Approve Actions Relative to the Award of Contract No. 2008-BT-3, Fare Collection System, to GFI Genfare, a Unit of SPX Corporation

In a report to Committee, Deputy General Manager/Bus Division Susan Chiaroni and General Manager Celia Kupersmith provided staff’s recommendation to approve actions relative to the award of Contract No. 2008-BT-3, Fare Collection System, to GFI Genfare, a Unit of SPX Corporation.

The report stated that the District’s existing fare collection equipment on Golden Gate Transit buses was purchased and installed in 1985, and that after 23 years of service, the system’s technology is no longer supported or upgradeable. In addition, the existing fare collection equipment has limited functionality and cannot communicate with other on-board electronics. The report stated that the District is in need of a more advanced and comprehensive system to provide detailed revenue and ridership reporting. To that end, staff prepared the plans and specifications for Contract No. 2008-BT-3, Fare Collection System, and advertised for bids on December 20, 2007.

On January 22, 2008, a sole bid from GFI Genfare, a unit of SPX Corporation (GFI Genfare) was received and publicly read. GFI Genfare submitted a bid price of $2,826,587.21 for all Category “A” items, and a bid price of $325,299.99 for all Category “B” items, for a total bid of $3,151,887.20. Pursuant to the bid documents, all Category “A” items are required, and the Category “B” items are optional. The District has elected to purchase nine of the eleven optional items, reducing the cost of Category “B” from $325,299.99 to $139,894.74, for a total amount of $2,966,454.95. The report further stated that staff and the Attorney evaluated the sole bid and concluded that GFI Genfare has properly submitted all required documents, and that its bid is technically responsive to the specifications. In accordance with District and FTA requirements when only one bid is submitted for a given contract, staff conducted a cost analysis and determined that the bid price submitted by GFI Genfare is fair and reasonable.

The report described the features of the new fare collection system, as follows:

1. The system will provide greater functionality in operations, security and maintenance;
2. The new fareboxes will accept and issue electronic transfers, accept and validate coins/bills and process all types of magnetic media;
3. The system will integrate multi-level fare tables for passenger categories, time differentials and zone options;
4. The system will interface with other on-board electronic devices, such as radio, destination/next stop electronics, Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) system; and,
5. The system will provide built-in custom data operations and report generation.

It is recommended that Contract No. 2008-BT-3 be awarded to GFI Genfare for the total amount of $2,966,454.95 for Category “A” and nine of the eleven optional items in Category “B.” The report further stated that District staff will install the new fare collection system, and purchase new computer equipment to make the new system compatible with the District’s technologies. Additional costs associated with Contract No. 2008-BT-3 include: 1) $50,000 to pay for installation and procurement of computer equipment; 2) $25,000 for a contract contingency to accommodate unforeseen issues that may arise during installation and implementation; and, 3) $8,500 for miscellaneous printing and advertising costs. The project cost of $2,800,000 for Contract No. 2008-BT-3, is included in the FY 07/08 Bus Transit Division Capital Budget. The report further stated that award of this contract will require a budget increase in the FY 07/08 Bus Transit Division Capital Budget in the amount of $250,000, to be funded with $200,000 in grant funds and $50,000 from District Reserves, resulting in a new project cost from $2,300,000 to $3,050,000. This project is 80% Federal Transit Administration grant funded and 20% District funded. A copy of the report is available from the Office of the District Secretary and on the District’s web site.

At the meeting, Celia Kupersmith briefly summarized the staff report, noting that the Bus Transit Division is excited to be getting a new fare collection system for Golden Gate Transit buses, since the existing fareboxes are among the oldest currently being used in the transit industry.

Discussion ensued, including the following:

• Acting Chair Middlebrook inquired as to how the new fare collection system would work with the TransLink® fare cards. In response, Susan Chiaroni explained that the TransLink® system will be separate from, but completely compatible with, the new fare collection system.

• President Moylan inquired regarding the difference between the Category “A” and Category “B” items in Contract No. 2008-BT-3. In response, Ms. Chiaroni stated that the Category “A” items are the required basic components of the fare collection system, and that the Category “B” items are optional components, such as additional vaults to store the collected fares.

• Director Cochran inquired as to why there was only one bidder for Contract No. 2008-BT-3. In response, Ms. Chiaroni stated that there are only three fare collection system manufacturers that could have responded to this bid opportunity, and that GFI Genfare has had a successful track record with the District, having manufactured the fareboxes that have been in use for the past 23 years.

