REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL January 26, 2017 FROM: THOMAS C. ESQUEDA, Director Department of Public Utilities THROUGH: KEVIN L. NORGAARD, PE, Supervising Professional Engineer Department of Public Utilities BY: SARAH AGUILA, Senior Engineering Technician Department of Public Utilities - Wastewater Management Division SUBJECT ..Title Reject all bids for Cleaning of Digesters #1 and #13 at the Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Bid File 3498) (Council District 3). ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends the City Council reject all bids received for Cleaning of Digesters #1 and #13 at the Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Facility). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Department of Public Utilities, Wastewater Management Division is seeking to reject all bids received for the Cleaning of Digesters #1 and #13 at the Facility. There was one bid submitted, the bid was 98.1% above the budget allocation. BACKGROUND The Fresno/Clovis Facility operates thirteen mesophilic anaerobic digesters. The digesters range in size from 860,000 to 1,870,000 gallons. The digesters are used in the treatment of the solids generated at the Facility to eliminate the pathogens and volatile organic compounds. Over the period of approximately seven years these digesters accumulate debris associated with the treatment (i.e. solids consisting of sludge, sand, plastics, and hair). This project will remove all the accumulated debris from the digesters and allow for the inspection of the interior surfaces for corrosion, wear, and structural stability. The debris will be screened and transported to an appropriate class landfill, and the sludge will be dewatered and processed along with the other dewatered bio solids from the facility. The interior of the digesters will be pressure washed and then inspected for any structural or coating issues. Plans and specifications were prepared for the project. A Notice Inviting Bids was published on November 21, 2016, and posted on the City's website. The specifications were distributed to five prospective bidders and faxed to ten Builder Exchanges. One sealed bid proposal was received and publicly opened on December 20, 2016. The bid proposal price was $584,539.00. The sole bid price is 98.1% above the bid price. Therefore all bids must be rejected and the project re-bid. An effort will be made to contact several digester cleaning companies to ascertain the reasons only one bid was received. Any appropriate modifications to the specifications or drawings will be made and the project will be readvertised. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, the rejection of all bids does not qualify as a "project", and is therefore exempt from the CEQA requirements. LOCAL PREFERENCE Local preference was not implemented because this item is rejecting all bids received for the Cleaning of Digesters #1 and #13 at the Facility. FISCAL IMPACT The rejection of all bids will result in no financial impact to the General Fund or Sewer Enterprise Fund. This project is identified in the five year capital improvement plan and is located in Council District 3. Attachment: Bid Evaluation