FPUD provides additional funding for as-needed paving contracts

The Fallbrook Public Utility District board approved an additional $315,000 in funding for FPUD’s as-needed paving contract program.

The 4-0 FPUD board vote Oct. 15, with Milt Davies absent, increases the 2018-2019 as-needed contract amount for asphalt paving from $328,000 to $643,000, not including a separate contract for $52,718.82 to repave road surface on Winterhaven Road and Winterwarm Drive.

“It was just additional funding to make sure we keep up our paving when we have a need for repairs,” FPUD general manager Jack Bebee said.

The paving contracts are for when roadway repaving is needed after the completion of an FPUD project which requires excavation within a street. At one time FPUD did not issue a bid for the final paving of projects until enough paving was required for the jobs to be grouped.

The delays between the completion of projects and the completion of the final paving resulted in poor road conditions before the final paving. In 2016 FPUD adopted a policy of competitive solicitations for as-needed paving work based on estimated quantities and unit pricing. Bidders are allowed to submit separately on asphalt and concrete paving. The paving contracts are awarded on an annual basis.

“The contract mechanism is in place so we don’t have a long delay between getting the repair done and completing the final paving,” Bebee said.

A 5-0 FPUD board vote, Feb. 26, authorized an asphalt paving contract for up to $328,000 with Joe’s Paving Company Inc. designated as the primary contractor and Kirk Paving Inc. chosen as the alternate in case Joe’s Paving is unavailable for the needed work and a concrete paving contract for up to $164,800 with Hardy and Harper Inc. Because FPUD will require less concrete paving than asphalt paving only a primary contractor will be called upon when concrete paving is needed.

FPUD’s 10-inch main underneath Winterhaven Road and Winterwarm Road failed July 24, which allowed 120,000 gallons to flow north on Winterhaven Road underneath the pavement and damaged the road 200 feet north of Gracey Lane.

Because of the scope of the repairs to Winterhaven Road and Winterwarm Drive, a separate contract was issued instead of performing the work under the as-needed paving contract which has a dollar limit. FPUD staff issued a request for proposals in August, Joe’s Paving had the low bid at $52,718.82, and a 4-0 FPUD board vote Sept. 24, with Davies absent, awarded Joe’s Paving that contract.

More pipe leaks than expected have resulted in more asphalt paving demand than anticipated, and the positive situation that FPUD’s valve replacement program is being undertaken quicker than expected has also created more paving work than what FPUD planned when the as-needed contracts were bid.

As of September, FPUD had a $49,686 balance in the asphalt paving budget with 12 jobs remaining to be invoiced. The expectation that FPUD would have no available funding for the projects by October led to the Oct. 15 special meeting at which FPUD authorized the additional $315,000.

The additional funding is expected to cover FPUD’s needs both through February 2019, when the new contracts will be awarded, and through the end of the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Paving jobs which are not on call will be awarded by a separate board action after the contract bid process.

In some cases, paving costs are included in the overall costs for repairs and capital projects, and the increase in the as-needed paving contract amount includes repaving which will be covered under the pipeline and valve replacement capital budget.