Consider Recommendation to City Council Accepting Quotes and Awarding Contract for 16660 Jasper Street Drainage Improvements, Improvement Project 19-13

Purpose:
The purpose of this case is to consider a recommendation to City Council accepting quotes and awarding a construction contract for 16660 Jasper Street Drainage Improvements, Improvement Project 19-13.

Background:
The property owner at 16660 Jasper Street first contacted Staff regarding general drainage concerns when the Brookfield residential development planning process began.  The property owner was generally concerned that stormwater runoff would no longer be able to freely drain from the northwest corner of his property to the west as it had always done.  At the time, the property owner was assured that the new development could and would not negatively impact drainage from his property.
 
When Brookfield 2^nd Addition was constructed, the property owner informed Staff that when grading was completed for the new home at 16725 Limonite Street NW, stormwater runoff was blocked from freely draining from the northwest corner of his lot.  Attached are the As-built Certificate and Modified Certificate of Survey for 16725 Limonite Street NW (Lot 1, Block 5 Brookfield 2nd Addition), as well as contours for this and surrounding properties both pre and post development.  Based on the modified Certificate of Survey, drainage of the low point was proposed to be accommodated across the rear of Lot 1, Block 5 by grading a drainage swale with a 2% longitudinal slope, which was staked for construction on November 19, 2007, as called out in note 8 but was never graded.
 
Staff has been working with Capstone Homes and the property owner at 16660 Jasper Street to resolve this issue for many, many years.  In 2018, Capstone Homes informed City Staff that they did not think it was reasonable to ask Capstone to be responsible for this issue based on the length of time that had passed and that the as-built was apparently approved.  Since then, City Staff developed the attached plan to resolve this drainage issue, which the property owner has reviewed and approved.  In summary, a small plastic catch basin with a metal “beehive” grate on top is proposed to be constructed in the low point in the northwest corner of 16660 Jasper Street.  This will drain into a 4-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe that will be installed using a directional drill.  The 4” HDPE pipe will connect to a new manhole constructed over the end of an existing storm sewer stub that was constructed between the properties at 16725 Limonite Street NW and 7078 167th Avenue NW.  These drainage improvements will provide positive drainage for the low-lying area on 16660 Jasper Street, and will prevent runoff from ponding in the low-lying area and killing the native plants that were specially planted by the property owner.
 
All work is proposed to be completed within existing drainage easements on the Brookfield properties, and within a temporary construction easement along the NW corner of 16660 Jasper Street, which the property owner has agreed to provide at no cost to the City.  The City will not need additional permanent easements to complete this work, or to maintain it as the property owner has committed to maintaining the improvements in perpetuity.
 
This project is proposed to be completed in 2020 and based on the current bid environment Staff anticipated receiving good quotes.  Following Council approval, Requests for Quotes were submitted to three local contractors with a quote due date of September 10th.  Only one contractor submitted a quote for the work.  Staff estimated construction costs for this project at $16,600 based on the final plans and specifications.  The quote received from Dryden Excavating, Inc. is in the amount of $13,929.29, which Staff believes is a very reasonable quote and should be accepted, even if it is the only quote that was received.    

Staff estimates 5 to 10 minutes will be required for presentation and discussion of this case.   

Observations:
During the August Public Works Committee meeting, Staff was directed to check whether the City has errors and omissions insurance that could cover costs for these improvements, or any improvements needed to correct drainage issues caused by a builder or developer not constructing what they were required to, and/or caused by the City not catching that the builder or developer did not construct what they were required to.  Staff is having ongoing discussions on this topic with the City’s insurance agent and expects to provide a response to the Committee during the meeting.
 
On September 22nd Staff intends to request that the City Council accept the quote and award a construction contract.
 
Alternatives:
Alternative #1: Motion to recommend that the City Council accept the quote and award a construction contract for 16660 Jasper Street Drainage Improvements, Improvement Project 19-13, to Dryden Excavating, Inc., in the amount of $13,929.29. 

Alternative #2: Motion of other. 

Construction staking and inspections are proposed to be completed by City Staff as part of Staff’s regular duties.

All project costs are proposed to be split evenly between the Stormwater Management and Stormwater Utility Funds, both of which have sufficient funds to cover the costs.

Staff recommends alternative #1. 

Motion to recommend that the City Council accept the quote and award a construction contract for 16660 Jasper Street Drainage Improvements, Improvement Project 19-13, to Dryden Excavating, Inc., in the amount of $13,929.29.