Water Pollution Control Plant DesignTHE CITY OF Dubuque
DUB A~.~~~~
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Masterpiece on the Mississippi
2007
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Water Pollution Control Plant Design Recommendation
DATE: October 28, 2008
Request for Proposals were issued for the selection of the firm for design and
construction services for the City of Dubuque Water Pollution Control Plant
improvements.
Water Pollution Control Plant Manager Jonathan Brown is recommending selection of
the sole firm submitting a proposal, Strand Associates, who will be teaming with IIW
Engineers. The estimated fees for the preliminary design, final design and construction
serves range from $6,100,000 to $6,600,000 for this project, with $45 million in
construction costs.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
V
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Michael C. Van Milligen
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Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Jonathan R. Brown, Water Pollution Control Plant Manager
THE CTI'Y OF
DuB E MEMORAND
UM
~-~-~
October 24, 2008
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Jonathan R. Brown, Water Pollution Control Plant Manager
SUBJECT: WPCP Design Recommendation
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memo is to present the results of the Request for Proposal (RFP)
for the selection of the firm for design and construction services for the City of Dubuque
Water Pollution Control Plant improvements and to recommend the selection of Strand
Associates/IIW for design engineering and construction services.
BACKGROUND
The direction of the City of Dubuque's WPCP has been established as a high priority by
the City Council. A process of facility planning was approved and RFP's for the Water
Pollution Control Facility Plan were submitted to council on February 5, 2007.
Consultant selection to prepare the Facility Plan was approved by City Council in May
2007 and Strand Associates of Madison WI was contracted to proceed with planning.
The Facility Plan as completed by Strand Associates has been accepted by the City
Council and submitted to IDNR. The recommended plan includes improvements to
nearly all portions of the existing WPCP. The next step in the process is to select a
qualified consultant to provide design engineering and construction services for the
planned upgrades.
DISCUSSION
The Request for Proposals were released to the public following approval by the council
on September 2, 2008 with a response due by October 3, 2008. RFP's were sent to ten
design firms who have experience in the design of and providing construction services
for wastewater treatment facilities. Included in the ten were area firms who partnered
with national companies for projects of this size. The following items were given as the
criteria to be used in the selection process;
1. The proposed project team's level of professional competence and a proven track
record in:
Designing Temperature Phased Anaerobic Digestion (TPAD) facilities, High
Purity Oxygen (HPO) secondary treatment systems, Ultraviolet Disinfection
systems and general reconstruction of wastewater treatment facilities while
still in operation.
• Assisting clients in applying for and obtaining permits that will be required for
this project;
• Working on municipal capital improvement projects; and
• Working on projects funded by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
(CWSRF).
2. The proposed project team's experience working together on similar projects.
3. The quality of the proposal based on the:
• Demonstrated understanding of the City's overall objectives;
• Design approach/methodology in completing scope of service;
• Level of interest;
• Knowledge of the project site;
• Proposed schedule;
• Creativity and problem solving ability;
• Ability to demonstrate initiative and motivation; and
• Local economic impact.
The team of Strand Associates of Madison Wisconsin and IIW of Dubuque Iowa
submitted the only proposal for design and construction services. The proposal is
separated into three categories -Preliminary Design, Final Design, and Construction
Services. The proposal assumes a design phase of approximately one year with the
bidding and construction phase of approximately three years based on an estimated
construction cost of $45 million (4th quarter, 2009). The construction services fee will be
negotiated towards the end of the design phase, at which time we will have a better
knowledge of the construction duration, overall project scope and our desired level of
services during construction. The following were given as estimates of the proposed
project hours and fees:
Preliminary Final Construction Services
Design Design (Anticipated Range)
Hours 6,000 15,300 30,000-34,000
Estimated
Fee $800,000 $1,800,000 $3,500,000 - $4,000,000
Using an estimated construction cost of $45 million this represents a design fee of 5.7%
and a range of 7.7% - 8.8% for construction services.
RECOMMENDATION
Although only receiving one proposal for such a large project may seem like a risk I
offer the following comments why I am recommending that we proceed with negotiating
a design and construction services contract with the team of Strand Associates of
Madison Wisconsin/IIW of Dubuque Iowa.
1. Strand and four other consultant teams were interviewed for the facilities
planning phase of the project; Strand was selected based on qualifications,
experience with the plant, sustainable design expertise, and other factors.
Strand was unanimously selected by the RFP team and all of the principles
who took part in the facility planning process will play key roles in the design.
2. The facilities planning process went smoothly from beginning to end. Strand
was very responsive to our on-going requests to meet with industry, the
council, and staff. IIW has worked successfully with the City of Dubuque for
many years and is well respected in the community and the engineering
profession.
3. The RFP for design was submitted to 10 firms, all of which were familiar with
the project, many have worked for the City, and are respected wastewater
engineering firms, including numerous national/international firms. None of
these firms elected to submit a proposal. Discussions with several of these
firms indicated the following reasons:
a. Strand completed the planning and has a better understanding of the
project. They would have a competitive advantage and could probably
complete the project faster and for a lower total fee.
b. It is unusual to solicit design proposals following facilities planning unless
the community is unhappy with the product or the firm.
c. Consistency is critical to moving large projects forward efficiently.
4. The Strand/IIW team submitted a proposal and fee structure early on
10/03/08, well before the deadline of 2 PM. They did not know at that time
the other firms would not submit.
5. The City has had very good success working with both Strand and IIW.
6. Strand has designed numerous wastewater projects of similar size and
complexity, including the City of Brookfield, WI ($36 million in 1995 $), City of
Fond du Lac, WI ($55 million, 2005 $), City of Parkersburg, WV ($42 million,
2005 $), City of Joliet, IL ($30 million, 2006 $).
7. The RFP was based on selecting a qualified firm and then negotiating a
contract for those services. If we were unable to come to an agreement we
would then begin the process with the next selected firm. In this case if we
are unable to reach an agreement with Strand/IIW we could begin the RFP
process again.
8. Strand/IIW meets all of the qualifications given in the RFP and brings a strong
team to the project.
9. Water Pollution Control Plant staff will be working closely with Steve Brown,
Project Manager for the City of Dubuque, to assure that the contract
negotiated with Strand/IIW is fair, reasonable and in the best interest of the
City of Dubuque.
BUDGET IMPACT
The estimated construction cost is $45 million (4th quarter, 2009) with design and
construction services of approximately $2.6 million and $3.5 - $4.0 million respectively.
It is anticipated that the Water Pollution Control Plant Facility upgrades will be funded by
the State of Iowa Revolving Loan Fund.
ACTION STEP
I respectfully request that the City Council approve the selection of the team of Strand
Associates/IIW to provide engineering services for the design of the City of Dubuque's
Water Pollution Control Plant Facility upgrades and to authorize the City Manager to
negotiate a contract for this project.
cc: Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Ken TeKippe, Finance Director
Jonathan Brown, WPCP Manager
Deron Muehring, Civil Engineer
John Klosterman, Street and Sewer Maintenance Supervisor
Jenny Larson, Budget Director
Aaron DeJong, Economic Development Assistant Director
Bill Jungk, Assistant WPCP Manager
Steve Brown, Project Manager