On April 15, 2019 the Village Board approved a contract to Era Valdivia Contractors for painting and comprehensive repairs to the Thomas Elevated Water Tank. Staff believes it is in the Village’s best interests to hire an outside firm to perform the construction engineering services for this project.

The highly specialized nature of construction engineering services during water tank painting and welding makes the competitive proposal process difficult. Robinson Engineering prepared the specifications for this project and has successfully performed construction engineering services for the Village’s last water two tank projects. Based on our positive experiences with Robinson, Staff requested a proposal from them for construction engineering services for the Thomas Elevated Water Tank work.

Robinson’s scope of services includes project administration and pay request review, paint inspection, weld inspection, material disposal administration, and project closeout for this project. It is expected that this project, once begun, will take about four months to complete. The importance of painting condition assessment is critical to minimize the potential for future coating failures. When paint is applied properly, the coating should last at least twenty-five years. The cost for Robinson Engineering services for this project is an amount not-to-exceed $44,500. It should be noted that the hourly cost represents no price increase from the last water tank that was inspected by them. The account number for this expenditure is 505-9001-571.50-25 (WA-11-01).

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the Village Board waive competitive bids due to the highly specialized nature of professional services and approve execution of a contract with Robinson Engineering for construction engineering services for the painting and repairs to the Thomas Elevated Water Tank in an amount not-to-exceed $44,500.