Appeared in: Appeal Democrat on Friday, 06/26/2009

November 20, 2008 - Please Answer These Important Questions

City Council Members
City of Yuba City
1201 Civic Center Boulevard
Yuba City, CA  95993 

Dear Council Members:

At the November 18, 2008 council meeting, Mayor Ramirez requested Don Kessel and I reduce to writing questions about the City’s handling of current and future water needs and financing thereof.  Apparently, the Council and staff were not prepared to address these serious concerns of Walton area Concerned Citizens at the meeting.  Mr. Kessel has submitted his questions, which are attached, along with some questions I have raised.  Mr. Kessel requested I forward his questions as he is currently traveling.

·         The city has said the groundwater customers will not be subsidizing development, but the Sutter Heritage and Siller Development planning documents indicate these developments will be served by the same 30” pipe Regions 1, 2, and 3 are being asked to pay for.  What is the proportionate share the developers are going to pay of the $19.8 million loan being sought?  What mechanism is in place or going to be in place to reimburse the groundwater customers for the costs they may incur if the surcharge is implemented in order to deliver water to the above two developments?

SHOULD THE CITY BE COMMITTING US TO ANOTHER NEARLY 1 MILLION DOLLORS FOR A PROJECT THAT: "includes the furnishing of all labor, materials, tax, equipment and services for the construction and completion of the Water Treatment Plant Administration Building Remodel Project."? THIS DOESN''T SEEM TO BE A CRITICAL PROJECT THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AT THIS TIME. SINCE WE ARE IN A RECESSION, WHY DOESN'T THE CITY PULL BACK ON THEIR EXPANSION PLANS? WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF PERS REQUESTIONING MORE RETIREMENT FUNDS FROM ITS PARTICIPANTS IT WOULD SEEM THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD BE MORE PRUDENT ON HOW YOUR MONEY IS SPENT. AFTER ALL FOLKS, THE CITY HAS NO MONEY UNLESS YOU GIVE IT TO THEM. WRITE AND/OR CALL YOUR COUNCILMEMBER IF YOU THINK THAT THIS IS AN INAPPROPRIATE EXPENDITURE IN THESE TROUBLING TIMES.

Appeal-Democrat, October 31, 2008 Page D8

SECTION 00020

NOTICE INVITING BIDS


NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Yuba City, hereafter referred to as “Owner”, will receive SEALED BIDS at the City Hall, City Clerk’s Office, 1201 Civic Center Blvd., Yuba City, CA 95993 until 3:00 p.m. local time, on December 10, 2008, for construction of:

Water Treatment Plant Remodel Project
Contract No. 08-30


At said place and time, and promptly thereafter, all Bids that have been duly received in accordance with the Contract Documents, will be publicly opened and read aloud. The clock located in the City Clerk’s office is considered the official time.

Project Description: In accordance with plans and specifications prepared by Robert Estrada Engineering-Design-Associates and the City of Yuba City, the Work includes the furnishing of all labor, materials, tax, equipment and services for the construction and completion of the Water Treatment Plant Administration Building Remodel Project.

The total Contract Time to achieve Final Completion is 180 calendar days.

The estimated cost of construction is $840,000.

At the time the Contract is bid, awarded and for the duration of the contract, the Owner has determined that the General Contractor shall possess a valid State of California Class B- General Building Contractor’ License. Failure to possess the specified license shall render the bid as non-responsive. Bidders must comply with the provisions of the Business and Professions Code Section 7028.15 by setting forth their license number and expiration date on their bid.

A full set of Contract Documents and all information available to Bidders, as further defined in Section 00200, INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO BIDDERS, may be examined at the Owner’s Engineering Division during regular business hours. Bidders may also purchase a copy of the Contract Documents and related information from the Owner on the following basis:

Document DescriptionNon-Refundable Charges
Complete half-size set of Contract$75.00 + $15.00 if mailed at
Documents (specifications and half-sizeOwner’s expense
drawings). Set will also include a CD
containing pdf files of non-scale drawings
and specs)

Optional full-size drawings (drawings only).$150.00 + $20.00 if mailed at
Available only to Bidders who purchase aOwner’s expense
complete set of Contract Documents.
Individual drawings will not be sold separately.

Procedural questions regarding the purchase of Contract Documents and/or obtain a plan holders list should be directed to Sandra Barcenas at the Public works Department at (530) 822-4626. Mailed in requests with payment for Contract Documents shall be mailed to:

City of Yuba City Public Works Department
1201 Civic Center Blvd
Yuba City, CA 95993
Attn: Sandra Barcenas


Checks should be made payable to: City of Yuba City. Charges are not refundable, regardless of whether the documents are returned or not.

