TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF JUNE 19, 2008
COMMITTEE ON PURCHASING
Mr. Richard Lanyon, General Superintendent
Title
Issue purchase order and enter into an agreement with RMT, Inc., for professional environmental engineering services including: Phase I environmental site assessments and Phase II environmental site investigations for a three-year period, in an amount not exceed $450,000.00, Account 101-15000-601170, Requisition 1243844
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with RMT, Inc., for professional environmental engineering services including: Phase I environmental site assessments and Phase II environmental site investigations for a three-year period.
District policy requires that prior to the leasing of vacant District property, and prior to the end of current District leases, proper environmental assessments/investigations must be performed on all affected properties.
The scope of the Phase I portion of these professional engineering services include the following:
Performing Phase I Environmental Site Assessments for both vacant and industrialized MWRDGC properties in accordance with all applicable and appropriate standards;
Identifying any Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs) on the properties that are assessed;
Providing a written report documenting what services were performed and what was found; and
Providing recommendations to the MWRDGC regarding additional Phase II Environmental Site Investigation work that may be needed at the properties that are assessed.
The scope of the Phase II portion of these professional engineering services includes the following:
Providing a recommended scope for initial Phase II Site Investigation activities to further examine RECs identified by previous Phase I assessments;
Performing those recommended Phase II activities that are approved by the MWRDGC in accordance with all applicable and appropriate standards;
Providing a report summarizing the results of the Phase II activities that are performed;
Providing recommendations to the MWRDGC regarding additional Phase II work that may be needed based on the results of the initial investigation;
Performing additional iterations of recommendations and Phase II work, as needed, to resolve the RECs identified; and
Other environmental consulting activities (i.e., operating site inspections, remedial options evaluations, preliminary remedial design and costing, etc.), as needed and tasked by the MWRDGC.
The continued use of outside consultants (with adequate staff and comprehensive experience) to perform these professional environmental services on a task-order basis under separate, long-term contracts will ensure that the needed data will continue to be gathered and evaluated, and summary reports prepared, in a timely manner. These three-year contracts save a great deal of in-house District costs by eliminating the need for District staff to go through a separate professional services procurement process for each District parcel requiring environmental assessment or investigation. The ultimate goals are to expedite the gathering of the required information, help facilitate the Real Estate Section's efforts to market the District's properties for lease, and manage the District's liabilities as they relate to the environmental contamination of the District's leased property by tenants. The areas of expertise required for this work include civil and environmental engineering design, analysis, and evaluation; and surveying.
The total funds included in this task order contract for Phase I and II environmental engineering consulting work is $450,000.00.
The Agreement shall expire upon the expenditure of the $450,000.00 or three years from the date of the award of the Agreement by the District's Board of Commissioners, whichever comes first. The District reserves the right to extend the time of this Agreement by written concurrence with RMT, Inc. if the entire total fee of $450,000.00 has not been expended or by increasing the total fee, if that entire total fee has been expended.
When each District Task Order is received by RMT, Inc., RMT, Inc. will prepare a cost estimate to provide the services requested and submit the cost estimate to the District for review and approval. Once the District’s approval of each Task Order is received by RMT, Inc., RMT, Inc. will proceed to complete the specified work. The work specified in each Task Order will include a draft report to be submitted by RMT, Inc. for review, comment, and approval by the District. Once the draft report has been approved by the District, a Final Report will be produced by RMT, Inc. for each Task Order.
Eight consulting firms were extended invitations to interview for the two agreements that are anticipated to be awarded: ARCADIS U.S., Inc., Carlson Environmental, Inc., ENSR, GeoSyntec Consultants, KPRG and Associates, Inc., RMT, Inc., Tetra Tech EM Inc., and Weaver Boos Consultants North Central, LLC. All eight firms accepted the invitation to interview and were interviewed by the Selection Advisory Committee, which consisted of District personnel.
While all eight firms had experience in this type of environmental engineering work, the committee felt that the top two firms Carlson Environmental, Inc. and RMT, Inc. were better than the other six because they assembled better teams for the work and provided better work plans for completing the types of work to be awarded through these agreements. Two agreements are being awarded for two reasons: 1) To split up the available work and 2) To help ensure against possible conflict-of-interest issues between the chosen consultants, the District, and the District's tenants.
The firms of Grace Analytical Laboratory, Inc. and Hi-Tek Environmental, Inc. d/b/a Stat-Analysis Corporation are Minority Business Enterprises. Grace Analytical Laboratory, Inc. is also a Small Business Enterprise. Hygieneering, Inc. is a Woman Business Enterprise.
The selected firms will actively participate in providing services required by the Agreement. The above Protected Class Enterprises (PCE) will receive reimbursement on the basis of a fair percentage of work completed in relation to the full scope of the subcontractor’s contracted services as established in the task-order contract with the consultant. The anticipated total subcontract value for the firm of Grace Analytical Laboratory, Inc. is $45,000.00 which is 10% of the Agreement value. The anticipated total subcontract value for the firm of Hygieneering, Inc. is also $45,000.00 which is 10% of the total Agreement value. The anticipated total subcontract value for the firm of Hi-Tek Environmental, Inc. d/b/a Stat-Analysis Corporation is also $45,000.00 which is also 10% of the total Agreement value.
The Affirmative Action Section has reviewed the agreement and has concluded that RMT, Inc. is in accordance with the District’s Affirmative Action Policy. The Agreement has also been approved by the Law Department as to form and legality.
In as much as the firm of RMT, Inc. possesses a high degree of professional skill, it is recommended that the Purchasing Agent be authorized to issue a Purchase Order and enter into an Agreement without advertising, per Section 11.4 of the Purchasing Act, an amount not to exceed $450,000.00.
Funds for the 2008 expenditures in the amount of $75,000.00 are available in Account Number 101-15000-601170, Corporate Fund. The estimated expenditures for 2009 are $150,000.00, for 2010 are $150,000.00, and for 2011 are $75,000.00. Funds for the 2009, 2010, and 2011 expenditures are contingent on the Board of Commissioners’ approval of the District’s budget for those years.
Requested, Edmund J. Cook, Deputy Chief Engineer, EJC:MJL
Recommended, Darlene A. LoCascio, Purchasing Agent
Respectfully Submitted, Barbara J. McGowan, Chairman Committee on Purchasing
ORDERED passed by affirmative roll call vote of a majority of the Commissioners present this June 19, 2008. Approved, President Terrence J. O’Brien