Item 3.9 - Award of Contract; Tanko Streetlighting, Inc. for LED Street & Safety Lighting Proj; RFP No. 19-025City of Poway
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DATE: July 16, 2019
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Robert J. Manis, Director of Development Services
CONTACT: Melody Rocco, Senior Civil Engineer
(858) 668-4653 or mrocconpoway.orq
APPROVED ❑
APPROVED AS AMENDED ❑
(SEE MINUTES)
DENIED ❑
REMOVED ❑
CONTINUED
RESOLUTION NO.
SUBJECT: Award of Contract to Tanko Streetlighting, Inc. for the LED Street & Safety
Lighting Conversion Project; RFP No. 19-025
Summary:
This report will award a contract for the LED Street & Safety Lighting Conversion project to Tanko
Streetlighting, Inc. The project will replace the City's approximately 3,300 low pressure sodium
(LPS) street and safety Tight fixtures with light emitting diodes (LEDs). Because this is an energy
conservation project, pursuant to the California Government Code, the design -build process is
being used.
Recommended Action:
It is recommended that the City Council:
1) Find that the anticipated cost of energy for the LED streetlights will be less than
the anticipated cost of energy in the absence of implementing the project; and
2) Award the contract for the LED Street & Safety Lighting Conversion Project to
Tanko Streetlighting, Inc. in the amount of $1,003,398.
Discussion:
In July 2019, the sole remaining manufacturer of LPS lights will no longer accept orders. The City
has approximately 3,300 LPS lights and replacement lights are already difficult to come by. The
lack of availability, along with increasing costs and lengthy delivery times of replacement lights,
necessitates the conversion from LPS to LED fixtures.
Over last summer, the City performed a pilot program to review LED fixtures from three different
manufacturers in three locations. Each supplier placed lights on both an arterial street and a
connecting residential street. LED lights were placed on a section of the following arterials: Twin
Peaks Road, Garden Road, and Community Road. The residential streets in the pilot program
were: Woodcreek Road, Montego Drive, and Olive Meadows Drive. Along with comments from
staff and the City Council, the City received 38 email messages from residents and input from
Safety Services personnel. Based upon input received, staff concluded that the ability to field
adjust the wattage along with the ability to install shields are necessary components of the new
fixtures to provide maximum flexibility.
On January 15, 2019 the City Council appropriated funds from the Lighting Assessment District
to complete the LED Street & Safety Lighting Conversion project. Due to the energy efficient
nature of replacing LPS fixtures with LED, this project qualified as an energy conservation contract
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July 19, 2019, Item #3.9
as defined by California Government Code Section 4217.11. Accordingly, pursuant to California
Government Code Section 4217.12, the typically applicable bidding requirements set forth in the
California Public Contract Code and the Poway Municipal Code (PMC) do not apply, and the
project was advertised as a design -build contract. A design -build contract is when one company,
or a team of companies, is selected to perform the design and construction activities so they are
not bid separately. The code section requires the City Council to determine, at a public hearing,
that the cost of energy from the project is less than the cost of energy in the absence of the project.
Based upon an energy analysis of the existing street lights, the City will save approximately
$120,000 per year once the conversion is complete. The analysis was based upon one of the
LED lights used in the pilot program and therefore the cost savings could be slightly higher or
lower depending upon the actual type of light chosen.
The PMC was amended in February 2019 when the City Council adopted Zoning Ordinance
Amendment 18-004. The Ordinance amended Title 13 of the PMC to establish regulations for
street lighting to allow LEDs in the public right of way. PMC 13.15.030 General Provisions limits
the correlated color temperature (CCT) to 2,700 Kelvin on residential streets and 3,000 Kelvin on
arterials and collector streets. The CCT describes the overall color tone of a white light source
and Kelvin is the unit of measurement for color temperature of light sources. This street lighting
conversion project will meet all PMC regulations.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued in April 2019 requesting design build teams (DBTs) to
submit proposals for converting the City's approximately 3,300 street and safety lights to LED.
The project includes a design element where the DBT will provide an analysis of several
manufacturers to help the City select a product that not only meets the Poway Municipal Code
standards for LED lighting but is field dimmable and also allows for installation of light trespass
shields. The goal is to select a product that will present the most savings to the City through a
combination of installation costs, energy use, and long-term maintenance costs. The light
selection will also take into account conservation of the night sky, meaning that the brightness of
the lights are enough to meet but not exceed the needs of the Safety Services Department.
