Agenda Information Sheet
DEPARTMENT: Capital Projects
CM/ ACM: Jon Fortune
Date: 4/18/2017
SUBJECT
Title
Receive a report and hold a discussion regarding an update from the Capital Projects department on the status of key projects and overall program update.
Body
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
In late February 2017, the City reorganized and created a new Capital Projects Department, the sole focus of which would be the design, construction, project management, and successful completion of the City’s capital improvement and bond programs. Galen Gillum, from Denton Municipal Electric, is serving as Interim Director of Capital Projects. The following report is a brief update and overview of major items and next steps.
Update on Key Projects
The following project updates will be highlighted in a presentation on Tuesday:
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1. Bell Avenue Resurfacing (through TWU campus) |
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Project Schedule: |
Estimated to start June 1, 2017 and complete by July 29, 2017 |
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Project Cost: |
$370,126 ($134,327 from the 2012 Bond Program for portion from Administration to College and $235,889 from O&M budget) |
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Scope of Work: |
5’’ mill and overlay project on Bell (from Texas St to U.S. 380), including replacement of 4,200 ft. of damaged curb & gutter; partial wastewater line replacement |
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Site or Access Items: |
• Project schedule will be shortened by 10 days since both sides of Bell Avenue can be closed at the same time; • Construction safety fence will be put up to address foot traffic safety concern. Due to TWU summer break schedule, there should be less foot traffic at this time; • Utilities will be replaced when the total redesign and reconstruct is done. |
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2. Bell Avenue Sidewalk (near Civic Center) |
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Project Schedule: |
Started on March 21, 2017 with a goal to complete by April 25, 2017. If deemed not feasible, construction will stop at a safe point and the contractor will demobilize and resume following the Arts and Jazz Festival. |
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Project Cost: |
Estimated final cost is $150,000 (from Sidewalk Bond funds plus additional funds from Facilities and Parks) |
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Scope of Work: |
• Add sidewalk from the existing sidewalk south of the Senior Center to McKinney Street; • Add pedestrian rail across the bridge at Pecan Creek; • Restripe parking spaces at the Civic Center eastern side of the parking lot; and • Add street lighting. |
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Site or Access Items: |
Large mature trees at the Civic Center entrance to be preserved. Timing of work will be coordinated with event schedules - goal to complete work before the Arts and Jazz festival, but also out of the way of events at the Civic Center such as the Redbud Festival the previous weekend. |
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3. Hickory Street (wastewater, water, and street) |
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Project Schedule: |
Installation of sanitary sewer began in January 2017; entire project estimated to be completed by February 2019 |
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Project Cost: |
$3.8MM |
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Scope of Work: |
4100 ft. of 8” and 10” Sanitary Sewer (1500 ft. is actually on streets adjacent to and connecting to Hickory St), 7400 ft. of 12” water line (all on Hickory St), and re-pave of the effected blocks, from Bonnie Brae to Carroll. |
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Site or Access Items: |
• Traffic and pedestrian safety, and the narrow working areas around UNT, especially the area between Ave B and Welch in particular; • Based on other work done around the campus, staff expects to encounter several abandoned lines which can slow progress and staff is also aware that valving in this area is not reliable which could pose another issue when the need arises. • Installation of the sanitary sewer began in January 2017 and that work is estimated to be completed by June 2017. Installation of water lines will start after that sanitary sewer is completed due to the concern for creating traffic problems on Hickory St with both being done at the same time. |
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4. Bonnie Brae Road Widening and Improvements |
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Project Schedule: |
Construction projected to be complete on all phases in June 2023 |
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Project Cost: |
$75.3MM total. Budget of $57,689,189 for section from IH35E south to US Hwy 377 along Vintage east of Bonnie Brae and for ROW from IH35E to Scripture. $9,500,000 for design and construction from IH35E to north of Scripture ($2.0 M in design underway) and $6,100,000 for design, construction and ROW for section from US Hwy 380 north to Windsor. For the section south of IH35E and ROW north of IH35E to Scripture, eighty percent (80%) from RTR funding, 3% from Denton County Pct. 2, and 17% from City (source of City funding was from transferred/repurposed funding from old or completed bond projects). All remaining phases funded by GO bond sales. |
