BACKGROUND:
Late in the development of the design of plans for the Via De Anza Street Improvement Project, Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) Staff advised City Staff they would need to install a new water pipeline on the east side of Via De Anza prior to constructing street improvements. As a result, this new water pipeline request altered the originally proposed scope of the Via De Anza Street Improvement Project. While the Project was originally set to be constructed in one phase, CVWD’s request required that the Project be divided into three (3) phases as follows:
•Phase I – West side of Via De Anza between Dinah Shore Drive and Olancha Road with infill portions on both Olancha Road and Via Altamira. •Phase II – East side of Via De Anza between Dinah Shore Drive and Olancha Road.
•Phase III – East side of Via De Anza between Olancha Road and Ortega Road, and the north and south side of the Arrowhead Road cul-de-sac east of Via De Anza.
Please note that Phase I construction is near completion and at the Council Meeting on August 10, 2022, the City Council authorized Task Order 09 to NAI Consulting, Inc. for Engineering Design Services for Via De Anza Street Improvement Project - Phases II and III.
At a utility coordination meeting on October 24, 2022, CVWD notified City Staff that funding for the new water pipeline on Via De Anza was removed from CVWD’s FY 2022-2023 Capital Improvement Budget. This news could have delayed the Via De Anza Street Improvement Phase II Project for another year. Working cooperatively to keep the City’s Project moving, CVWD Staff and City Staff agreed the best course of action is for both the City’s Project and CVWD’s water pipeline replacement Project be constructed simultaneously under one contract.
The City is proposing to be the lead agency in this construction effort. It is further proposed CVWD will reimburse the City for 100% of the water pipeline replacement work within the combined Project. This cooperation is not new as the City and CVWD have coordinated work for the construction of street improvements together with the relocation and upgrades of CVWD water pipelines under one bid contract in the past.
DISCUSSION:
City Staff is working with CVWD to expedite the completion of the design and construction documents for CVWD’s water pipeline replacement portion of the Project.
To meet this year’s CIP and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) fund expenditure timelines, the combining of both Agencies’ Projects and perform the constructing under one contract to deliver the Project this fiscal year is the best alternative. To reaffirm, the water pipeline replacement will take place within the limits of the Via De Anza Street Improvements Phase II Project on the east side of Via De Anza between Dinah Shore Drive and Olancha Road.
CVWD will be responsible for the engineering design for its domestic water pipeline and all associated portions of the Project in accordance with CVWD’s design criteria and standards at CVWD’s expense.
The next step in this combined Project effort is to approve a Reimbursement Agreement between both entities. A Reimbursement Agreement between the City and CVWD has been prepared. CVWD will be responsible to reimburse the City 100% of the actual construction cost to replace CVWD’s water pipeline portion of the City‘s street improvement Project. A copy of the Reimbursement Agreement is attached to this Staff Report.
Please note that CVWD Staff has received approval of this Reimbursement Agreement and respective budget amendment by the CVWD Board at yesterday’s meeting on December 13, 2022.
The City is proposing to include CVWD’s domestic water pipeline replacement work in the City’s Via De Anza Street Improvements Phase II Project bid documents and publicly advertise the combined Project for bids. The City will also authorize its Contractor to construct CVWD’s domestic water pipeline and all associated portions of the Project according to the approved plans and specifications.
Staff is requesting City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a 100% Reimbursement Agreement with the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) for the relocation and replacement of a water main at an estimated construction cost of $470,000 within the limits of the upcoming Via De Anza Street Improvements Phase II Project, located along Via De Anza between Dinah Shore Drive and Olancha Road.
Note: For the future Via De Anza Street Improvement Phase III Project construction planned in the FY 2023-24, it is proposed that CVWD will return with a similar reimbursement agreement request to replace the underlying water pipeline within our street improvement project in this Ocotillo Square area.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The construction of the new CVWD water pipeline on Via De Anza Road, between Dinah Shore Drive and Ortega Road is estimated at $470,000.00. Once the Project is formally bid, the estimated construction amount will be updated accordingly on the Reimbursement Agreement. This portion of the Project will be funded from the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Fund (331).
Funding for the City’s Via De Anza Street Improvement Project is a CIP Project to be funded from CDBG Public Improvement Funds (251) as approved in the FY 2022-23 Annual Action Plan. When the bids for the construction of the Project are received and evaluated, Staff will present the construction contract award to the City Council for approval.