The design -build process allows the City more control over the selection of products as well as
which contractor completes the installation. The design -build process also shortens the overall
project time in that a separate bid and award process is not needed between the design and
construction phases of the project. The bid and award process typically takes three months to
complete. Under a standard design -bid -build process, products are specified but typically have
an "or equal" option which allows for substitution of a name brand product if it meets all of the
technical specifications provided. With the design -build process, the DBT will not only help the
City determine the best product, they will also install that product without substitution. Having one
brand of lights installed in the City will allow for ease of purchasing replacement parts for future
maintenance. Design -build projects are awarded similar to consultant agreements in that
selection is not solely based upon price of construction. This removes the requirement for the
City to award based upon lowest, responsible bidder. Staff reviewed all of the proposals received
and selected the company that best met the City's needs based upon evaluation criteria such as
team experience, understanding of project needs, references, relevant project experience, and
schedule. While the total bid amount is part of the evaluation, it is not the sole basis for selecting
the DBT.
The total contract time for this project is 150 working days, which includes 30 working days for
the design and 120 working days for installation. Proposals were due on May 23, 2019 and were
reviewed by staff on May 30, 2019. The following five proposals were received with rankings
based upon review of the proposals prior to knowing the bid amounts:
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Company
Staff Ranking
Bid Amount
Siemens Mobility, Inc.
1
$1,166,814.00
Tanko Streetlighting, Inc.
2
$ 888,849.76
HMS Construction, Inc.
3
$1,355,000.00
ABM Electrical & Lighting Solutions, Inc.
4
$ 848,322.18
EoS Organization, LLC.
N/A
$1,510,144.52
EoS Organization, LLC. submitted a proposal but did not follow the requirements listed in the RFP
and was deemed non-responsive. Staff did not evaluate their proposal. Interviews were
conducted on June 12, 2019 with the top two ranked teams. Staff has selected Tanko
Streetlighting, Inc. (Tanko) as the most qualified DBT for this project because they were the most
well-rounded team, with the most experience, and most cost-effective proposal. Staff also
conducted reference checks with three southern California agencies that completed LED street
light conversions with Tanko. All of the agencies had very good experiences and indicated they
would not change their selection of Tanko for their LED conversions.
The original bid amount provided by Tanko included unit pricing for the street light conversions.
The inclusion of unit prices allowed staff to complete calculations showing the bid amount was
based upon 3,075 street lights rather than the 3,300 lights identified in the RFP. Tanko indicated
to staff that the total number of lights used in their calculations was based upon information
provided during the RFP process. The updated total pricing includes an assumed 3,300 lights
will be converted to LED. After selecting Tanko, staff negotiated the final contract price to include
an audit of the City's lighting system. This audit was recommended by most of the teams that
submitted proposals. The audit will provide additional information for our street light database
such as more accurate pole locations, pole height, mast arm length and distance from the street
to the light pole. This information is important when completing photometrics for the lighting which
is part of the design process. The photometrics will show how much light is being cast by the
proposed fixtures. The audit will add an additional six weeks to the project schedule. The final
negotiated contract amount is $1,003,398.
Since this is a design -build project, a specific product has not been selected for installation.
During the proposal process, the teams that submitted proposals made assumptions on what type
of light would be selected in order to price the installation. As part of the design, a specific light
will be selected that meets all of the parameters in the RFP. It is possible the unit price of
installation may be affected based upon selected product cost. Staff will require Tanko to justify
any changes to installation costs related to product selection in a cost comparison of the assumed
product versus the selected product.
The project is proposed to be a phased installation starting in the business park. This would be
followed by arterial streets and finally residential streets. No new street lights are proposed with
this project. Tanko may recommend an alternative approach to the planned phasing. Staff will
evaluate any recommended changes to the phasing prior to implementation. Public outreach will
be conducted to keep residents informed on the project phasing and installation.
Funds remaining in the project account after construction is complete can be used to complete
conversion of decorative lighting in the Old Poway Park and Civic Center Drive areas. These
conversions are expected to require a more complex retrofit than the standard lighting that exists
throughout most of the City.
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Environmental Review:
The proposed replacement of existing light fixtures is Categorically Exempt from the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as a Cass 1 Categorical Exemption, pursuant to Section
15301 of the CEQA Guidelines, in that the project involves maintenance of existing facilities and
no expansion of use.
Fiscal Impact:
There is sufficient funding available in the LED Street & Safety Lighting Conversion Project
account (STR0013) to award the contract. After the contract is awarded, funds in the amount of
$724,327.82 will remain.
Public Notification:
A Notice of Public Hearing was published in the Poway News Chieftain on July 4, 2019.
Attachments:
None.
Reviewed/Approved By:
)144
Wendy Kaserman
Assistant City Manager City Attorney
Reviewed By: Approved By:
Alan Fenstermacher
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Chris Hazine
City Manager
July 19, 2019, Item #3.9