
COMMISSION AGENDA
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer
October 27, 2011
Page 2 of 6
The DHS Port Security Grant Program Fiscal Year 2007 Grant (Round 7) was accepted by the
Commission in November 2007. The Commission has previously authorized a total of
$2,283,090 for in-house design work; the TWIC card reader infrastructure; the software design,
integration and configuration of the TWIC card system; construction of the necessary
infrastructure; and cameras. The additional funding of $299,400 being requested today is
required because the two lowest bids exceeded the Engineer’s Estimate of $680,814 by roughly
17 to 24 percent. After reviewing the bids, Port staff determined the Engineer’s Estimate had
not accurately priced several factors, including an anomaly to the current construction bidding
climate, the amount of paperwork and reporting associated with security grant projects, limited
access to the site and potential bidding restrictions that would potentially increase the cost of the
project. Therefore, in accordance with Resolution No. 3605, Port staff is seeking Commission
approval to execute this contract. Of the $299,400 currently requested, $225,002 will be eligible
for 75 percent reimbursement ($168,752) by the Round 7 grant and the remaining $130,648 will
be paid for by the Port.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
On August 19, 2011, the Port bid the TWIC Implementation Round 7 Power and
Telecommunications Infrastructure as a Major Public Works Contract. The Engineer’s Estimate
was $680,814. On September 20, 2011, the Port of Seattle (Port) received three bids ranging
from $794,560 to $1,156,711 (see table below).
The Dutton Electric Company
Staff analyzed the Engineers Estimate of $680,814 and found the following items either were not
priced appropriately for the final scope or were not accounted for in the final estimate:
The contractor’s overhead and profit was estimated at only 10 percent based on the
assumption that the current poor economic conditions would result in contractors willing
to significantly reduce their profit and overhead costs in order to get the work. This
assumption was proven false when, after the bids were received, the project estimator
contacted several electrical and communications companies that had not submitted bids.
The overall consensus was that some of the smaller electrical contractors had already
gone out of business and that those that were still in business were all very busy bidding
other projects.
Grant projects require significantly more paperwork and reporting than normal Public
Works projects. These additional costs to the contractor may not have been adequately
considered in the Engineer’s Estimate.