Agenda Date: 04/15/2025
Subject:
Title
Resolution 29-2025: Approving a Professional Services Agreement between the City of Littleton and HDR Engineering, Inc. for owner’s representative services on the Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue Operational Improvements Project, City Project No. 20-22
Body
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From: |
James L. Becklenberg, City Manager |
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Prepared by: |
Brent Soderlin, Director of Public Works & Utilities |
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Brent Thompson, City Engineer |
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Matthew Matuszewski, CIP Manager |
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Presentations: |
N/A |
PURPOSE:
Does city council support approval of a Professional Services Agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc. for owner’s representative services on the Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue Operational Improvement Project, City Project No. 20-22?
LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED:
Safe Community; High-Quality Governance
DISCUSSION:
On January 17, 2025, The City of Littleton issued a Request for Proposals for consultant professional services to provide construction management oversight and serve as the city’s (owner’s) representative during the construction of the Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue Operational Improvements Project. Staff reviewed the four proposals received and delivered their scoring and comments to the city’s procurement manager. Upon review of the compiled results, HDR Engineering, Inc. was the most qualified proposer. HDR Engineering is the designer for this project. Due to regulations for projects involving Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), if the design engineer is also selected to manage construction on the project, a waiver must be acquired from the CDOT Chief Engineer. This waiver was approved by CDOT on March 25, 2025.
Responsibilities of an owner’s representative are:
• Hosting all project meetings from conception through completion for the project.
• Reviewing and maintaining the project baseline schedule and monthly updated schedules.
• Reviewing and compiling documentation pertaining to Build America Buy America, Equal Employment Opportunity certification.
• Performing inspection and documentation of daily construction, managing materials testing, as well as completing quality assurance measures.
• Verifying quantities and creating payment applications for the contractor.
• Submitting payment reimbursement from CDOT.
• Reviewing and responding to all requests for information, submittal reviews, safety critical aspects and plans, change order requests, environmental and stormwater permitting, inspecting traffic and erosion control at the site.
• Reviewing the communications plans and updates for acceptance by city staff.
• Reviewing all documentation provided to perform final acceptance and closeout of the project.
Execution of this contract would authorize the oversight and representative services for the Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue Operational Improvements Project and would employ all services outlined within the attached proposal at the proposed cost. Staff have reviewed the submitted proposals and find the HDR Engineering has the background, skills, qualifications, and ability to provide high-quality owner’s representative services on the Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue Operational Improvements Project.
The project construction is anticipated to begin in the summer of 2025 and will continue approximately 24 months into 2027.
BACKGROUND:
The Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue intersection is identified, as in the Transportation Master Plan, as one of the most congested and highest crash intersections within the city. The Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue Operational Improvements project will relieve congestion at this intersection by transforming it into a quadrant road intersection. A quadrant intersection configuration removes the left turns from the intersection, redirecting these movements on to a supplemental (quadrant) road, and allows all the traffic signal green time for through movements either northbound-southbound on Santa Fe Drive or eastbound-westbound on Mineral Avenue. The anticipated result will be a reduction in congestion and the number of accidents.
In 2019, the City of Littleton submitted a grant application for the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) administered by the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) for the design and construction of operational improvements at the Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue intersection. The city was successful in securing grant funding in the amount of $17.742M being provided through TIP and from CDOT in support of the project improving a state highway (US 85).
In 2021, the city solicited a Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) for the design of the Santa Fe & Mineral Operational Improvements Project. After reviewing all proposals submitted, HDR Engineering was selected as the most qualified to complete the design of the quadrant road and lead collaboration with multiple stakeholders, including two developments to the southwest of the project, the Regional Transportation District (RTD), CDOT, and South Suburban Parks and Recreation District. Design of the project started in June 2021 and completed in January 2025. The design was informed by extensive analysis and stakeholder and community input.
With the project now transitioning into construction, the city’s procurement of an owner’s representative will ensure the project is successfully delivered and meets Federal and State requirements due to the funding source. The extent of the solicited services is a much greater scale than the majority of capital projects undertaken by the city and requires additional capacity, greater than what can be provided by the existing staff. Using consulting services for complex construction projects, particularly with federal funding involved, allows staff to focus on overall project and programmatic efforts.
Prior Actions or Discussions
The Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue Operational Improvements Project has been discussed many times with City Council over several years, however, there has been no specific action regarding procurement of owner’s representative services.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
The City of Littleton will utilize the services as described above and in the proposal at a proposed price of $2,299,974. This cost will be funded through the 3A Sales Tax Capital Improvement Fund. Pursuant to the City’s Procurement Policy, all contracts exceeding $500,000 must be approved by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the Professional Services Agreement.
ALTERNATIVES:
Without these additional consultant representative services, the city would be unable to manage a project of this size and scope. Current staff resources are limited and not able to undertake construction management oversight responsibilities for a large capital improvement project. The lack of available internal resource capacity for project oversight and management could result in deficiencies in key activities such as project documentation that do not meet CDOT reporting standards, and therefore the city could become ineligible for reimbursement from CDOT. Anything that impacts grant funding could also impact the city’s budget as without grant funding, the project could not be funded with city funds alone.
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
I move to approve Resolution 29-2025 approving a Professional Services Agreement between the City of Littleton and HDR Engineering, Inc. for Owner’s Representative Services on the Santa Fe & Mineral Operational Improvement Project, City Project No. 20-22.