC agreements have provided all the required documentation including bonds, insurance, pre-award survey, references, financial reports, and their project management plan. In addition, Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) registrations and contractor license numbers are active and in good standing according to the State of California Department of Industrial Relations and Contractor’s Licensing Board, respectively.
JOC Projects
List of JOC projects that have been completed, under construction, or pending approval of job orders in the past year are listed in Attachment G.
The Fiscal Years 2023/24 through 2027/28 5-year Capital Facilities Improvement Plan, adopted by the Board on March 12, 2024, describes numerous capital projects - previously approved and funded - eligible for delivery via the GSD 2024 JOC Program. Proposed additional new projects for the coming fiscal year eligible for JOC delivery will be described in the FY2024/25 recommended capital budget narrative, including miscellaneous small projects within operational budgets. Projects recommended for delivery via JOC are listed on Attachment H. Important and time-sensitive projects among these include public health and safety improvements for the County Sheriff’s Office, Probation Department, Resource Management Environmental Health Division, and Health and Social Services including Public Health Laboratory, in addition to grant-funded work for which the performance period is time-limited.
Notice of Completion
Normally, at the conclusion of the construction of capital projects, issuance of Notices of Completion are submitted for Board approval which state the projects are complete, including fulfillment of all administration requirements of contracts associated with the projects, and to release retention funds being held by the County on construction contract(s). GSD is requesting to delegate the authority to sign Notices of Completion for individual JOC projects to the General Services Director responsible for managing JOC projects, as part of the project closeout, and continue to annually inform Board of completed projects delivered through JOC program to expedite closure of projects, provide more timely notification to contractors, and lower administrative costs.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board may elect not to approve the Agreements or to approve fewer JOC Agreements; however, this is not recommended because bidding was conducted in accordance with Public Contract Code and a lack of JOC agreements will delay several projects otherwise slated to start construction in FY2024/25, as identified in the Capital Improvement Plan and upcoming Recommended Capital Budget, as well as various departmental budgets, reducing or eliminating the benefit of the JOC program.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Project Manual and bid documents were reviewed by County Counsel, General Services Administration, Facilities Operations and Support Services/Purchasing divisions, Resource Management, and Gordian Group (JOC program administrator). County Counsel reviewed and approved each Agreement (JOC agreement) as to form.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION