Subject:
Title
Approval to use the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the Utilities Services Department’s Capital Projects Identified.
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Fiscal Impact:
The fiscal impact of utilizing CMAR services for capital projects will be within the budget adopted by the Board for each identified capital project.
Dept/Office:
Utility Services
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners approve the Utility Services Department:
1. To utilize the services of a CMAR firm(s) for the Utility Services Department’s capital projects identified in the Summary Explanation and Background section of this agenda; and
2. Authorize Purchasing Services to competitively solicit Request for Qualifications for the services of CMAR firm(s) for the identified capital projects; and
3. Authorize the County Manager to execute contracts, contract amendments, and any contract extensions, budget change requests (BCR), change orders, and any documents or other administrative actions related to the CMAR contracts within the Board’s approved budget for each identified capital project.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
CMAR is a project-delivery method in which the County engages a construction management firm during the early design and pre-construction phase to provide comprehensive advisory, planning, cost-estimating, scheduling, value-engineering, and constructability-review services, while also entering into a contractual agreement that designates the construction manager as the entity responsible for delivering the completed project within a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP). Under this arrangement, the construction manager acts first as a professional consultant to the County and the design team, offering expertise to optimize the design and reduce risks, and later transitions into the construction phase of the Department’s identified capital projects, assuming financial and performance risk for overseeing, coordinating, and managing all construction activities, subcontractors, materials, and workmanship.
In doing so, the CMAR firm is obligated to protect the County from cost overruns by guaranteeing that the total cost of the project-including labor, materials, subcontracted work, overhead, and fees-will not exceed the GMP, except in cases involving County-approved changes in scope. This dual role fosters a collaborative and transparent relationship during pre-construction, complemented by a risk-bearing, performance-driven obligation during construction, thereby blending the advisory benefits of construction management with the cost certainty and accountability characteristic of traditional contracting methods.
The advantage of using CMAR project-delivery method is: (1) competitively procures a qualified contractor for the project, (2) reduces overall project duration by overlapping design and construction activities and reducing change orders, requests for information, and the likelihood of budget change requests, (3) improved project outcomes on complex infrastructure projects through early contractor input, and (4) CMAR project-delivery method provides increased cost certainty through establishment of a GMP, which is particularly beneficial when pursuing funding through State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs or tax-exempt bond financing.
For these reasons, the Utility Services Department is seeking to use the CMAR project-delivery method on the following capital projects:
• Mims: Water Treatment Plant Expansion (District 1)
• Port Saint John: New Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) Wastewater Treatment Plant (District 1)
• Sykes: Courtney Parkway Lift Station and Force Main Improvements (District 2)
• South Beaches: Deep Injection Well Improvements-Phase 1: Well Installation (District 3)
• South Beaches: Deep Injection Well Improvements - Phase 2: Pump Station (District 3)
• South Beaches: Wastewater Treatment Facility to Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) Conversion-6 MGD Treatment Train (District 3)
• South Brevard: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants-Water Treatment Plant (District 3)
• South Brevard: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants-Wastewater Treatment Plant (District 3)
• South Brevard: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants-Deep Injection Wells (District 3)
• South Central: Wastewater Treatment Plant Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) Conversion and Improvements (District 4)
• South Beaches: Riverside Drive Force Main Improvements-Riverside Drive 30-inch Parallel Force Main (Districts 4 & 5)
For each capital project identified as utilizing CMAR, authorization to proceed will be determined by the Board-adopted budget for that capital project.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
E-mail Clerk Memo to karina.perez@brevardfl.gov, mail the original Memo to Utility Services Department, and a copy to Purchasing Services.