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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIN-10-061 - Infrastructure Stimulus Project Update - April 2010REPORT REPORT TO: Councillor Berry Vrbanovic, Chair, and Members of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: April 12, 2010 SUBMITTED BY: Dan Chapman, General Manager of Financial Services and City Treasurer PREPARED BY: Jaya Chatterjee, Junior Financial Analyst, Financial Planning WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: April 7, 2010 REPORT NO.: FIN-10-061 SUBJECT: STIMULUS PROJECT UPDATE - APRIL 2010 RECOMMENDATION: That the Chief Administrative Officer be authorized to approve the commencement of the prequalification process and approval of awards to the prequalified vendors for Infrastructure Stimulus Fund and Recreation Infrastructure Canada Fund projects in instances where scheduling the matter for the next Council meeting would result in undue project delay, and that a report regarding these awards be brought to Council at a future meeting; and further, That the Director, Supply Services be authorized to extend current consultant purchase orders for Infrastructure Stimulus Fund and Recreation Infrastructure Canada Fund projects to incorporate the costs of applications for various City building/planning approvals which would normally be incurred directly by the City, including related construction management fees or the other administrative fees. BACKGROUND: This report is part of a series of bi-monthly updates to Finance and Corporate Services Committee on the status of the City’s Stimulus Funding Projects. This reflects a commitment to ensure that these infrastructure funds is spent in an open, transparent and accountable manner and that Council is afforded an opportunity to track the progress of these projects on a regular basis. REPORT: Section 1 – Project Status Update Appendix “A” provides a summary of project status and Appendix “B” depicts the progress towards completion of each project compared to the planned timeline. Since the previous report (February 8, 2010) many projects have made progress. Some projects have not advanced due to factors beyond the City’s control as discussed in this report or because of the time of year. ïì ó ï Several projects are behind schedule to some degree, but project managers have confirmed that each project can still be completed with the permitted time frame. In addition to the project status update mentioned in Appendix A & B, Council should be aware of the following issues related to various Stimulus fund projects: CAF King Street Reconstruction: As a result of clarification of the claims approval process Staff has requested an the amendment to the letter of offer to reduce the overall total project cost and increase the percentage proportion of the total project cost to be claimed. This change will not affect value of the City’s claim of $1,230,200 but will ensure that the value of this phase of the project aligns with the timeframes identified in the letter of offer. Bridgeport Community Centre: The lands upon which the Bridgeport Community Centre is situated are subject to GRCA and zoning controls in relation to the flood plain, which adds a layer of complexity to the project. Staff are currently in discussion with GRCA staff to resolve the flood plain issues and are pursuing the required zoning approvals through Committee of Adjustment, with the goal of finalizing these approvals and commencing construction by July of this year. City Hall Lighting: Most of the identified project activity is complete or underway. Currently the consultant is working on the development of tender for the Courtyard lighting. The estimate of the Courtyard lighting for the City hall is approximately $45,000, which leads to the total project cost incurred until date to approximately $550,000. Approximately $450,000 of the total project fund is remaining for which no task or project activity been identified, although Staff are preparing a proposal to the Province to expand the scope for the balance of the fund. Solar Roof: The OPA announced its first batch of FIT contracts to capacity allocated exempt project on March 10, 2010. OPA has informed that they will be releasing contract to non-capacity exempt project in early April 2010. Solar Roof is a non-capacity exempt project. In the interest of moving the project forward, Staff will bring a report to council for awarding the Conditional contract to the approved vendor for the design/ build tender subjected to OPA’s award of FIT contract and contract with Kitchener Wilmot Hydro. With improvement in the economy and the extent of Stimulus funds investment, response to the project tenders has been lower than normal on some recent closings. This also presents a risk of increasing project costs. Staff will manage the scope of the project to align to the estimated project cost. The City has been regularly submitting monthly claims for ISF projects and the CAF King Street reconstruction project since December 2009. Section 2 – Expedited Purchasing Measures Council has previously approved a number of purchasing measures to expedite projects receiving funds under the Infrastructure Stimulus Program, while still maintaining a fair, open, and transparent procurement process. The measures, along with comments on their utilization, are outlined in Appendix “C”. Council has previously delegated authority to the Chief Administrative Officer to award tenders on Infrastructure Stimulus Fund projects provided that the costs are within the projected expenses outlined in the applications and they are reported to Council by way of the bi-monthly update report. This authority has been granted to expedite projects, which must be completed under significant time constraints imposed by the Federal and Provincial governments. While this resolution provides authority for the CAO to award the tender, it does not provide explicit ïì ó î authority to approve prequalification of vendors related to Stimulus Fund projects where prequalification is used as a step in the procurement process. Staff have proposed a recommendation in this report to provide authority to the CAO to approve the prequalification of vendors in instances where waiting to schedule the item for the next Council meeting will result in undue project delay. As with tenders awarded by the CAO, these items would be reported to Council by way of the next bi-monthly project update report. Section 3 – Federal/Provincial Program Updates There are no program updates at this time. Section 4 – Other Information Planning and Building Approval Costs The City incurs costs for planning and building approvals in the form of site plan approval fees, building permit fees, etc. for stimulus fund projects. Since the cost incurred by the City is perceived to be an ineligible “in-house” cost, it is recommended that consultant purchase orders be extended to include these amounts so that the consultant may bill the cost as a project disbursement. This will reinforce the fact that these costs relate to the City’s planning and building approvals function, a cost unrelated to project management. RInC Application for Aquatic Facilities: The City has received the contribution agreement for the four approved aquatic facility projects. Staff is bringing forward a funding recommendation on April 12, 2010 for the City’s 1/3 share of the project costs. Part-Time Purchasing Clerk There are several Infrastructure Stimulus Fund projects that are yet to be tendered, including Centre in the Square, Harry Class Pool, Bridgeport Community Centre, Energy Management Systems, Accessibility Improvements and McLennan Park, and several contracts are yet to be executed. In order to keep the projects moving forward in a timely manner and ensure that contracts are in place and that the work can be completed prior to the end March 2011, Supply Services proposes to extend the temporary part time Purchasing Clerk to the end of August 2010. The Director will re-evaluate the position at that time to see if a further extension is required. