Staff Report
City Council
Item No. {{section.number}}.E
Meeting Date: May 14, 2025
From: John A. Corella, Director of Public Works
Title: Professional Services Agreement with BCR Consulting LLC to Prepare Environmental Documents for the Tropical Storm Hilary: Vista Chino Pavement Reconstruction Project, City Project No. C08685 RECOMMENDATION:
To approve a professional services agreement with BCR Consulting LLC to prepare environmental documents related to the Tropical Storm Hilary: Vista Chino Pavement Reconstruction project, city project No. C08685, in the amount of $7,400; and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement.
BACKGROUND:
Vista Chino Drive (Vista Chino) is a widely traveled route for traffic users to get into and out of the cities of Cathedral City and Palm Springs as it provides critical access to the Date Palm Drive interchange, which is the primary interchange with Interstate-10 (I-10) in Cathedral City.
Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Hilary on August 20, 2023, resulted in significant mud and debris deposits on both public and private properties in the northeastern portion of the city's Panorama Park neighborhood. Vista Chino was closed from Panorama Road on the west to Date Palm Drive on the east due to flooding and roadway obstructions. The combination of sediment accumulation and the use of heavy equipment during cleanup operations caused pavement damage beyond what would typically be expected from normal traffic or past flood events.
Vista Chino is classified as a federal-aid minor arterial highway by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Following the Tropical Storm Hilary event, the city prepared and submitted a damage assessment form (DAF) to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), which administers FHWA emergency relief funds, to request funding for the restoration of the roadway to its pre-storm condition.
Caltrans approved the city’s request for the use of emergency repair funds for both the preliminary engineering (design and environmental) and construction phases of the project.
Federal funds, administered by the FHWA, will cover 88.53% of the project cost, with the remaining 11.47% funded through a local match by the city. The damage assessment form (DAF) allocated $37,000 to the preliminary engineering phase.
With the DAF approved, city staff proceeded to the preliminary engineering phase of the project, beginning with the submission of the preliminary environmental study (PES) form.
The PES was prepared in compliance with Caltrans and FHWA procedures and submitted to Caltrans on January 3, 2025.
On February 19, 2025, Caltrans returned the executed PES form with comments requiring the preparation of several technical reports and studies to support National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) clearance. These include a historic property survey report (HPSR), an area of potential effect (APE) map, an archaeological survey report (ASR), and tribal consultation. All these tasks must be completed by a qualified professional environmental consultant.
DISCUSSION:
On March 18, 2025, city staff solicited an informal RFP to qualified professional consultant companies to prepare environmental documents in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Consultant companies were given until March 31, 2025, to provide a response.
At the time of the submittal deadline, the city received a total of (3) three responses from the following consultant companies:
Applied Earthwork, Inc. Hemet, CA
BCR Consulting LLC Claremount, CA
CRM Tech Colton, CA
Proposals were then evaluated by a panel consisting of three (3) members of public works staff and one (1) on-call federal/state support consultant. The panel ranked the companies on their responsiveness, qualifications, and understanding of the scope of work. Based on the evaluations, BCR Consulting LLC was determined to be the most qualified consultant.
City staff reviewed the cost proposal from BCR Consulting LLC in the amount of $7,400 and determined that the cost is in line with industry rates for similar environmental services.
City staff recommend that the City Council approve a professional services agreement with BCR Consulting LLC to prepare environmental documents related to the Tropical Storm Hilary: Vista Chino Pavement Reconstruction project, city project No. C08685, in the amount of $7,400; and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
BCR Consulting LLC cost to complete the project is in the amount of $7,400. This amount will be funded by the federal emergency relief (Caltrans) 88.53%, and a local match of
11.47%. A breakdown of the percentage cost is summarized below:
Federal Emergency Relief (Caltrans) 88.53% $6551.22
Local Match (Cathedral City) 11.47% $848.78
Total $7,400.00
Fiscal
Year DESCRIPTION GENERAL LEDGER
ACCOUNT CODES
PROJECT
CODE AMOUNT
ONE TIME
or
ONGOING
2024-25 Federal Emergency
Relief (Caltrans)
331-100-150-156-8600-
8601 C08685 $6,551.22 One Time
2024-25 General Fund (MOE) 100-100-150-156-8600-
8601 C08685 $848.78 One Time
2024-25 Total $7,400.00
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
Goal B: COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
Objective: Cathedral City roads, gateways, public spaces, and other city infrastructure are well planned, designed, constructed, and maintained.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Project Vicinity Map
2. Proposal Evaluation and Ranking
3. BCR Consulting LLC - Professional Design Services Agreement