R96-124 ACCEPTING THE BID AND AUTHORIZING A CONTRACT

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f•D E �O C�� � C v o0 ��y '�[LINO�Y September 10, 1996 I PUBLIC WORKS MEMORANDUM I NO. 96-57 MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: William B. Sands,Acting City Manager Bruce A. McNabb,Director of Public Works�v Stephen P. Swanson, City Engineer� John A. Smith,Water Production Manager SUBJECT: Lake Level Monitoring System City Project 9134 The Lake Level Monitoring System is designed to record the flows in the Sangamon River near Monticello, Friends Creek (as it enters the River), Long Creek (as it enters Lake Decatur) and in the Sangamon River downstream of the Lake Decatur Dam. Radio transmitters will be installed at each location to transfer the data to the South Water Treatment Plant. The data will be processed in a software program designed to estimate the impacts to the Lake level based on the recorded flows. This improved level of data acquisition and method of estimating the Lake level will greatly improve the operation of the dam gates to control and manage the Lake level during low and high flow periods. It is a part of the planned Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition(SCADA) System for the City's Water Production Division. The plans and specifications for this project were prepared by Black & Veatch for the City. The project was first bid in April of this year. Only one bid was received. The low bid was $298,247 as compared to the Engineer's estimate of $105,000. The decision was made to negotiate with the low bidder, Bodine Electric of Decatur, for a bid acceptable to the City. This was done because there is a need to complete the project to avoid losing the FCC license issued to the City for the operations of the radios. In addition, this is considered to be specialty type work with a limited number of available contractors. The negotiation effort was unsuccessful. The difference in the adjusted bid from Bodine Electric of Decatur and the Engineer's adjusted estimate (approximately $60,000) was significant and determined unacceptable to the City. The Engineers adjusted their estimate to account for unanticipated labor and coordination costs associated with the four, separate work sites.