Consideration and Approval of Contract:  Approve the Contract for the Purchase of Materials/Services with Southwest Tank and Steel, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $353,518 for water storage tank maintenance and painting. 
 

1. Approve the Contract for the Purchase of Materials/Services with Southwest Tank and Steel, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $353,518 for water storage tank maintenance and painting; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents.

Flagstaff Water Services relies on storage tanks for both potable and reclaim water distribution systems to provide pressure and volume. Steel tanks are typically found above ground where they are subject to the elements and require periodic maintenance or painting. Water Production identified three of its potable water storage tanks in service requiring attention or maintenance for this solicitation:  Railroad Springs #1, Kinlani and Woody Mountain Booster Station Forebay tanks. In addition, the Buffalo Park reclaim water storage tank was added to the project ahead of a Beautification effort to add a mural to the tank. This type of project requires specific skills from professional painting contractors.

Flagstaff Water Services budgeted for this Tank Maintenance Project in fiscal year 2024 in account 202-08-370-3535-0-4465 and Beautification budgeted for the base paint prior to the mural application in fiscal year 2025 in account 051-07-212-3419-5-4433.

Prior to this solicitation the most recent tank maintenance project involving a potable water storage tank was the Lake Mary Water Treatment Plant Backwash Tower approved by council in June of 2022.

1. Approve the Contract for Materials/Services with Southwest Tank and Steel, Inc. in the amount of $353,518; or
2. Do not approve the Contract for Materials/Services with Southwest Tank and Steel, Inc. and direct staff to conduct another solicitation for the painting project(s). Staff does not recommend this option as the current solicitation was very successful; or
3. Reject any maintenance and painting of potable and reclaim water storage tanks and direct staff to decommission the associated tanks entirely and replace them with new tanks. Staff does not recommend this option as there will be significant additional costs.

Flagstaff Water Services relies on storage tanks within both potable and reclaim water systems. These tanks are used to provide both pressure and supply/volume to the respective distribution systems. These tanks are typically composed of concrete or steel and can be either subterranean (buried) or above ground and can range in volume from tens of thousands of gallons to tens of millions (20,000 to 12,000,000 gallons). The potable water system and its sources include about 24 of these water storage tanks. In most cases, above ground storage tanks are steel and require occasional or routine maintenance or painting due to their exposure to the elements. Without proper maintenance steel surfaces can become exposed which leads to rusting, loss of metal and potential failure of the tank integrity leading to much more costly repairs or replacements.  Tank maintenance is the best practice at ensuring maximum asset lifespan and water quality within water storage tanks. 

The potable water tanks included in this Contract are Railroad Springs #1 (1 million gallons in volume (1MG)), constructed in 2002; Kinlani (156KG), constructed in 1990; and the Woody Mountain Booster Station Forebay (60KG), constructed in 1975.  Additionally, the Buffalo Park tank (2MG), built in 1959 and now part of the reclaim water distribution system was included in the solicitation ahead of a mural project funded by BBB funds in order to provide an ideal substrate, appearance and lifespan of a mural to come and also provide maintenance of the tank. 

On April 12 Purchasing staff posted an Invitation for Bids solicitation on the Planet Bids website and also advertised the solicitation in the Arizona Daily Sun newspaper. On May 10 the City received eight (8) bids from bidders and after review Southwest Tank and Steel, Inc. was deemed the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. The bids received from the City were as follows:

• Southwest Tank and Steel           $353,518.00
• Viking Painting, LLC                    $424,300.00
• Riley Industrial Services, Inc.      $433,724.00
• Revolution Industrial                    $553,070.67
• PPS Coatings                              $608,200.00
• TMI Coatings                               $655,500.00
• MMI Tank & Industrial Services   $677,537.00
• Utility Service Co, Inc.                 $957,181.58

1. Safe & Healthy Community
2. Sustainable and Innovative Infrastructure:  Deliver outstanding services to residents through a health, well-maintained infrastructure system.

1. CR-1:  Strengthen existing community systems to create resilience to both short-term shocks and long-term change.
2. WS-1:  Improve water infrastructure and expand water reuse.

None.

1. Objective 5:  Accelerate Infrastructure Mainenance and Replacement
2. Objective 6:  Ensure Adequate Water Resources and Plan for Climate Change
3. Objective 7:  Maintain Excellent Water Quality