Library battery project delayed
Prime Electric LLC has been given an extra year to install a battery storage system at the library.
At its June 6 meeting, Council voted to move the deadline to June 30, 2024.
Staff reported manufacturing and delivery slowdowns, as well as a sluggish Santa Clara County Fire Department review process, were to blame.
Prime Electric is putting in a 125-kilowatt “ELM Microgrid” Battery Storage System with 330 kilowatt-hour energy storage that could later be expanded to 440 kilowatt-hour capacity.
It’s designed to provide 100% backup for the Town facility in a power outage.
The project has a budget of $543,000.
Pacific Water Art wins $46,495 extension for Plaza Park fountain contract
Pacific Water Art, Inc., the company that built the Town Plaza Park fountain 22 years ago, was awarded another $46,495 for its maintenance, June 6.
The fountain filtration system was completed in 2009 for $330,356, including design services and materials.
Staff said the extension would allow for “continuity of service” and maximize savings.
“The contract language provides for cancellation should the need arise during the contract term and ties the work to the budget appropriated by the Town Council annually,” staff reported. “To accommodate the potential impacts of inflation on the service, the contract allows for annual increases based on the Consumer Price Index.”
However, the Town says an extension was in the cards because the attention of Town staff has been focused elsewhere—specifically on recovering from intense winter weather.
“Due to the extreme storms experienced this year and the damage to the many trees, streets, and sidewalks still outstanding, resources have been shifted to prioritize those efforts and a new Request for Proposals for the fountain maintenance and repair was not able to be issued,” staff said in its report.
St. Francis Electric, Inc. wins $53,381 more for signal and streetlight work
Los Gatos relies on a network of consultants and contractors to keep its utility and transportation networks humming.
In September 2020, Council OK’d a five-year agreement with St. Francis Electric, Inc. to maintain traffic signals and streetlights, and to help identify underground infrastructure before various digging projects can proceed.
The total contract amount was set at $675,000—up to $135,000 a year.
On Aug. 3, 2021, Council increased the 2020/21 maximum by $8,567, because so many underground jobs connected to various developments, and the Town’s capital program, had come in.
Then, in March 2022, Council allowed an increase of $67,000 for 2021/22, to cover cost overruns, and added $50,000 a year on to the base amount.
That brought the total agreement up to $900,567.
“The service needs and resulting costs each fiscal year depend on the number of traffic signal and streetlight repair and maintenance calls and (Underground Service Alert) requests,” staff wrote in its report. “The budget for response repair and maintenance services has been exhausted for this fiscal year, with pending invoices that need to be paid. The Town encountered numerous traffic signal repair issues during this current fiscal year due to the excessive winter storms and traffic crashes that damaged equipment; more funds are needed to replace and maintain traffic signal cabinets, conduits, wiring and poles for the remainder of the fiscal year.”
Council voted to add an additional $53,381 on to the contract, through a June 6 consent motion, bringing the total value of the agreement with the San Leandro-based company to $953,948.
Facing staffing issues, Town extends Kier + Wright’s term as Acting Surveyor
Civil engineer and land surveyor Kier + Wright Civil Engineers and Surveyors, Inc. was responsible for planning and site development for the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Berkeley, topographic studies and expansion plans for the Adobe World Headquarters building, and utility design and mapping for the Carlysle high-rise project in downtown San Jose—among other achievements.
As Los Gatos’ Parks and Public Works Department currently doesn’t have a Town Surveyor, it’s been relying on Kier + Wright to provide consulting services to fill in the gaps.
Town Engineer Gary Heap explained to Council in a May 22 report why these duties are so key.
“Several complicated and sometimes invalid requests for lot line adjustments and map approvals come from developers looking to create new developable lots in the Town,” he wrote. “These requests require review by an experienced survey consultant with extensive knowledge in the field of historical chain of title review to verify the validity of these requests.”
Plus, California’s Subdivision Map Act law says Los Gatos must use a licensed surveyor for reviews of development maps and similar documents.
Kier + Wright, which has 12 registered surveyors on staff, has been handling Acting Surveyor duties since 2018, but that contract was set to end June 30, Heap noted.
He explained Los Gatos hasn’t been able to get around to sending out a Request for Qualifications to get a fresh contract going, because of low staffing levels at Town Hall, and asked for an extension to the current agreement.
Council voted, on consent June 6, to push the end-date to June 30, 2024.
