To: Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: APPROVE Change Order No. 4 with Dowdle & Sons Mechanical, Inc. for CONTRA COSTA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER COOLING TOWER REPLACEMENT at 2500 Alhambra Ave, Martinez
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. APPROVE Change Order No. 4 in the amount of $325,835.09 with Dowdle & Sons Mechanical, Inc. (“Dowdle”) for the CONTRA COSTA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER COOLING TOWER REPLACEMENT project.
2. AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to execute the Change Order, which provides for additional time and expenses, and increases the contract price by $325,835.09, for a total amount of $3,633,545.16.
FISCAL IMPACT:
100% Enterprise Fund I
BACKGROUND:
On November 7, 2023, the Board of Supervisors awarded a construction contract for $3,167,000.00 to Dowdle & Sons Mechanical, Inc. to replace the cooling towers at the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC).
The cooling towers provide cooling to the interior spaces of the hospital. The three existing rooftop cooling towers are over 25 years old and have exceeded their expected useful life.
The replacement cooling towers are being installed at ground level due to constructability issues related to installing them on the roof. To provide space for the new cooling towers at ground level, the adjacent hillside required excavation and the installation of a new retaining wall. During excavation, it was determined that the retaining wall required redesign to conform to the existing conditions. The redesign and subsequent review process by the State of California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAi) caused a significant delay in construction. As the retaining wall installation was critical path work, the overall project schedule has been delayed until the retaining wall can be completed.
This Change Order No.4 will add 119 calendar days to the project schedule. Dowdle will be granted compensation of General Conditions for 84 working days at a rate of $3,300 per day to cover general conditions costs, totaling $277,200.00, plus related labor, material, and equipment costs of $48,635.09, totaling $325,835.09. The schedule extension includes weekends; however, Dowdle will be granted General Conditions compensation only for the working days when workers are on site.
Together with the three previously issued Change Orders, which totaled $140,710.07, the revised contract amount will be $3,633,545.16.
When awarding the construction contract on November 7, 2023, 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 costs 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. 4 exceeds that threshold. Therefore, the Public Works Director, or designee, does not have authority to approve Change Order No. 4 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. Dowdle 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 and because the project was delayed for causes outside of the control of Dowdle, the Public Works Director recommends that the Board approve Change Order No. 4.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Failure to approve the change order for a delay which was not the fault of the contractor would subject the County to potential legal claims from affected contractors and would jeopardize the standing of the executed construction contract.
If Change Order No. 4 is not approved, the County’s ability to complete the project will be compromised, and the project may not be completed, subjecting the hospital to increasing maintenance effort and expense to keep the existing equipment operational and leaving the hospital increasingly vulnerable to a major system failure that could leave the hospital without space cooling, potentially forcing the closure of the hospital.