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Scope of Work: |
Conversion of an existing mostly two-lane road to a four lane divided secondary from US Hwy 377 on the south end to Windsor Road on the north end. |
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Site or Access Items: |
Acquisition of land rights from approximately 75 different properties with multiple tracts per property involving relocations and eminent domain proceedings. Coordination of complex utility relocations from franchise and municipal providers. FEMA permitting at multiple stream crossings. TxDOT permitting and coordination with re-route at intersection with FM 1515. Coordination with UNT. Permitting crossings with two different railroad companies. |
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5. Mayhill Road Widening and Improvements |
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Project Schedule: |
Construction projected to be completed January 2020 |
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Project Cost: |
Total budget of $56,670,566. Eighty percent (80%) from RTR funding, 5% from Denton County Pct. 1, 5% from Denton County Pct. 2, and 10% from City. Source of City funding was from transferred/repurposed funding from old or completed bond projects. |
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Scope of Work: |
• Conversion of an existing mostly two-lane road to four lanes with ROW for an eventual six-lane primary arterial from US Hwy 380 (University Drive) on the north end to IH35E area on the south end; • First phase of project (US Hwy 380 south to past Quail Creek Road) bids on May 11, 2017 • Timing or execution of second phase (south to IH35E) dependent on funding availability. |
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Site or Access Items: |
Acquisition of land rights from 47 different properties; coordination of complex utility relocations from franchise and municipal providers. FEMA permitting at multiple stream crossings. TxDOT permitting and coordination. |
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6. McKinney St. |
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Project Schedule: |
Construction projected to be completed June 2020 |
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Project Cost: |
$18.6MM for roadway and $1.6MM for water relocations |
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Scope of Work: |
Widening existing 2-lane rural section roadway to a 4-lane divided secondary arterial between Woodrow Lane and Grissom Road (likely that only the section east of Loop 288 will be built with available funding). |
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Site or Access Items: |
Coordination with ongoing Mayhill Road widening and improvements project. Coordination with existing pedestrian and traffic uses, including Ryan High School. Relocation and construction of complicated utilities, primarily water lines as well as franchise utilities. |
The attached chart (Projects Update - completed (or near completion) and Ongoing) provides additional information on these and other major projects in progress or projects recently completed.
Planned Improvements
One of the immediate goals for the new department is to analyze and increase capacity and support for capital project completion. Staff has released a Request for Qualifications to find a professional firm to perform an assessment of the processes and organization structure within the City for completion of capital projects. The work is proposed to be broken down into 2 phases: 1) assessment and process mapping of capital project implementation and 2) implementation of recommendations to improve capital project development and oversight. An outline of the review:
1. Document and assess current project execution process and oversight.
2. Evaluate workflows, processes, and practices for the following:
a. Planning coordination among all utilities (except DME) and city departments
i. Water
ii. Wastewater
iii. Streets/Traffic
iv. Drainage
v. Engineering/ROW/Inspections
vi. Public Transportation
vii. Legal
viii. Purchasing
ix. Planning
b. Allocation of responsibilities among city staff and city departments
c. Design development of capital projects
i. Is the city leveraging the most productivity it can from the current approach to external vs. internal design of projects?
ii. Staffing levels
iii. Are the functions of the design staff efficiently structured?
d. Right-of-way acquisitions
e. Project planning, reporting and internal support:
i. Scheduling and establishment of project priorities
ii. Budgeting and financial tracking
iii. Resource identification and allocation
iv. Contract development and oversight
v. Procurement services
vi. Project management tools for staff
vii. Project reporting and dashboards
viii. Availability of information to the public
f. Construction management and oversight
i. Is the city leveraging the most productivity it can from the current approach to construction management?
