These minutes are unofficial until approved at the next Trustee regular session.
The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality Board of Trustees Trustee Special Meeting
Thursday, February 5, 2015—6:30 PM
Maquoketa Valley Middle School Conference Room
Delhi, IA
The special trustees meeting of the Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District Board of Trustees was called to order by President Steve Leonard at 6:30 PM at the Maquoketa Valley Middle School Conference Room in Delhi, IA.
Trustees Present: Leonard, Kramer, Davidson, Gifford, Colgan (Skype), Kray and Burger (phone)
Trustees Absent: None
Recording Secretary: Shelley Kallenbach
Visitors: Bill Holman with Stanley Consultants (phone), Larry and Eve Peter, Don Dede, Jim Locke, Dick Recker, Tom and Marilyn Cook, Dave Larson, Chris Stender, Larry Aschbrenner, David and Stephanie Kruse
Motion to approve the posted agenda was made by Davidson and seconded by Gifford, motion passed.
The Board considered possible action on Lunda Construction Change Order #13. This change order was in regards to concrete patchwork done during Phase 1. A few of the concrete patchwork were unexpectedly deep. Other areas required removing concrete beneath the existing reinforcing steel which was sound concrete and difficult to remove. This change order was in the amount of $57,753.28 and resolves all concrete patchwork issues with Phase 1. Stanley Consultants recommended payment of this change order. Kramer motioned to approve payment of Lunda Construction Change Order #13, Kray seconded, motion passed.
The Board considered possible action on Lunda Construction Change Order #14. This change order was in regards to correcting damage to the gate hoists that were purchased for other reasons prior to the dam breech. Since these gates were available for Phase 1 work, the District provided them to the Phase 1 contractor at a considerable savings to the project. At the beginning of Phase 1 they were sent to Linita, the Lunda gate subcontractor. Linita discovered that the hoists were damaged in a variety of ways and would not warranty the gates would work properly following installation. It is unknown when the various damage situations occurred given their various moves after the dam breach. The change order in the amount of $11,175.70 covers the cost to have Linita make the necessary repairs to the gates and warranty the gate operation. Gifford motioned to approve payment of Lunda Construction Change Order #14, Kramer seconded.
The change order was discussed. Concerns about the possibility of damage during the gate transport from Linita back to Delhi and insurance to cover this possible damage were raised. It was confirmed that Linita will come to Delhi to install the gates and inspect them, and Lunda will be responsible as the contractor for any damage occurring during transport. It was also confirmed that the damage could not have been seen without advanced technology. Larry Peter, a member of the dam construction team, stated that three hoists were known to have oil leaks when they were moved, and that damage occurred prior to the move to Linita. After this discussion closed, all ayes, motion to approve payment of Lunda Construction Change Order #14 passed.
The Board considered possible action on selecting a winning bid for Phase 2 Construction of the Lake Delhi Dam.
The Board opened the floor to Bill Holman of Stanley Consultants to discuss the bid review process. Holman advised following the initial bid letting for Phase 2, the bid package was changed to reduce risk to bidders and time bids for winter in order to receive better bids for Phase 2. Four good bids were received and Stanley Consultants was very satisfied with the bids. The lowest bidder was General Constructors, Inc., (hereafter GCI) an Iowa firm out of the Quad Cities, in the amount of $6,185,693.00.
Holman stated the low bid was thoroughly reviewed by Stanley Consultants. It was recognized to be a complete bid with all requirements met, including acknowledgement of receipt of the bidding package changes. The contractor was confirmed to be licensed in the state of Iowa. References and samples of past similar projects were considered, including earthen cofferdams and construction administration, and all reviewed samples were found to have been performed satisfactorily with a high level of quality. References also stated they were a good company to work with. In addition, Stanley Consultants has worked with this contractor before and received good references from their work. Stanley also verified the contractor had submitted the required bid securities and a solid preliminary cofferdam and dewatering plan that understands the challenge of that step. The list of subcontractors and suppliers were also reviewed, as well as OSHA compliance for a lack of violations. GCI met all of these review requirements positively, and as such Stanley Consultants recommended that the Board award Phase 2 construction to GCI.
Leonard moved to award Phase 2 Bid Contract to GCI for $6,185,693.00 with flexibility for the Trustee Construction Team to work out the final details of the contract included in the bid package regarding date confirmations and to authorize Leonard to sign the contract once the dates were negotiated based on the letter of recommendation from Stanley Consultants and verbal recommendation from Bill Holman of Stanley Consultants, Burger seconded.
The floor was opened to each board member for comment.
Colgan stated that he was pleased that the contractors were forthcoming. He stated that 9 of the key line items in the second and third lowest bids matched to that of GCI, so nothing is missing in the GCI bid in terms of the work. He was pleased with the recommendations from the references. He also stated that the bid assigns senior GCI staff to the project from the beginning. He states that the changes to the cofferdam design to reduce material requirements, as well as the incentive plan, were successful in getting broader bid interest, and that the current time of the construction year led to the receipt of significantly improved bids.
Gifford stated that the Board did the right thing in rejecting the original bids as it forced creativity to meet the challenge, and a much more proactive approach to obtaining better bids.
Leonard stated that he was pleased with a three-fold increased interest in the bid package following the changes, as well as the receipt of four solid bids all offering a completion date of 2015. He stated this was a doubling in quality bids that were more competitive and he was excited for the result.
Kray expressed appreciation for the spreadsheets delivered by Stanley Consultants that outlined and compared the main points of the bids, which made it easier to understand the differences between the contractors, and expressed thanks to Holman for this.
Burger asked if the final contract negotiated with the Trustee Construction Committee would be reviewed by Holman of Stanley Consultants. It was confirmed that GCI had all the information on changes to the bid packages and had not expressed any exceptions, so the next step is to develop official dates into the contract. Following this, the contract will be reviewed by Stanley Consultants and then forwarded to Leonard for signature, so Stanley Consultants will remain a part of the process, help handle any exceptions, and will notify the Board of any exceptions. Should exceptions arrive, a special board meeting will be called.
Davidson stated he was very happy to have had Colgan’s expertise and opinions on the Board, as well as Stanley’s recommendation. He felt the review had been very thorough and he felt comfortable in approving this bid.
Kramer stated she felt the Construction Committee had come through and the Board received a great result.
Holman stated he was very happy with the bid and felt the Board received great results from the rebid.
The floor was opened for individual votes from the Board. Votes were entered as follows:
Kray: Yes
Burger: Yes
Colgan: Yes
Davidson: Yes
Gifford: Yes
Kramer: Yes
Leonard: Yes
Therefore, motion passed.
The floor was opened for public comment.
Jim Locke asked if the difference in the bid amounts came from the change in the cofferdam design. It was confirmed that this was part of the improvement, but that the addition of an incentive package and the alignment with the current construction cycle also added to improved bids received. It was also confirmed that this bid was in line with the original estimate with the incentive packaging. Prices have increased due to changes in the market condition. This particular bid also budgets a significant amount for administration in order to be aggressive toward completion.
Larry Aschbrenner asked if GCI would do the work themselves or rely on subcontractors from the local area. It was confirmed that the contractor will do all of the concrete work, but many subcontractors and suppliers are involved. However, the earthwork and demolition is subcontracted out to a local contractor. In addition, GCI is an Iowa contractor using Iowa labor. It was also considered that the biggest risk of Phase 2 is the dewatering in the sand and gravel area of the lake, and this particular bid budgeted 50% more for this issue in order to use an internationally-known dewatering contractor. Therefore, the contractor will be using the best available subcontractor for the most difficult work.
No further public comment.
Kramer motioned to adjourn, Davidson seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 PM.