BACKGROUND:
Stormwater runoff is generated from rain and storm events that flow over land or impervious surfaces, such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops, and does not infiltrate into the ground. The runoff picks up pollutants like trash, chemicals, oils, and dirt/sediment that can harm our rivers, streams, lakes, and coastal waters. To protect these resources, the City is mandated to comply with the requirements of the Whitewater River Regional Permit and manage its National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program. These requirements include tracking best management practices (BMP’s) during and after construction, conducting periodic inspections to the City’s industrial and commercial businesses, documenting good housekeeping practices when maintaining its facilities, and recording any investigations conducted for illegal connections and illicit discharges. These activities are summarized and reported annually to the Regional Water Board.
DISCUSSION:
As the City continues to grow, Staff must allocate time and resources to be able to complete the required tasks (inspections, logging and reporting) necessary to comply with this unfunded mandate. The City has found it both efficient and cost effective to biennially bid out for on-call and/or as needed services to provide these specialized services, rather than having full-time personnel specialized in this skill set. Regularly called upon to assist the City's Engineering and Public Works Department, certified professionals can support this work on a day-to-day basis.
City Engineering Staff solicited Request for Proposals (RFP) for NPDES Program Consulting Services to support the Engineering Department with managing its NPDES Program. The RFP for these services was posted on the City’s website on December 29, 2021 and advertised in the Desert Sun newspaper on January 5, 2022.
Within the RFP, firms specializing in this type of work were asked to provide their qualifications to be able to perform the work on an on-call basis. Additionally, cost proposals included hourly rates (prevailing wage) and/or unit costs for various services were required to be provided in a separate, sealed envelope. All proposals were to be submitted to the City on January 20, 2022, at 3:00 p.m.
One proposal was received on January 20, 2022, from CASC Engineering and Consulting Inc. out of Palm Desert, California, for NPDES Program Consulting Services for various City engineering projects.
Staff is recommending moving forward with an Agreement for Services with CASC Engineering and Consulting Inc. They have proven over the past contract period to be comprehensive, responsive, and knowledgeable of the required work. In comparison to the prior 2019 agreement, the cost proposal was evaluated, and the rate schedule (based on modified position classifications) mostly decreased by 7%, while some increased slightly by 3%. These cost decreases and increases were evaluated by Staff Commented [KF1]: I added a little more
background. Always keep in mind that the
audience includes the community, who may need
a more basic understanding of what the City is
trying to accomplish, and why it is important.
and are in line with the expectations for these types of services seen in the industry this past year.
FISCAL IMPACT:
These specific consulting services are currently budgeted in each year and included in the City’s FY 2021 – 2022 and FY 2022 – 2023 Biennial Budget under Engineering’s Professional and Technical Services (100-156-8601) line item totaling $220,000, with NPDES inspections services identified in the amount of $35,000.
Using the hourly rates and unit prices from the agreements, the Director of Engineering /Public Works will negotiate and issue Task Orders for each type of service required related to the NPDES/Stormwater Management Program. Total costs for Task Orders prepared under the on-call and/or as-needed contracts will be identified as each Task Order is issued and will not exceed $35,000. Commented [KF2]: We need to always help the Council understand what they are approving
with respect to dollars and cents.