Title
143rd and LaGrange Road Intersection Improvement Project - Bid Award: F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielson
History
Following the process that Staff had established for the advertisement and opening of bids for the 143rd Street and LaGrange Road Intersection Improvement Project (the Project), on January 14, 2011, bids for the Project were opened at 11:00 a.m. by the Village Clerk and read aloud at the Orland Park Civic Center.
The advertisement and bidding process allowed each bidder to provide a Base Bid and up to six (6) Alternate Bids within the bid packages. These Alternate Bids provided the Contractor an opportunity to provide alternate materials or fixtures that varied from the plans and specifications developed by the Village and called out for the project. Alternate Bids also allow the contractor to propose options for the Village’s consideration so similar products could be given consideration thereby creating competition among the contractor’s selected product manufacturers and vendors.
Alternate Bid items provide a great benefit to the Village by allowing the Village to “Value Engineer” each bid, as the Village has an opportunity to “pick and choose” the Alternate item or combination of Alternates items that best suits the Village’s needs.
There were six bids received, with the average of the bids being $11,748,931.52. The base bids ranged from a high of $13,739,410.31 to the low bid of $10,231,123.74 which was submitted by the apparent low bidder, F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates, LLC (Paschen). The Paschen bid was $802,557.10 below the next lowest bidder, Lorig Construction Company.
The bids of the two lowest bidders were thoroughly checked and no arithmetic errors were found in either bid. Staff and V3 Consulting Engineers also reviewed the bids against the average of the bids received as well as the Engineer’s Opinion of Probable Construction Cost ($13,366,394.04 with all Alternates) developed for the project. The results of this review were contained within the spreadsheet which was attached to the February 7, 2011, Committee Item as Exhibit 1.
There are several items of note that were called to the Village’s attention during the bid review meeting held January 21, 2011, which were also included within the Engineer’s Memorandum as Exhibit 2 (attached to the February 7, 2011, Committee Item). However, none of these items will change the amount of the bid and, therefore, have no impact on Staff’s recommendation of award.
All bidders were required to provide a list of references for Staff's review. Paschen listed references from the Illinois Tollway, the Illinois Department of Transportation and the City of Chicago in their bid. The references were not contacted since both Village Staff and the Project Engineer (V3 and their staff) have extensive experience with Paschen and Paschen is well known in the construction industry as a quality contractor.
As outlined in the Project Engineer’s Letter of Recommendation (Exhibit 3) and based upon research and past experience, both Staff and the Project Engineer find that Paschen is well qualified to perform the work required to complete the referenced construction project. It is our joint recommendation to recommend the award of the construction contract for the Project to F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates, LLC in the amount of $10,231,123.74 (base bid).
In addition, we recommend that the following Alternates totaling $300,079 also be awarded to Paschen in the following amounts:
Alternate #1 - Substitute Clay Pavers for Concrete Pavers ($ 6,753.50) (deduct)
Alternate #3 - Masonry Columns, additional locations $ 88,720.00 (add)
Alternate #5 - Ornamental Fence, additional locations $ 81,707.50 (add)
Alternate #6 - Structural Soil Material $118,405.00 (add)
The total recommended award amount to Paschen including the base bid and Alternates 1, 3, 5 & 6 is $10,531,202.74.
Staff also recommends the inclusion of a construction budget contingency fund in the amount of approximately 5% of the base bid ($525,000) for Change Orders.
Staff recommends that the total construction budget amount be set at a not-to-exceed value of $11,056,202.74 which includes the base bid, Alternates 1, 3, 5 and 6, and a Contingency Fund.
On February 7, 2011, this item was reviewed and approved by the Public Works and Engineering Committee and referred to the Board for approval.
INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED AS PART OF THE FEBRUARY 7, 2011, PUBLIC WORKS AND ENGINEERING COMMITTEE PACKET.
Financial Impact
Funds required for this Project were approved in the Fiscal Year 2011 Capital Improvement Fund Budget in an amount of $13,079,682.
Recommended Action/Motion
I move to approve awarding the bid for the 143rd Street and LaGrange Road Intersection Improvement Project to F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates, LLC in the amount of $10,231,123.74;
And
Approve awarding Alternates Bids 1, 3, 5 and 6 presented with the Paschen bid totaling $300,079.00;
And
Approve authorizing the Village Manager to enter into a contract with F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates, LLC in an amount not to exceed $10,531,202.74 as provided in their January 14, 2011, bid including Alternate 1, 3, 5 and 6;
And
Approve authorizing the Village Manager to execute the agreement.
And
Approve a Contingency Fund in an amount not to exceed $525,000 be included in this funding authorization bringing the total construction budget to a not-to-exceed amount of $11,056,202.74.
11,056,202.74.