CC MEETING: June 6, 2023
DATE: May 30, 2023
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 C. Green Scaping, LP For The Hebron Parkway Guardrail And Live Screening Improvements Project On The South Of Hebron Parkway And Adjacent To The Estates Of High Country Neighborhood In An Amount Not To Exceed $772,501.00.
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BACKGROUND:
In the FY20 budget, City Council funded the second phase of the citywide Screening Wall Infill Program. Three locations were selected for in-fill walls - Webb Chapel Road (west side, from Towerwood Drive to Gateway Avenue); Hebron Parkway (south side, generally from west of Marsh Ridge Road to the Loerwald Insurance office building); and Frankford Road (both sides, from the BNSF railroad tracks to Scott Mill Road). The original budget for all three projects was $1.27 million. Based on the recommendation of the City Council Re-Development Committee, the Hebron Parkway project was the #2 priority for implementation.
The original scope of the Hebron Parkway project was to construct approximately 1,150 linear feet of 8’ tall masonry wall on the south side of Hebron Parkway. The original project budget was $270,000.
As the project design advanced, it became clear that the scope would need to be altered due to significant increases in market construction costs and the multiple utility conflicts that existed within the limited available right-of-way. In addition, the property owners adjacent to the project requested that a guardrail be added to protect their properties from vehicle crashes, which would require relocation of the existing sidewalk. In May 2021, the Re-Development Committee recommended that the project scope be modified to the installation of a 10’ tall wood or simulated wood fence, installation of a decorative guardrail along the Hebron Parkway frontage, and relocation of the sidewalk behind the guardrail. The revised project estimate was $660,000. In June 2021, the Committee recommended that the fence height be lowered to 8’ due to escalating project costs.
In the FY22 budget review, City Council considered $1.2 million of additional funding for the screening wall infill projects. The program construction estimate had increased to $2.76 million. City Council chose to fund a citywide beautification initiative (lighted arterial intersection street signs) instead of allocating additional funding to the screening wall projects. Subsequently, in September 2021, the Re-Development Committee recommended that the Frankford Road projects be removed from the program, and design work was discontinued.
The Committee further recommended that the fence component be removed from the Hebron Parkway project in favor of replacing the photinias on the south side of Hebron Parkway. As a result, the final project scope was (1) relocation of the existing sidewalk away from the Hebron Parkway curb, (2) replacement of the existing living screen with a different plant species, and (3) installation of a decorative impact-resistant guardrail between the curb and new sidewalk. In August 2022, the Re-Development Committee recommended that the photinias be replaced with skyrocket juniper due to its low maintenance cost, fast rate of growth and the taller living screen height it offers compared to other plant species.
This contract will provide for the construction of approximately 1,035 linear feet of impact-resistant guardrail meeting TxDOT standards, a 4’ wide concrete sidewalk and replacing the existing photinia plants with skyrocket junipers along the south side of Hebron Parkway. The duration of construction is 120 calendar days.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Only one bid was received on April 5, 2023. The bid, in the amount of $772,501.00, was submitted by C. Green Scaping, LP. The engineer’s estimate for the project was $465,000.
Staff has evaluated project options, which include rejection of the bid and termination of the project, rejection of the bid and re-bidding the project at a later date either as an independent project or as part of another construction project, or altering the project scope and rebidding the project at a later date. Reducing the project scope further is not feasible, and further attempts to re-bid the project are unlikely to result in a lower cost and could possibly result in no bids being submitted. As a result, staff is recommending award of the construction bid as submitted.
Subtracting the project design costs and the construction cost of the Webb Chapel screening wall project, $317,000 is available in the budget for the Hebron Parkway project. Additional funding of $456,000 is available in the Streets Capital Fund.
Maintenance and irrigation costs are expected to be $500 per year as the Skyrocket Juniper does not need annual pruning.
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:
- Sustaining quality of life - The proposed project improvements should improve the appearance of a major arterial street corridor and community entryway.
- Sustaining day-to-day operations - The guardrail should enhance pedestrian safety along Hebron Parkway and reduce the risk of vehicles crashing into the adjacent residential properties.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION/ACTION DESIRED:
Staff recommends City Council award of the construction contract for the Hebron Parkway Guardrail and Live Screening Improvements Project to C. Green Scaping, LP in an amount not to exceed $772,501.00.