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The cost to extend the part-time Purchasing Clerk to August 2010 is estimated to be $10,348 . and will be funded from capital contingency COMMUNICATION: To assist in ensuring the infrastructure stimulus funds are spent in an open, transparent and accountable manner, staff continues to implement the communications strategy that has been developed to assist in tracking the progress of all projects. The strategy contains various communications tools that will give residents an opportunity to follow the work that is underway on each project. ïì ó í Federal and provincial signage has now been installed at all project sites, recognizing federal and provincial funding support; only federal signage was required to be installed for the King Street reconstruction project, as it is supported by the federal Canada Adjustment Fund; Project-specific web pages, featuring an interactive map showing all project sites, is updated on a bi-monthly basis to ensure a user-friendly way for citizens to access information on each project. The web pages include background on each project, as well as status updates as they are provided by the project managers; Project progress continue to be included in every edition of Your Kitchener; this process will continue until the projects are complete; and Media releases and/or media events are planned for the completion of each project. ACKNOWLEDGED BY Dan Chapman, General Manager of Financial Services & City Treasurer ïì ó ì ïì ó ë ïì ó ê April 12, 2010 Utilization of Council-Approved Expedited Purchasing Measures Expedited Purchasing Measure Utilization The Mayor and Clerk are authorized to sign ISF Contribution agreements have been Provincial and Federal agreements as they received and executed after being reviewed by relate to the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund and the City Solicitor. CAF letter of offer has been the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Fund, received and executed by the City Solicitor. subject to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor. The first set of RInC contribution agreements have been received and executed after being reviewed by the City Solicitor. RInC contribution agreements for the recently approved four aquatic facility projects have been received and currently being reviewed by the City Solicitor. The Chief Administrative Officer is designated For Bridgeport Community Centre, expression to award tenders on Infrastructure Stimulus of interest for Consultant was awarded to th Fund projects provided that the costs are AECOM with CAO’s approval on Oct 20 within the projected expenses outlined in the 2009. Cost of the award is $218,925. Total applications and they are reported to Council budget of the project is $2,249,740. There is a by way of the bi-monthly update report. tight schedule for this project and a delay might jeopardize the project. Province confirmed funding for this project after a delay of almost 2 months. For Sewer and Watermain Rehabilitation project, expression of interest E09-100, Consultant Services – Rehabilitation of Infrastructure on Selected Streets Using Trenchless Technology has been awarded to Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, Waterloo th with CAO’s approval on December 14 2009. Cost of the award is $257,600., including a contingency of $22,400. and G.S.T. Consultants involved in the preliminary phases This measure has been effective at expediting be retained and the consultant selection the project timeline. process be waived for following projects mentioned below: McLennan Park – Walter Fedy Partnership CMF Improvements - Giffels Associates Limited/ IBI Group (Architect consulting services) CMF Improvements - Morrison Hershfield Limited (Mechanical and Electrical consulting services) CMF Improvements - Morrison Hershfield Limited (LEED consultant services) ïì ó é APPENDIX "C" STIMULUS PROJECT STATUS UPDATE April 12, 2010 For Consultant projects over $100,000, cost This measure has been effective at expediting information is to be included with the original the following projects: submission, the interview process is to be Storm Water - Infrastructure waived, and the selection will be based on the Rehabilitation original submissions. Bridgeport Community Centre – Architect Expression of Interest For Storm Water Infrastructure Rehabilitation This measure has been effective at expediting projects, involving drainage upgrades only will the project timeline. be delivered by general contractors under existing construction contracts through a standard change order process as per purchasing guidelines. That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to This measure will expedite the project timeline. execute a 'cost plus' agreement with Ball The City has received a verbal confirmation Construction for the completion of the design from the Federal government on this and construction of Sportsworld Arena approach. improvements to an upset limit of $900,000; said agreement to be to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor. The King Street reconstruction project be This measure has been effective at expediting delivered by general contractors and the project timeline. consultants under existing construction contracts and consulting contracts through a standard change order process as per purchasing guidelines. That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to This measure has been effective at expediting execute any amendments to Agreements the project timeline. pertaining to Projects for which funding is approved through the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Fund and the Community Adjustment Fund, if necessary, and provided said amendments are satisfactory to the City Solicitor. That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to This provision ensures that the Mayor and the execute any agreements pertaining to the Clerk have the authority to execute tenders awarded with respect to Infrastructure agreements for tenders awarded by the CAO. Stimulus Fund projects provided said agreements are satisfactory to the City Solicitor. ïì ó è