Staff recommended and the Committee concurred by motion made and seconded by Directors STROEH/MOYLAN to forward the following recommendation to the Board of Directors for its consideration:

RECOMMENDATION

The Building and Operating Committee recommends that the Board of Directors approve the following actions relative to the award of Contract No. 2008-BT-3, Fare Collection System:

Authorize a budget increase in the FY 06/07 Bus Transit Division Capital Budget, in the amount of $250,000, to be funded with $200,000 in grant funds and $50,000 from District Reserves, for additional costs associated with Contract No. 2008-BT-3, including 1) $50,000 to pay for installation and procurement of computer equipment; 2) $25,000 for a contract contingency to accommodate unforeseen issues that may arise during installation and implementation; and, 3) $8,500 for miscellaneous printing and advertising costs; subject to the concurrence of the Finance-Auditing Committee at its meeting of February 21, 2008.

Action by the Board – Resolution
NON-CONSENT CALENDAR

2.

Status Report from District Appointees on Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) Board

The Committee was provided with a copy of the agenda for the February 20, 2008, meeting and the minutes of the January 19, 2008, meeting of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART). Copies of these items are available in the Office of the District Secretary, as well as on the District’s web site.

At the meeting, Director Boro, one of the members of the SMART Board of Directors (SMART Board), reported on items discussed at the February 20, 2008, meeting of the SMART Board. Director Boro stated that at the meeting, Chris Coursey, SMART’s new Community Outreach and Public Information Manager, distributed 15 of the 20 “White Papers,” that are intended to answer key questions that have been posed regarding SMART’s proposed rail service. He stated that the “White Papers” have been written in such a way that will make technical issues easy to understand, and that the “White Papers” will be posted on various web sites and distributed to elected officials and the public in the North Bay in anticipation of the SMART sales tax measure proposed for the November 2008 ballot. He further reported that the District Secretary will provide a set of the published “White Papers” to the Board members, as well as provide any future published “White Papers.”

Director Boro also reported that SMART’s Financial Plan is currently being developed, and that a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report will be issued in a few weeks to address such issues as weekend service and a new train station location in Novato. He further stated that an independent committee has been created to provide support for the November 2008 SMART sales tax measure. He also noted that in January 2008, TAM, the Marin County Transit District and the SMART District have relocated to one large suite of offices at the downtown San Rafael Corporate Center, a move that should allow these transportation agencies to work together more easily.

Discussion ensued, including the following:

• Director Stroeh inquired regarding the formation of a citizen’s committee to support the SMART sales tax measure. In response, Director Boro confirmed that the citizen’s committee, independent of the SMART District, has been established to campaign for the SMART sales tax measure on the November 2008 ballot. He noted that the citizen’s committee is co-chaired by Marge Macris, former head of the Sierra Club Marin, and by Cynthia Murray, former member of the District Board of Directors and current President and CEO of North Bay Leadership Council, and that Director Stroeh is a member of that committee.

Action by the Board – None Required

Status Report on Engineering Projects

In a memorandum to Committee, Deputy District Engineer Ewa Z. Bauer, District Engineer Denis Mulligan and General Manager Celia Kupersmith reported on current engineering projects. A copy of the report is available in the Office of the District Secretary and on the District’s web site.

At the meeting, Denis Mulligan provided a report regarding Contract No. 2006-B-1, Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Phase IIIA, North Anchorage Housing/North Pylon. He stated that on May 31, 2007, the District had opened bids for Contract No. 2006-B-1, but the Board of Directors subsequently took action to reject all bids and re-advertise the contract, since the low bid amounted to more than twice the Engineer’s estimate. He also stated that minor modifications were made to the bid specifications to increase competition and reduce the price of bids. He further stated that on February 19, 2008, the District again opened bids for Contract No. 2006-B-1, and the low bid is approximately $13 million less than last year’s low bid. He also noted that the District received three competitive bids, with the participation of several new contractors and subcontractors. He stated that the apparent low bidder is a joint venture of Shimmick Construction Co., Inc./Obayashi Corporation, with a bid of $82,320,672.00. The other two bidders were as follows: 1) the second-lowest bidder was a joint venture of California Engineering Contractors, Inc./Disney Construction, Inc., with a bid of $86,347,777.10; and, 2) the third bidder was a joint venture of Kiewit Pacific, Inc./Traylor Bros., Inc., dba Traylor Pacific, with a bid of $91,683,000.00. He stated that staff was pleased with the outcome of the bid opening.

Action by the Board – None Required

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Adjournment

All business having been concluded, the meeting was declared adjourned at 10:10 a.m.