To: Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: APPROVE Change Order No. 11 with MVP Construction, LLC for Contra Costa Regional Medical Center Cart Washer Replacement at 2500 Alhambra Avenue, Martinez area
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. APPROVE Change Order No. 11 in the amount of $686,354 with MVP Construction LLC (MVP) for the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center Cart Washer Replacement project.
2. AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to execute the Change Order, which provides for additional expenses, and increases the contract price by $686,354 for a total revised contract value of $3,404,419.
FISCAL IMPACT:
100% Health Services Department Enterprise Fund 1.
BACKGROUND:
On May 20, 2025, the Board of Supervisors awarded a construction contract for $1,960,000 to MVP to replace the cart washer at the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC).
Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, located at 2500 Alhambra Avenue in Martinez, has an existing cart washer that has reached the end of its useful life and requires replacement. The cart washer is a critical component of the hospital’s Sterile Processing Department (SPD), as it is essential for the thorough cleaning and sterilization of medical and surgical equipment to ensure patient safety.
This project includes removal of the existing cart washer; modifications to the room to accommodate the new equipment; installation of a deionized (DI) water system; installation of a new air compressor and air dryer; and minor ancillary work such as the addition of new countertops, cabinetry and finishes. Construction is currently underway.
Cart washing equipment was relocated from second floor near the SPD to the first-floor boiler room.
During construction, Contractor’s field investigation of existing conditions above ceiling on the second floor revealed it was too congested to provide a space to install the DI piping route as shown in ACD 001. Engineers had to redesign the pipe route from the second floor to the first floor to connect air compressor and DI water utilities to the sterile processing equipment on the second floor. This rerouting includes more seismic bracing, longer pipe runs, partial fire rated enclosures of piping sections outside of the ceiling, new paint, ceiling tile and grid. Performing this scope of work requires additional infection control measures and working outside of normal business hours to minimize impact on hospital operations.
Another reason for the increase cost is the new Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) requirement to specify Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) piping for the DI water distribution system. HCAI determined that the originally specified piping did not meet the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E83 flame spread index of 25 or less and would require fire wrap to be installed along the entire proposed route. This material is very expensive compared to the previous contractor who proposed Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (CPVC) pipe material.
Change Order No. 11 addresses the above-described modifications to the project scope. When combined with the nine previously issued Change Orders totaling $758,065, the revised contract amount will be $3,404,419.
When awarding the construction contract on May 20, 2025, the Board of Supervisors authorized the Public Works Director, or designee, to order changes or additions to the work pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 20142. Public Contract Code Section 20142, however, limits such delegation of authority on contracts whose original cost exceeds $250,000, to $25,000 plus 5 percent of the amount of the original contract cost in excess of $250,000, but in no event greater than $210,000. Change Order No. 11 exceeds that threshold. Therefore, the Public Works Director, or designee, does not have authority to approve Change Order No. 11 on their own.
Public Contract Code Section 20136, however, provides that the Board of Supervisors may approve a change order to the construction contract by order adopted by a 2/3 vote of the Board and with consent of the contractor. MVP has approved the proposed change order. Therefore, final approval of the change order now requires a 2/3 vote of the Board.
For the reasons outlined above, the Public Works Director recommends that the Board approve Change Order No. 11.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Board approval of this Change Order is necessary to ensure the installation of required equipment and full operation for a complete and functional space and to meet HCAI permit requirements. Without approval, the project cannot be completed and safe HCAI compliant services cannot be provided by the Hospital