City Council Agenda
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Memo to: |
Manteca City Council |
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From: |
Michael Selling, Assistant Director of Engineering/City Engineer |
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Prepared by: |
Kyzen Nicolas, Associate Engineer, Somporn Boonsalat, Deputy Director of Engineering |
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Date: |
April 7, 2026 |
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Subject: |
Agreement for Services with Telstar Instruments for SCADA system programming associated with the WQCF Sludge Thickener (CIP 24007) & Dewatering (CIP 24006) Projects |
Recommendation:
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Adopt a resolution determining Telstar Instruments to be the only vendor that has the unique skills and expertise necessary to provide Wastewater Quality Control Facility (WQCF) Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) programming to ensure compatibility and continuity with the existing system; approving an Agreement for Services with Telstar Instruments for an amount not-to-exceed $244,328 for SCADA system programming associated with the WQCF Sludge Thickener (CIP 24007) & Dewatering (CIP 24006) Projects; finding that the Telstar Agreement for Services is exempt from the competitive process pursuant to California Public Contract Code § 3400(c)(2) in order to match other products in use on a particular improvement either completed or in the course of completion; and authorizing the City Manager or designee to take all appropriate actions necessary to carry out the purpose and intent of the resolution.
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Background:
On December 17, 2024, the City Council approved the project plans and specifications and authorized the Call for Bids for the Wastewater Quality Control Facility (WQCF) Sludge Thickener (CIP 24007) & Dewatering (CIP 24006) Projects (Project).
On April 15, 2025, the City Council awarded the Project construction contract to C. Overaa & Co. (Overaa) in the amount of $22,865,000 and approved a Project contingency of $2,000,000.
The WQCF began operation in 1959. Since then, the plant has been upgraded and expanded multiple times. The current WQCF is a conventional activated sludge plant and includes the following treatment processes: headworks screening structure, influent pump station, aerated grit tanks, primary sedimentation basins, aeration basins, return activated sludge system, waste activated sludge system, secondary clarifiers, secondary effluent equalization pond, tertiary cloth media filters, ultraviolet disinfection system, recycled water pump station, dissolved air floatation thickeners, centrifuge dewatering system, and anaerobic digesters. The SCADA system is the master program that controls all these treatment processes. All the repairs, upgrades, and improvements made over the history of the WQCF have resulted in ghost-scripts (programming that seems to serve no purpose but could impact WQCF operations) and cross-program logic errors.
WQCF staff has been working with Telstar Instruments (Telstar) over the last eight years to upgrade old controllers, troubleshoot issues, and revise outdated programming associated with various treatment processes. Modifications to the SCADA system will need to be made to accommodate the Project’s new processes. Recently, a programmer working on a project at the WQCF encountered a cross-program logic error that caused a shutdown of the SCADA system, forcing staff to operate the plant manually. Telstar had to be brought in to restore normal operations.
Staff has reviewed and determined that Telstar is the only vendor that has the unique skills and expertise necessary to provide WQCF SCADA programming to ensure compatibility and continuity with the existing system. As such, the service agreement is exempt from the competitive process pursuant to California Public Contract Code § 3400(c)(2) in order to match other products in use on a particular improvement either completed or in the course of completion.
Staff has completed scope and fee negotiations with Telstar for an amount not-to-exceed $244,328 for WQCF SCADA system programming modifications necessary for the Project.
Fiscal Impact:
There is sufficient funding within the WQCF Sludge Thickener (CIP 24007) & Dewatering (CIP 24006) projects contingency to cover the cost for this Agreement for Services with Telstar Instruments for an amount not-to-exceed of $244,328.
Documents Attached:
1. Attachment 1 - Resolution
2. Attachment 2 - Location Map
3. Attachment 3 - Agreement for Services with Telstar Instruments