Complete sets of Contract Documents must be used in preparing Bids. The Owner does not assume responsibility for errors or misinterpretations resulting from the use of incomplete sets of Contract Documents.

The Owner, in making copies of the Contract Documents available on the above terms, does so only for the purpose of obtaining Bids for the Work and does not confer license or grant for any other use.

A mandatory pre-bid walk-through meeting will be held on November 18, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. at 701 Northgate Drive, Yuba City, CA 95991. At this meeting, representatives of Owner and the Design Engineer will discuss the bid documents, site constraints, order of work and other items specific to this project. A project walk-through will follow. A sign-in sheet will be available up until commencement of the pre-bid walk through meeting only. Attendance at the entire pre-bid meeting and walk-through is mandatory for bidding. Bids received from Bidders who did not sign the sign-in sheet and attend the meeting and walk-through will be returned to the Bidder unopened. Attendance by subcontractors is not mandatory, but all interested prospective subcontractors are encouraged to attend. The Owner will transmit to all recipients of complete sets of Contract Documents such Addenda as Owner considers necessary in response to questions raised at the meeting and walk-through. Oral statements not confirmed by Addenda may not be relied upon and are not binding or legally effective. Except for mandatory walk-through, no other access to the project site will be granted pre-bid without the Owner’s approval. During all site visits the Bidder must be accompanied full time by an authorized representative of the Owner. No exceptions to this requirement.

Written questions regarding the Contract Documents and/or the proposed Work should be directed to Ian Pietz, Associate Engineer, by phone at (530) 822-7685, facsimile at (530) 822-7574 or e-mail at ipietz@yubacity.net no later than ten (10) calendar days before the time specified for opening bids.

Bidding procedures are prescribed in the Contract Documents. Bids shall be executed upon the Bid Forms bound and made a part of the Bid Documents. All prescribed Bid Forms may be removed from the Contract Documents for submission in a sealed envelope.

A Bid Guaranty in an amount not less than ten percent (10%) of the total aggregate of the bid, including all Additive and/or Alternate Bid Items shall accompany each bid. This Bid Guaranty is to be forfeited should the Bidder, if awarded the contract, fail to enter into the same, or fails to furnish the bonds and/or proof of insurance as stipulated in the Contract Documents. The checks or bond shall be made payable to the Owner.

The successful Bidder will be required to furnish both a Faithful Performance Bond in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) and a Payment Bond in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract price.

Pursuant to the provisions of California Labor Code Section 6707, each bid submitted in response to this Invitation to Bid shall contain, as a separate bid item, adequate sheeting, shoring, and bracing, or equivalent method, for the protection of life or limb in trenches and open excavation, exceeding five feet, which shall conform to applicable safety orders. By entering an amount for this bid item, the Bidder warrants that its action does not convey tort liability to the Owner, the Engineer, the Construction Manager, and their officers, employees, agents, and subconsultants.

Pursuant to Sections 1770, et. seq., of the California Labor Code, the successful Bidder shall pay not less than the prevailing rate of per diem wages as determined by the Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations. Copies of such prevailing rate of per diem wages are on file at the Owner’s Engineering Department where copies will be made available to any interested party on request. These rate determinations may also be found on the State of California Department of Industrial Relations’ website at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlsr/DPreWageDetermination.htm. The successful contractor and its subcontractors shall employ the appropriate number of apprentices, in each apprenticeable craft, on the project site as stipulated in California Labor Code, 1777.5.

The successful Bidder must insure that its policies and practices provide equal opportunity to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, creed, sex, age, religion, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, handicap, mental condition, veteran or marital status. The successful Bidder must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 22300, for monies earned by the Contractor and withheld by the Owner to ensure the performance of the Contract, the Contractor, may, at its option, choose to substitute securities meeting the requirements of Public Contract Code Section 22300, or have the retained, earned monies deposited in an escrow account at a federal or state chartered bank.

No bid received and read aloud may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after the bid opening date, except pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 5101 et seq.

Telephones will not be available to Bidders at the Owner’s offices for the preparation of bids or for communicating bid results. Bid forms received after the designated time will not be opened and will be returned to the Bidder unopened.

Bidders shall develop and submit bids at their own expense. The Owner will not reimburse any costs associated with the development and submittal of any and all bids.

The Owner reserves the right to award the Contract, to reject any and all Bids, to waive irregularities, and to reject nonconforming, nonresponsive or conditional Bids.

DATED:Terrel Locke, City Clerk

Oct. 31 & Nov. 7Ad #00059845

Editor's Notebook