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Agenda No. 8.
CITY COUNCIL MEMORANDUM
| City Council Meeting: |
February 4, 2025 |
| Department: |
Engineering |
| Subject: |
Resolution 25-R-002 – Authorizing a professional services agreement with Unintech Consulting Engineers, Inc. for the design of the Boenig Drive Reconstruction Project (B. James/K. Woodlee/J. Nowak) |
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| BACKGROUND |
Boenig Drive started out as a County Road and later became part of the City of Schertz. The pavement section does not meet the current minimum standards for a City street. While the original pavement section served the community well for many years, as residential development occurred in the vicinity of the street, the pavement section began to deteriorate rapidly. The existing pavement section is not adequate to support the current traffic on the street. Additionally, the street is relatively narrow and should be widened slightly to provide for minimum driving lane widths.
Staff identified the need to improve Boenig some time ago, but funding was not available for the proposed improvements. Originally, Staff estimated, based on historical knowledge/recollection of the existing pavement section that the existing pavement section could be "salvaged" and the street "rehabilitated" with some minor widening. Until funding for a comprehensive improvement project could be secured, Public Works has performed various repairs to the street to keep it in serviceable condition. Previously, the City had geotechnical sampling done on Boenig and several other streets in the City to verify the current pavement sections and determine an appropriate course of action to improve them. The results of this analysis indicated that the existing section was less substantial than assumed and the street would need to be fully reconstructed.
In developing the scope of work for the project, Staff also noted that the current intersection of Boenig with Ware Seguin Road is less than ideal. This intersection is immediately adjacent to the Hallie Heights and Ware Seguin Road intersection and is located in a curve in Ware Seguin Rd. Since the street needed to be fully reconstructed, it would also be prudent to look at improving these intersections to make things function more efficiently and safely. The project scope includes analyzing these two intersections and reconstructing them to create a new, single intersection with Ware Seguin Rd. This project is included in the approved CIP and funding is available for it in this fiscal year.
With funding now available, Staff contacted one of the City's on-call Engineering Firms, Unintech, and requested they provide a scope and fee to design and create the bid package for this project. Staff has reviewed the scope and fee proposal for the project and has determined it is appropriate for the design and bid package development for the project. Staff recommends City Council authorize the City Manager to execute the attached Task Order for the design and bid package creation for the project. |
| GOAL |
| Have Council Authorize the City Manager to execute a Task Order for Unintech for design and bid package for the Boenig Drive Reconstruction project. |
| COMMUNITY BENEFIT |
| Reconstruction of the Boenig from Ware Seguin Road to Graytown Road will provide a wider, stronger pavement section. The stronger pavement section will be sufficient to handle the traffic on the street. The new street will be smoother and provide for better vehicle travel down the street. The Public Works Department will not need to perform additional, multiple repairs as they have had to on the existing section to keep the street "serviceable" to residents. Overall, access to the residential subdivisions along this section of Boenig Drive will be improved. Modifying the intersections of Hallei Heights and Boenig into a single intersection will provide for safer, more efficient access to Ware Seguin Road. |
| SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED ACTION |
| Approval of the Task Order with Unintech Consulting Engineers for $267,312.00 and a not to exceed amount of $290,00.00 for the Boenig Drive Reconstruction project. |
| FISCAL IMPACT |
| Funding for the Task Order is available from Bond proceeds earmarked for streets. In the approved CIP, there is $1,600,000.00 of Bond proceeds allocated to this project. The recommended not to exceed design cost of $290,000.00 leaves $1,310,000.00 for construction. The preliminary construction estimate provided by Unintech with their scope and fee proposal is about $2,951,000.00. This indicates we will likely need more funding for construction of the project. The large difference between what Staff estimated and Unitech's estimate is likely due to increased construction costs from when Staff's estimate was created and differences in construction scope between what Staff Assumed and Unintech assumed. During the design process, any differences in construction scope will be resolved and more accurate construction cost estimates will be created. As part of the normal CIP review and update process, Staff will identify if additional funding can be allocated to this project for construction due to other projects being delayed or construction of this project needs to be delayed in order to secure additional funding for it. |
| RECOMMENDATION |
| Approval of Resolution 25-R-002. |
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