ii. Staffing levels
3. Evaluate effectiveness of existing design and construction contracts
4. Evaluate coordination and communication among external franchise utilities
5. Evaluate current approach and process for citizen engagement in the design and construction of capital projects
6. Develop final report and recommendation for improvements and new processes as needed
a. Development appropriate of performance tracking goals, targets and benchmarking to assess the on-going effectiveness of the capital project program and implementation
b. Recommend policies, ordinance changes, and etc. to improve efficiency
c. Provide schedule and suggestions on the process to implement the identified improvements
Phase 2 - Implementation of Recommendations to Improve Capital Works Project Development and oversight
1. Provide support and assistance to city in the implementation of process improvements and structure
2. Help ensure that project planning, reporting and internal support structure improvements are implemented and functioning
3. Evaluation and monitor the effectiveness of improvements following implementation
Deliverables
1. Assessment report and process mapping of current processes
2. Improvement recommendations for changes to processes, coordination, and organizations structure
3. Identification of specific tools or products necessary to improve the efficiency and accountability
4. Schedule for implementation of recommendations
5. Performance monitoring goals, targets and benchmarking to assess the on-going effectiveness of the capital project program and implementation
6. Present findings to senior staff, department, and city council
Responses to the RFQ were submitted on or before April 4, 2017. Staff is evaluating those responses and plans to begin working with the consultant in late April. This step will be important to having an independent firm with industry expertise analyze and make recommendations to improve the processes, coordination, and organizational structure to support successful project completion.
Increased Communication Efforts
Capital Projects, Community Affairs, and the Public Communications Office have been working on making improvements to public outreach on upcoming and ongoing projects. The internal communication processes between these departments are being refined to improve the sharing of information in a timely manner. The Community Affairs Department has developed a Public Works Information Sheet to obtain all pertinent information from Capital Projects on current projects. They are also developing guidelines that will help determine the appropriate level of community outreach for each project. These guidelines give flexibility to provide information to the public by using various communication methods (e.g., mailed letters, press release, social media, neighborhood meeting, etc.). Community Affairs is also working on a Public Works Construction Report that will contain all current and recently completed public works projects. This report will be shared with the City Council in future Friday Reading files and will be placed on the City’s website.
The Public Communications Office and Community Affairs are revising the Capital Improvement Projects webpage so that it is easier to find information about current projects. The Public Works Construction Report will be added to this page every Friday, so that the public has up-to-date information on projects. They are also researching other improvements, such as interactive maps, that could enhance the webpage. The goal of these efforts is to provide timely and accurate information to the public about our public works projects that often have an impact on our citizens’ quality of life.
OPTIONS
n/a
RECOMMENDATION
n/a
ESTIMATED SCHEDULE OF PROJECT
Various
PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW (Council, Boards, Commissions)
n/a
FISCAL INFORMATION
Various sources of funding as described for each project
BID INFORMATION
n/a
STRATEGIC PLAN RELATIONSHIP
The City of Denton’s Strategic Plan is an action-oriented road map that will help the City achieve its vision. The foundation for the plan is the five long-term Key Focus Areas (KFA): Organizational Excellence; Public Infrastructure; Economic Development; Safe, Livable, and Family-Friendly Community; and Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship. While individual items may support multiple KFAs, this specific City Council agenda item contributes most directly to the following KFA and goal:
Related Key Focus Area: Public Infrastructure
Related Goal: 2.1 Optimize resources to improve quality of City Roadways
EXHIBITS
1. Maps of Key Projects - 6 pages
2. Projects Update - Completed (or near completion) and Ongoing
3. 20170418 CC Presentation on Capital Projects
Respectfully submitted:
Galen L. Gillum
Interim Director of Capital Projects
Prepared by:
Galen L. Gillum
Interim Director of Capital Projects