FROM: James D. Herberg, General Manager
Originator: Kathy Millea, Director of Engineering
SUBJECT:
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A-SIDE PRIMARY TREATMENT CLARIFIERS REPLACEMENT AT PLANT NO. 2, PROJECT NO. P2-98A
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GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
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RECOMMENDATION: Recommend to the Board of Directors to:
Adopt Resolution No. OCSD 20-XX entitled, “A Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Sanitation District, making findings pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 3400 in support of the Sole Source Specification of Hallsten Corporation, manufacturer of Truss Supported Flat Aluminum Covers for A-Side Primary Clarifiers Replacement at Plant No. 2, Project No. P2-98A, as part of Primary Treatment Rehabilitation at Plant No. 2, Project No. P2-98”.
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BACKGROUND
Orange County Sanitation District’s (Sanitation District) primary clarifiers are used to remove suspended solids before biological treatment and can be a significant source of odors. The existing primary treatment system at Plant No. 2 consists of 14 circular clarifiers. The clarifiers are covered with geodesic domes to capture foul air for treatment at two large foul air treatment facilities.
A-Side Primary Clarifiers Replacement at Plant No. 2, Project No. P2-98A, will demolish four existing primary clarifiers, a power building, and an air treatment facility, and will construct four new primary clarifiers with flat covers, a new odor control and chemical facility, a new electrical distribution center building, and ancillary facilities and utilities.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
• Ensure the public’s money is wisely spent
• Comply with Public Contract Code Section 3400
• Comply with OCSD Policy - Purchasing Ordinance No. OCSD-52, Section 1.07.A Sole Source Procurement
PROBLEM
The primary clarifiers must be covered to capture foul air. Operations staff, however, need access to the water surface for visual observation and to take daily samples. The two options for the cover are a dome and a flat cover system. With dome covers, operations staff must walk into the dome, which requires a minimum level of ventilation. The higher air flow requires larger foul air treatment facilities. Flat covers do not require staff entry, so ventilation and foul air treatment requirements are much lower. To provide access to the water surface, however, hinged panels are required.
The design consultant and staff have completed an extensive evaluation of cover options by reviewing similar projects, site visits of other facilities, and literature research. Flat covers have the lowest life cycle cost because they require the smallest amount of air volume to be treated through an odor control system.
The design consultant and staff met with several flat cover manufacturers and determined that Hallsten Corporation (Hallsten) is the only manufacturer that has a proven configuration to provide hinged panels over the entire clarifier water surface. Other manufacturers’ systems allow for individual panels to be lifted and removed, but not with a hinge in all areas. For access, each panel must be unscrewed from their supporting trusses prior to removal. Hallsten’s cover system utilizes a unique patented hinge arrangement that can be applied to every panel of the cover system, thereby allowing for all panels to be openable by a single person.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Adopt a resolution supporting the sole sourcing of the flat cover system as provided by Hallsten.
Hallsten has committed to furnish the materials for approximately $5.3 million. The design consultant and staff have reviewed cost information provided by Hallsten from other projects and have concluded that the proposed cost is fair and reasonable.
TIMING CONCERNS
Without this sole source approval, staff cannot advertise this project for bids. That would delay the start of construction and potentially result in construction cost escalation.
RAMIFICATIONS OF NOT TAKING ACTION
Not selecting Hallsten as a sole source manufacturer will require the specifications be modified to allow other flat cover systems to bid. This would likely result in a flat cover system that does not have full access to the water surface, which would significantly impair the ability of the operations staff to monitor and optimize the performance of the clarifiers. There may also be safety implications if staff attempt to open panels without appropriate hinging.
PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS
N/A
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
N/A
CEQA
The project is exempt from CEQA under the Class 2 categorical exemptions set forth in California Code of Regulations sections 15302 because the project involves replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure replaced will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced. A Notice of Exemption was filed with the OC Clerk-Recorder on April 26, 2018 and the Sanitation District’s Board of Directors approved the Professional Services Design Agreement on July 7, 2016.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
This request complies with authority levels of the Sanitation District’s Purchasing Ordinance. This item has been budgeted (Adopted Budget Fiscal Years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, Section 8, Page 82) and the budget is sufficient for the recommended action.
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s) may be viewed on-line at the OCSD website (www.ocsd.com) with the complete agenda package:
• Resolution No. OCSD 20-XX
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