AGENDA #4x

MEMORANDUM

TO: Mayor and Council

FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT: Award of Bid for the Booker Creek Linear Park Project

DATE: June 26, 2006

PURPOSE

The attached resolution would accept a bid with two alternates and award a contract to Raleigh Paving for construction of the Booker Creek Linear Park.

BACKGROUND

On October 27, 1997, the Council adopted a resolution endorsing the concept of building a park and trail along the portion of Booker Creek between Franklin Street and Fordham Boulevard and directing the Town Manager to seek funding for the project.

On February 9, 1998, the Council authorized the Town Manager to develop a conceptual plan for the project. The Council also established a Booker Creek Linear Park Advisory Committee.

On July 6, 1998, the Council approved a Special Use Permit for the Staples property that included provisions for a paved greenway trail to be built from Franklin Street to the extreme southeast corner of the property, as well as a direct pedestrian connection to the Eastgate Shopping Center.

On August 23, 1999, the Council adopted the Booker Creek Linear Park Advisory Committee’s Report to the Town Council.

On February 12, 2001, the Council authorized the Town Manager to execute an agreement with NCDOT accepting a grant of $349,707 with $87,427 in local matching funds for the construction of the Booker Creek Linear Park.

On June 10, 2002, the Council authorized the Town Manager to make necessary changes to the Booker Creek Linear Park project to reflect changes to the site since the adoption of the plan and new flood study information.

In November 2002, the Council accepted easements for the project from Crowell Little, owner of the Staples Property. In June 2003, the Council accepted easements for the project from Federal Realty Investment Trust, owner of the Eastgate Shopping Center property. In March 2006, the Council accepted easements from Triangle V II Limited Partnership, owner of the Plaza Shopping Center property at the northeast corner of Elliott Road and Fordham Boulevard.

In June 2006, specifications and bid notices were distributed to nine prospective vendors in North Carolina. The Notice to Bidders was published June 5, 2006 on the Town of Chapel Hill’s website and in the Greater Diversity News on June 8, 2006. A pre-bid conference was held on June 13, 2006 at 2:00 P.M. Three bids were received and opened June 22, 2006, at 11:30 a.m.

DISCUSSION

Description: The first phase of the Booker Creek Linear Park project consists of an extension of the existing greenway trail, which currently terminates on the Staples property, to Fordham Boulevard. In addition, a sidewalk would be constructed along Fordham Boulevard to the existing sidewalk on the Days Inn property.

A future phase could include restoration of a pond and construction of natural surface trails south of the Eastgate Shopping Center. These items were included in the Booker Creek Linear Park Advisory Committee’s Report to the Town Council. However, cost estimates indicated that the current budget is insufficient to build the entire project in a single phase.

Budget: The Booker Creek Linear Park project budget is $437,134. We currently have $362,000 remaining in the project account for construction and contingency. We believe that this amount is adequate for this project.

Bids: We received three responsive bids including:

CONTRACTOR	BID	ALTERNATES	TOTAL

Raleigh Paving	$174,017	$30,000	$204,017

Carolina Asphalt Paving	$169,434	$41,588	$211,022

Lanier Construction Co.	$236,850	$19,900	$256,750

Alternates: In the bid documents we asked prospective contractors to bid on two alternates:

A collapsible railing at the Elliott Road culvert. The railing is designed to collapse in the direction of floodwaters in the event of a flood. This type of railing would allow debris to freely flow downstream rather than collect behind the existing railing causing a rise in the flood upstream of the railing.
Substitute concrete in place of asphalt as the material for construction of the trail. We believe that concrete is a better material for trail use because of its longer life and reduced need for maintenance. In addition, in the event of a major flood concrete is less likely to be damaged by floodwaters.

We recommend that both alternates be accepted.

RECOMMENDATION

Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council adopt the attached resolution that would accept a bid in the amount of $204,017 by Raleigh Paving, for construction of the Booker Creek Linear Park including two alternates.