To: Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: AWARD and AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to execute a construction contract for the Pinole Library System Upgrade Project, 2935 Pinole Valley Road, Pinole.
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. APPROVE the design, plans and specifications for the Project.
2. DETERMINE that the bid submitted by Quiring General LLC (“Quiring”) complies with all requirements of the Project specifications, including the requirements of the County’s Outreach Program.
3. WAIVE any minor irregularities in Quiring’s bid.
4. FURTHER DETERMINE that Quiring submitted the lowest responsive and responsible bid for the Project.
5. DETERMINE that the bid protests submitted by M V P Construction LLC (“MVP”) are without merit (as to Quiring) and moot (as to Arntz Builders Inc. and One Workplace Construction LLC dba Vantis); and, CONFIRM the rejection and denial of MVP’s bid protest (as to Quiring), which protest was denied by the Public Works Department and appealed to and denied by the County Administrator.
6. DIRECT that, as a condition of contract award, Quiring and its subcontractors shall execute a Project Labor Agreement for this Project, as required by the Project specifications.
7. AWARD the construction contract for the above project to Quiring in the listed amount ($3,118,000) submitted in the bid, and DIRECT the Public Works Director, or designee, to prepare the contract.
8. DIRECT that Quiring shall submit two good and sufficient surety bonds (performance and payment bonds) in the amount of $3,118,000 each.
9. ORDER that, after Quiring has signed the contract and returned it, together with the bonds, evidence of insurance, and other required documents, and the Public Works Director has reviewed and found them to be sufficient, the Public Works Director, or designee, is authorized to sign the contract for this Board.
10. ORDER that, in accordance with the project specifications and upon signature of the construction contract by the Public Works Director, or designee, any bid bonds posted by the bidders are to be exonerated and any checks or cash submitted for bid security shall be returned.
11. ORDER that the Public Works Director, or designee, is authorized to sign any escrow agreements prepared for this Project to permit the direct payment of retention into escrow for the substitution of securities for monies withheld by the County to ensure performance under the contract, pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 22300.
12. AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to approve and order changes or additions to the work, pursuant to the Public Contract Code Section 20142, in amounts not to exceed $168,400 (i.e., $25,000 plus 5 percent of the contract award amount in excess of $250,000).
13. DELEGATE, pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 4114, to the Public Works Director, or designee, the Board’s functions under Public Code Section 4107 and 4110.
14. DECLARE that, should the award of the contract to Quiring be invalidated for any reason, the Board would not in any event have awarded the contract to any other bidder, but instead would have exercised its discretion to reject all bids. Nothing in this Board Order shall prevent the Board from re-awarding the contract to another bidder in cases where the successful bidder establishes a mistake, refuses to sign the contract, or fails to furnish required bonds or insurance (see Public Contract Code Sections 5100-5107).
FISCAL IMPACT:
Estimated construction cost $3,118,000. $1,519,267 (49%) will be funded through the California State Library Building Forward Grant (SB 129), $1,087,373 (35%) will be funded through Measure X and Library Funds, $511,360 (16%) will be funded through the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) AB836 Clean Air Center Fund.
BACKGROUND:
The Project will involve renovation of existing building systems at the Pinole Library located at 2935 Pinole Valley Road, Pinole to upgrade the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, roofing system, electrical system and interior lighting.
The facility is a 17,100 square foot building constructed in 1973. Three building systems are being addressed in this project for replacement and/or upgrades. The roofing system is primarily a built-up roof (BUR) installation with several metal standing-seam mansard roof elements. The roofing is from the original installation and has experienced leaks over the years. The mansard roof will be replaced in its entirety. The HVAC system will be completely replaced with an all-electric system that supports the County’s sustainability goals and grant funding goals for providing a Clean Air Center for the City of Pinole. The existing system and its components have exceeded the manufacturer’s projected useful life span and are showing signs of deterioration and excessive wear and tear. The electrical upgrades include installing a new higher capacity electrical switchboard and additional service outlets on the main library floor to serve public and future library needs. Interior lighting upgrades include replacing fluorescent fixtures to power efficient light emitting diode (LED) fixtures. The project also includes accessibility upgrades as triggered and required by Chapter 11B-202.04 of the 2022 California Building Code.
New site work will include relocated accessible parking spaces and parking lot modifications, sidewalks and pathways all designed to improve compliance with applicable accessibility standards.
On March 11, 2025, this Board approved the design and bid documents for the construction of the Project and authorized the solicitation of bids in accordance with Public Contract Code Section 22037.
On May 7, 2025, bids were received and opened by the Public Works Department and the bid results were as follows:
|
BIDDER |
BID AMOUNT |
|
Quiring General, LLC |
$3,118,000 |
|
Arntz Builders, Inc. |
$3,187,426 |
|
One Workplace Construction LLC d/b/a Vantis, Inc. |
$3,265,000 |
|
MVP Construction, LLC |
$ 3,270,000 |
|
CWS Construction Group Inc. |
$3,744,000 |
|
Dowdle & Sons Mechanical, Inc. |
$3,797,000 |
Public Works Department staff thoroughly reviewed the bids and determined that Quiring's bid is responsive and that Quiring documented an adequate good faith effort to comply with the requirements of the County's Outreach Program, as provided in the Project specifications. Staff recommends that the construction contract for this Project be awarded to Quiring, the lowest, responsible bidder, in the amount of $3,118,000, as listed in Quiring's bid.
On May 8, 2025, MVP, which submitted the fourth lowest bid at a price $152,000 higher than Quiring's, submitted three separate written bid protests to the County challenging, respectively, the bids of Quiring, Arntz, and Vantis (see Attachment A). MVP’s bid protest as to Quiring challenged three items in Quiring's bid--the failure to list a qualified subcontractor for tile installation; the failure to list a qualified arborist for tree removal; and the failure to list an abatement subcontractor for lead compliance.
On June 6, 2025, after thoroughly reviewing and investigating MVP's bid protest against Quiring, Public Works sent a letter rejecting and denying that bid protest as without merit (see Attachment B). Public Works further found MVP’s other two protests against Arntz and Vantis were moot.
On June 10, 2025, MVP filed an appeal to the County Administrator of the protest denial (see Attachment C). After reviewing the appeal, the County Administrator on June 18, 2025 determined that MVP’s appeal had no merit and denied it, thus upholding Public Works’ denial of MVP’s bid protest (see Attachment D). The denial was further discussed in subsequent emails between MVP and the County Administrator's Office (see Attachment E).
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Without the Board of Supervisors approval, the project will not be constructed; the electrical system will remain out of date and insufficient for modern power requirements in libraries, the lighting will not be energy efficient and aligned with the County's Climate Action Plan, and the parking lot may not meet accessibility standards.