A. Notwith-standing any other provision of this chapter, contracts for public projects, as defined herein, shall be awarded in accordance with the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act, Public Contract Code § 22000 et seq., and in compliance with the provisions of this Section 3.14.100
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B. Definitions. Unless otherwise provided by law, the following terms shall have those definitions as are set forth next to each:
1. “Facility” means any plant, building, structure, ground facility, utility system (subject to the limitation found in subsection B.2.c., below, real property, streets and highways, or other public work improvement.
2. “Public project” means any of the following:
a. Construction, reconstruction, erection, alteration, renovation, improvement, demolition and repair work involving any publicly owned, leased or operated facility;
b. Painting or repainting of any publicly owned, leased or operated facility;
c. In the case of a publicly owned utility system, 'public project' includes only the construction, erection, improvement or repair of dams, reservoirs, power plants and electrical transmission lines of two hundred and thirty thousand volts and higher.
3. “Public project” does not include maintenance work. For purposes of this section, “maintenance work” includes all of the following:
a. Routine, recurring and usual work for the preservation or protection of any publicly owned or publicly operated facility for its intended purposes;
b. Minor repainting;
c. Resurfacing of streets and highways at less than one inch;
d. Landscape maintenance, including mowing, watering, trimming, pruning, planting, replacement of plants and servicing of irrigation and sprinkler systems;
e. Work performed to keep, operate and maintain publicly owned water, power or waste disposal systems, including, but not limited to, dams, reservoirs, power plants and electrical transmission lines of two hundred and thirty thousand volts and higher.
C. Classification of projects.
1. The Director of Public Works shall review all City public projects with respect to the monetary limits imposed by Public Contract Code § 22032, or any successor provision thereto, and shall designate such projects as follows:
a. Projects that may be performed with the City's own forces by force account, by negotiated contract, or by purchase order.
b. Projects of one hundred thousand dollars or less may be let to contract by informal bidding procedures.
c. Projects that may be let by contract after formal bidding, and the Director shall accomplish such identified projects by formal bidding.
2. Projects shall not be split to avoid any of the bidding requirements contained in Public Contract Code § 22000, et seq.
D. Informal bidding procedures.
1. Development, maintenance and use of list of qualified contractors.
a. The Director of Public Works shall develop a list of qualified contractors eligible to bid on projects awarded by informal bidding, in accordance with the provisions of Public Contract Code § 22034(a).
b. The list shall be organized in accordance with the license classifications of the Contractor's State License Board.
c. Any licensed California contractor may request to be added to the list of qualified contractors at any time by filing a completed application with the Director of Public Works on a form provided by the Director. The contractor will be added to the list if the contractor meets all criteria established by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission ("Commission").
2. Plans, specifications and working details. The Director of Public Works shall prepare and approve plans, specifications and working details for all contracts awarded by informal bidding to enable a qualified contractor to perform the work required for each contract awarded by informal bidding.
3. Identifying and inviting bids.
a. The Director of Public Works shall mail notice inviting informal bids to all contractors on the list of qualified contractors for the category of work being bid, and/or to all construction trade journals as specified by the Commission pursuant to Public Contract Code § 22036.
b. The Director of Public Works shall complete the mailing of notices inviting informal bids, as required by this subsection, not less than ten calendar days before bids are due.
c. The notice inviting informal bids shall describe the projects in general terms, how to obtain more detailed information about the project, and state the time and place for the submission of bids.
4. Opening of informal bids and award of contract.
a. At the time provided in the notice inviting informal bids, the City Clerk shall open all bids timely received. If a contract is awarded, it shall be awarded by the City Manager to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder. If two or more responsive bids are the same and lowest, the City Manager may award the contract by drawing lots. If no bids are received, the project may be performed by City forces, negotiated contract, or by any other means provided by law, as the City Manager determines to be in the best interest of the City.
b. If all competent bids received are in excess of one hundred thousand dollars, the City Council may, by adoption of a resolution by a four-fifths vote, award the contract, at one hundred and ten thousand dollars or less, to the lowest responsible bidder, if it determines that the City's cost estimate was reasonable.
E. Formal bidding procedures.
1. Contracts for public projects determined by the Director of Public Works to require formal bidding pursuant to the provisions of Public Contract Code § 22032 and subsection C.1 above, shall be formally bid and awarded or rejected, in accordance with the provisions of Public Contract Code §§ 22037 and 22038.
2. The Public Works Director shall approve plans, specifications and designs for all formally bid public projects.
3. If a contract is awarded, it shall be awarded by the City Council to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder. If two or more bids are the same and the lowest, the City Council may accept either bid. If no bids are received, the project may be performed by City forces, negotiated contract, or by any other means provided by law, as the City Council determines to be in the best interests of the City.
(Ord. 692 § 1, 2017; Ord. 407 § 2 (part), 1987).