The Downtown Billings Tax Increment District has allocated funds for a project to improve/upgrade nine traffic signal systems in the Central Business District.  City staff feels a Design-Build (DB) contract delivery is best suited for this project because it allows for the contractor to inject valuable experience and expertise into the design end of the contract.  This knowledge will allow for the design to maximize the TIFD funds and minimize the construction impact to the traveling public.  In order to proceed with a Design-Build contract delivery, the City Council must authorize use of the alternate delivery method.

City staff analyzed delivering this contract with a typical Design-Bid-Build (DBB) contract. Various negative impacts stood out with the traditional contract method:

• Traffic signal poles can take as long as 12 weeks to be delivered. By authorizing the DB contract, the contractor can order the poles while the design is underway.
• A DBB contract eliminates the valuable input from the contractor. By allowing the contractor to provide his input through the DB method, value engineering can be used to maximize the funding and decrease the impact to the traveling public.

As such, City staff feels that a DB contract delivery method is the best suited for this project.

The City Council may:

• Authorize the Mayor to sign the Resolution to allow the Design-Build contract; or
• Do not authorize the Mayor to sign the Resolution to allow the Design-Build contract.

The Downtown Signal Improvements project will be paid for through the Downtown Business Partnership's Tax Increment Fund.  The Resolution does not carry any direct financial impacts.  However, by not authorizing the DB contract delivery, the City of Billings risks losing cost savings that may be realized through earlier ordering of materials and value engineering added by the DB team.

In 2005, the Montana Legislature created an alternative project delivery contract process for certain construction projects of state agencies and certain local governments. The legislation established requirements that must be met in order to use an alternative project delivery contract, including a written justification.  City staff feels that the Downtown Signal Improvement project justifies the use of this process, as set forth in the attached Resolution.