CC MEETING: May 21, 2024
DATE: May 14, 2024
TO: Erin Rinehart, City Manager
FROM: Jonathan Wheat, P.E., Director of Engineering
Marc Guy, Assistant City Manager
Title
Consider Authorizing The City Manager To Approve A Construction Contract With Axis Contracting, Inc. For The Plano Parkway Park, Phase 1 Project In An Amount Not To Exceed $2,235,184.83.
Body
BACKGROUND:
In February 2021, City Council approved a resolution to execute a license agreement with the Lewisville Independent School District to use the School District’s property located at the northwest corner of Plano Parkway and Warmington Drive to construct a parking lot and public park. The School District will allow the City to build a concrete parking lot with 130 parking spaces and build a public neighborhood park on the remaining three acres.
The project was initially bid last December. However, the low bid was 40% over the engineer’s estimated construction cost. As a result, the bid was determined to be non-competitive and was rejected by Council. To receive more competitive bids, the project was divided into two phases. Phase 1 includes the construction of the parking lot, the widening of Warmington Drive and associated drainage improvements. Phase 2 will be the construction of the park facilities.
The construction schedule allows for 130 days to complete the project. Hebron High School will need the use of the parking lot by the first home football game on September 6, 2024. The contract contains provisions for a 1% total contract bonus for the parking lot to be completed and accepted by September 1. The maximum bonus is capped at $20,000.00.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The engineer’s estimate for this project was $1,856,000.00. Three bids were received on May 7, 2024. Bids ranged from $1,998,523.80 to a high bid of $2,407,147.35. The City’s bid documents provide that the contract will be awarded to the bidder who provides the services at the best value to the City, including specified factors such as responsibility and responsiveness. The lowest bid was submitted by a vendor determined to be not a responsible bidder based on interviews with references and prior experiences with the City. The second lowest bidder was Axis Contracting, Inc. In recent years, Axis has successfully completed several projects for surrounding municipalities that required paving and utility construction expertise. Representatives of the cities of Cedar Hill, Dallas, McKinney and the Town of Highland Park all stated that Axis has the ability to complete all of the tasks required in phase 1 of the project. The contractor appears capable of completing this project within the allocated time of 130 days. As such, Axis Contracting, Inc. has been deemed to be the lowest responsible bidder.
To ensure the parking lot is available for the start of the football season, an incentive has been included in the contract as 1% of the contract amount or $20,000.00, whichever is less. The incentive is to be paid in full provided that the parking lot is available to the public by September 1, 2024.
The project will utilize three accounts for funding: Parks, Streets and Drainage. Funding for the streets and drainage portions of the project are available in each respective fund. Additional funding is required from the Parks Fund to cover all expenses. The budget for the parks portion of the project is $1,695,000.00 and the design contract total is $303,657.00, leaving $1,391,343.00 available for construction. An additional $260,720.00 will be required from the Parks Fund.
IMPACT ON COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY:
This project will support the City Council’s strategic objectives and vision of building a community that families and businesses want to call home by:
• Providing a recreational amenity for the nearby residential neighborhoods.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION/ACTION DESIRED:
Staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to approve a construction contract with Axis Contracting, Inc. for Phase 1 of the Plano Parkway Park project in an amount not to exceed $2,235,184.83 ($2,215,184.83 base bid and $20,000.00 potential incentive).