During the construction of the Empire Garage the City needs to have third-party testing conducted on some of the materials being used, specifically concrete, masonry, and steel welds.  This third party testing will include geotechnical testing services required for the construction of the 196,000 square foot Empire Parking Garage. Work shall include, but is not limited to, concrete strength, slump, air content, and temperature during placement. The work to be done will also include inspection of curing and placement practices, structural steel inspections in accordance with plans, mortar and grout prisms required for masonry construction, and compaction tests as needed on subgrade prior to concrete placement. All testing will be performed in accordance with all applicable codes and standards.

The City advertised a Request for Proposals (RFP) on February 7th and 14th, 2013.  The proposals were received by Staff on February 22nd, 2013, and reviewed by a selection committee on February 26th, 2013.  The following proposals were received and reviewed by the selection committee:

1.  Dowl HKM
2.  Terracon Consultants, Inc.
3.  Tetra Tech
4.  Rimrock Engineering

The selection committee evaluated all proposals and decided on two proposals that would be good candidates for this project.  The submitted price proposal was used to make the final decision. The selection committee choose the Tetra Tech, Inc. proposal based on unit price and their ability to self perform all necessary testing.

Council can take the following action:

1. Approve the agreement with Tetra Tech, Inc..

2. Reject the agreement with Tetra Tech, Inc. and award to a different RFP respondant.

3. Reject the agreement with Tetra Tech, Inc. and not award a contract.  Staff feels that this testing is essential to the Empire Garage construction schedule and any delays will delay all construction activities.

This work was anticipated and is included in the Empire Garage budget. This service will be paid for through existing funds in the Expanded N. 27th Tax Increment Fund and/or with revenues from the Empire Garage TIF bonds.

The contract amount is estimated to be $54,128 to $75,700.   The quantity of required testing can vary based on construction schedule and availability of materials.  The amount of required testing could be reduced if testing conducted in early stages of construction show a pattern of meeting all requirements.

Staff recommends Council approve the agreement with Tetra Tech, Inc. for an estimated maximum price of $75,700.