Meeting_Body
CONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE
JULY 16, 2025
Subject
SUBJECT: CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES - CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
Action
ACTION: AWARD CONTRACT
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer to:
A. AWARD a cost-plus fixed fee Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity Contract No. AE128436MC085, to Zephyr UAS, Inc., to provide Construction Management Support Services for Capital Improvement Projects, for a period of five years in an amount Not-To-Exceed (NTE) $50,000,000, subject to the resolution of any properly submitted protest(s), if any; and
B. EXECUTE individual Task Orders within the Board-approved contract amount.
Issue
ISSUE
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) requires professional services from a qualified Construction Management Support Services (CMSS) firm to support the design review, construction management, and administration of construction contracts for various Metro capital improvement projects and adjacent/joint development projects to ensure compliance with Metro’s safety and security policies, contract requirements, and government regulations. The existing CMSS contract (AE76301MC081), awarded in 2021, is expiring and must be replaced to continue support of project delivery.
This new CMSS contract will provide essential pre-construction, contract administration, and construction-phase support to help projects transition from design completion to construction efficiently, while adhering to Metro’s safety, quality, and regulatory requirements. It will also play a critical role in supporting high-priority projects leading up to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, providing early constructability reviews for designs being advanced through the Supplemental Engineering Services for Capital Improvement Projects contract.
Background
BACKGROUND
This contract allows Metro to efficiently and effectively augment Metro staff as needed, ensuring appropriate resources are available in terms of both staff availability and technical expertise. This approach supports the delivery of construction projects to the highest standards of safety, quality, and efficiency.
Historically, this contract has supported state-of-good-repair projects, such as inspection of Metro facilities, tunnel grouting and repairs, and oversight of adjacent development construction, which has increased with system expansion.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
As part of Metro’s Program Management Office (PMO) Continuous Improvement Initiative, Metro continues to strive toward an equal 50/50 ratio of Metro staff to consultants on major capital projects. At this time, consultant support remains essential when discrete projects must be delivered quickly, or when there are surges in the number of active projects. This contract provides Metro with the flexibility and technical capacity to meet those needs and uphold delivery schedules across a fluctuating capital program, while also maintaining our focus on recruiting efforts to continuously improve our Metro staff to consultant ratio.
The contract will also serve as a bridge for projects needing immediate support while procuring their own project-specific construction management services contract. This flexibility ensures seamless delivery and continuity during transitional periods. More near term and immediate, this contract will provide support to the projects leading up to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and will be critical to support Metro with constructability and value engineering reviews of the projects where grant funding is finite and the schedule to deliver the projects is inflexible due to the impending events that will put Los Angeles and Metro’s transit system on the world stage.
The CMSS will provide skilled individuals to assist Metro with the construction management of projects. Services for each project will be authorized by a Task Order. The Task Order based approach offers flexibility to scale support to actual project needs, thereby optimizing resource allocation and cost-effectiveness. Services are structured into three distinct phases:
• Pre-Construction Services:
o Constructability and value-engineering reviews
o QA/QC and design-phase reviews
o Early third-party coordination, environmental compliance planning
o Support the development of baseline schedules, cost estimates, and risk registers (Optional)
• Procurement Support:
o Preparation and management of technical bid packages, RFIs, and addenda
o Non-scoring technical evaluations as a subject matter expert
• Construction Support:
o Resident engineering and construction inspection
o Safety and quality oversight
o Utility, third-party, and community relations coordination
o Project close-out and documentation
The Contract will be funded on a Task Order basis from project budgets, with consideration given to planning timelines and project-specific constraints. Metro staff will maintain strict project controls to monitor expenditures and schedules. No funds are obligated until negotiations for each Task Order are finalized within the Board-approved NTE amount. While the proposed contract is flexible in nature dependent on actual project needs, example projects and programs that are contemplated to use this contract are:
• Vermont Transit Corridor;
• Projects to support Station Experience;
• Joint and Adjacent Development projects;
• Zero Emission Bus Charging Infrastructure; and
• Projects that support the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including, but not limited to, those funded by the Reconnecting Communities & Neighborhoods grant program
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Approval of this action maintains and reinforces Metro’s safety standards by providing dedicated experienced construction management professionals.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of the recommendations will have no financial impact to the FY26 budget,those projects utilizing this contract for staff augmentation will provide the funds from the respective projects adopted budget. As this is a multi-year contract, Project Managers, Cost Center Managers, and the Chief Program Management Officer will be responsible for budgeting task order costs in future fiscal years.
Impact to Budget
As specific support needs arise, Task Orders will be issued and funded within Life-of-Project (LOP) budgets or the approved annual budgets for each individual capital project. Funding sources will reflect the project budgets which may include federal and/or state grants as well as local funds. Where appropriate, local funds will include operating-eligible sources.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The Contract provides Construction Management Support for various Metro projects throughout the County of Los Angeles, including in many Equity Focus Communities . These services are essential for the support and on-time delivery of Metro projects that serve Metro customers. All services supported by this contract help avoid project delays and effectively deliver the projects and provide greater access and mobility for those who rely on transit to meet their daily needs and reduce the potential impact for interruption to service which would negatively affect our ridership.
Metro staff presented at the Transportation Business Advisory Council and attended meetings with the Small Business Community to further define the experience and background for this solicitation and held one on ones for firms interested in learning more.
The Diversity and Economic Opportunity Department (DEOD) established an overall 36% Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goal for federally funded projects, and 33% Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and 3% Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) goals for non-federally funded projects in the solicitation. The successful firm met the goals by making an overall 36% DBE, 33% SBE, and 3% DVBE commitments. The awardee is participating in the Contracting Outreach and Mentoring Plan (COMP), a summary of the DBE, SBE and DVBE subconsultants is provided in Attachment B.
Vehicle_Miles_Traveled _Outcome
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED OUTCOME
VMT and VMT per capita in Los Angeles County are lower than national averages, the lowest in the SCAG region, and on the lower end of VMT per capita statewide, with these declining VMT trends due in part to Metro’s significant investment in rail and bus transit.* Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets align with California’s statewide climate goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. To ensure continued progress, all Board items are assessed for their potential impact on VMT.
As part of these ongoing efforts, this item is expected to contribute to further reductions in VMT. This item supports Metro’s systemwide strategy to reduce VMT through construction oversight activities that will improve and further encourage transit ridership, ridesharing, and active transportation. Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets were designed to build on the success of existing investments, and this item aligns with those objectives.
While this item does not directly encourage taking transit, sharing a ride, or using active transportation, it is a vital part of Metro operations Because the Metro Board has adopted an agency-wide VMT Reduction Target, and this item supports the overall function of the agency, this item is consistent with the goals of reducing VMT.
*Based on population estimates from the United States Census and VMT estimates from Caltrans’ Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data between 2001-2019.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Recommendation supports strategic plan:
• Goal 1: Provide high-quality mobility options.
• Goal 3: Enhance communities through mobility and access.
• Goal 4: Regional collaboration and leadership through efficient project delivery.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board may reject the recommendations. Staff does not recommend this, as rejection will require an extensive hiring effort to provide permanent staff to fill the required positions, several of which are anticipated to be temporary. This would not be cost effective and could cause delays, since many of the CMSS staff are only required on a periodic basis for peak workloads and specific tasks over the life of the project.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval of this recommended action, staff will execute Contract No. AE128436MC085.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary
Attachment B - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Michelle Quinn, Executive Officer Program Management (213) 922-3026
Carolina Coppolo, Deputy Chief Vendor/Contract Management
Officer, (213) 922-4471
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Tim Lindholm, Chief Program Management Officer, (213) 922-7297
