The Water Services Department FY 2023 – 2028 Capital Improvements Plan, Annual Pipe Replacement & Renewal Program includes funding for planned, incremental replacement of aging water lines throughout the water distribution system in order to maintain the highest level of distribution service, reduce maintenance costs, and avoid significant future capital costs. Projects are identified using the department’s asset management and geographical information system which aids in tracking features such as asset age, maintenance cost and historical performance.
The scope of work identified for this project includes replacing approximately 22,000 feet of mostly 6-inch pipe throughout the Carondelet neighborhood but also includes approximately 2,100 feet of 12-inch pipe along Old Smyrna Road between Wilson Pike and near Ford Drive. The scope of work includes, as is typical for a neighborhood renewal project of this type, replacing all public water lines, customer service lines from the water main to the meter, line valves, and fire hydrants.
On June 28, 2022, Water Services Department and Finance Department staff publicly opened construction bids for the aforementioned work. The City received five competitive bids ranging from a low bid of $4,924,730 to a high bid of $11,137,160. Note that only $535.00 separates the low bid and second low bid. Cunningham Construction LLC, located in Nashville, submitted the low bid. Cunningham Construction has completed numerous projects of similar scope including multiple projects for Brentwood, and they are considered competent to complete this project. The department’s construction budget for this project was established as $5.75 million, so the low bid amount is within the budget.
Accordingly, staff is recommending an award for this contract to Cunningham Construction in an amount not to exceed the low bid amount of $4,924,730.00 which includes a contingency allowance of $300,000. Additionally, because of ongoing volatility in the scrap metal market that impacts ductile iron pipe pricing and the length of time needed to complete the work, an iron pipe surcharge allowance has been included. Because pipe manufactures will not guarantee pricing for an extended period of time, the iron pipe allowance permits the contractor to increase the pipe price should the pipe manufacturer issue a surcharge on pipe that has not previously shipped. The permissible surcharge is based on the change in the published scrap metal index at the time of award and is capped at $50,000 for the project. The contract also allows for a CPI increase of all non-pipe-related costs for work performed during Phase 2 and 3 (year two) of the project, and is capped at $200,000. All of these allowances and potential adjustments are included in the base bid price.
Attached is the project engineer’s letter of recommendation, a detailed bid tabulation and site map information for your consideration. Please contact Chris Milton, Director of Water Services, should you have any questions. |