Soledad approves $787,169 contract to modernize Community Center
April 09, 2024 | Soledad City, Monterey County, California
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The Soledad City Council unanimously authorized a construction contract on April 9 to modernize the Soledad Community Center, awarding the base bid to David Construction and Management, Inc. for $749,685.13 plus a 5% contingency for a total not to exceed $787,169 and directed the city manager to execute the agreement.
City staff described the center — built in 1993 — as requiring a broad overhaul including kitchen upgrades to meet current health standards, improvements to the gym and stage, new lighting and HVAC, and accessibility work. The solicitation was advertised on PlanetBids with a March 21, 2024 closing date; staff reported the city received one qualified bid from David Construction and Management and recommended awarding the base bid with contingency to preserve schedule and budget flexibility.
Alex (staff member) told the council the single-bid outcome and higher-than-estimated final figures were consistent with trends elsewhere. "We only received 1 bid from David, construction and management in the amount of that $7.49 $6.85," Alex said on the record. In response to council questions he explained outreach practices: solicitations go through the third-party PlanetBids site, the city reaches out directly to local firms, and notices are placed in the local newspaper.
On rising project costs, Alex attributed part of the discrepancy to pandemic-era supply-chain disruptions and long lead times. "When we had, the COVID 19 pandemic hit, a lot of prop construction projects were put at a stand standstill. And for that reason, once we opened it back up, we were getting a lot of construction projects... we stopped, receiving a lot of materials overseas, and there's been a backlog," he said.
Council members also discussed timing and funding. The presiding official noted the project is funded with ARPA dollars and that the contract completion window of about 240 days would carry the project into November; "since we've already procured the funding, it won't impact our ARPA dollars," the presiding official said. The council then voted by voice and approved the resolution to award the contract.
The contract award and contingency were the only items on the special meeting agenda; the council adjourned at 7:13 p.m.
City staff described the center — built in 1993 — as requiring a broad overhaul including kitchen upgrades to meet current health standards, improvements to the gym and stage, new lighting and HVAC, and accessibility work. The solicitation was advertised on PlanetBids with a March 21, 2024 closing date; staff reported the city received one qualified bid from David Construction and Management and recommended awarding the base bid with contingency to preserve schedule and budget flexibility.
Alex (staff member) told the council the single-bid outcome and higher-than-estimated final figures were consistent with trends elsewhere. "We only received 1 bid from David, construction and management in the amount of that $7.49 $6.85," Alex said on the record. In response to council questions he explained outreach practices: solicitations go through the third-party PlanetBids site, the city reaches out directly to local firms, and notices are placed in the local newspaper.
On rising project costs, Alex attributed part of the discrepancy to pandemic-era supply-chain disruptions and long lead times. "When we had, the COVID 19 pandemic hit, a lot of prop construction projects were put at a stand standstill. And for that reason, once we opened it back up, we were getting a lot of construction projects... we stopped, receiving a lot of materials overseas, and there's been a backlog," he said.
Council members also discussed timing and funding. The presiding official noted the project is funded with ARPA dollars and that the contract completion window of about 240 days would carry the project into November; "since we've already procured the funding, it won't impact our ARPA dollars," the presiding official said. The council then voted by voice and approved the resolution to award the contract.
The contract award and contingency were the only items on the special meeting agenda; the council adjourned at 7:13 p.m.
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