1 COUNCILMEMBERS
Dominic D. Aliano, Mayor
Laura M. Hoffmeister, Vice Mayor
Edi E. Birsan
Timothy A. McGallian
Carlyn S. Obringer
Civic Center
1950 Parkside Drive
Concord, CA 94519
www.cityofconcord.org
Regular Meeting of the
Concord City Council
Tuesday,
November 1, 2022
5:30 p.m. – Open Session
Closed Session immediately
following Open Session
Open Session:
Council Chamber
1950 Parkside Drive
and Various
telephonic/electronic
locations
Closed Session:
Permit Center
Conference Room
1950 Parkside Drive
NOTICE: The Open Session portion of the meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Members of the City Council, City staff/consultants, and the public will be able to participate in the Open Session either in- person or remotely via Zoom.
The Closed Session portion of the meeting agenda will begin after conclusion of the Open Session, and will be held in person only in the Permit Center Conference Room, 1950 Parkside Drive.
Public Comment for the Closed Session item will be taken in person or remotely via Zoom immediately before the City Council recesses to the Closed Session.
Pursuant to AB 361, the City is authorized to hold public meetings via teleconferencing and to make public meetings accessible telephonically or otherwise electronically to all members of the public. Tonight’s meeting will be conducted both in-person and remotely via Zoom.
Please note
5:30 p.m.
Meeting Start
2 How to Watch the Meeting:
Watch on TV on Comcast Channel 28, Wave Channel 29, and U-verse Channel 99 Watch the TV broadcast through the City’s website by following THIS LINK Watching Live Streaming of the meeting by following THIS LINK Join the Zoom webinar by following THIS LINK
How to Submit Public Comments:
Please note that emailed comments will not be read aloud by staff.
Written: All comments received before 3:00 pm the day of the meeting will be posted on the City’s website as “Correspondence” under the relevant agenda item and provided to the City Councilmembers prior to the meeting.
Email comments to [email protected].
If you are commenting on a particular item on the agenda, please identify the agenda item number and letter.
If you are commenting on an item not listed on the agenda, please identify your comment as a General Public Comment.
To Participate in Public Comment During the Meeting:
Please note that emailed comments will not be read aloud by staff.
In-Person Comments: Blue Speaker Identification Cards are located near the Council Chamber entrance. Please complete a Speaker Card and give it to the City Clerk prior to the agenda item you wish to speak on and preferably prior to the Council meeting. When the Mayor opens a public comment period, the City Clerk will call speakers to provide comment in the order the Speaker Cards are received. Should you have any questions after consulting the Speaker Identification Card, please contact the City Clerk prior to the start of the Council meeting.
Live Remote Public Comments: Members of the public may submit a live remote public comment via Zoom video conferencing. Download the Zoom mobile app from the Apple Appstore or Google Play. If you are using a desktop computer, you can test your connection to Zoom by clicking here. Zoom also allows you to join the meeting by phone.
Join the meeting at any point, but be sure you are in the meeting prior to the City Council consideration of the item on which you would like to provide comments. From a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android:
https://cityofconcord.zoom.us/j/82594338552?pwd=alBybXBXOWl2SDVWR0NaS1ZQaGtPdz09 oWebinar ID: 825 9433 8552
oPasscode: 778733
oBy phone: US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 348 7799 or 1 253 215 8782 Speakers will be asked to provide their name and city of residence, although providing this is not required for participation.
3 Each speaker will be afforded up to 3 minutes to speak. Speakers will be muted until their opportunity to provide public comment. When called upon to speak, speakers will be promoted to panelists so they have the ability to turn on their cameras so they are visible to the Council and public.
When the Mayor opens a public comment period on the item on which you would like to comment, please use the “raise hand” feature (or press *9 if connecting via telephone) which will alert staff that you have a comment to provide.
OPEN SESSION
1. OPENING
Roll Call
Pledge of Allegiance – Vice Mayor Hoffmeister
2. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
This is a 15-minute Public Comment Period for items within the City Council’s subject matter jurisdiction that are not on this agenda. Each speaker will be limited to approximately three minutes.
State law prohibits the City Council from acting at this meeting on any matter raised during the Public Comment Period. Please see “How to Submit Public Comments” above.
3. CITY COUNCIL CONSENT CALENDAR
The public is entitled to address the City Council on items appearing on the Consent Calendar before or during the City Council’s consideration of the Consent Calendar. Adoption of the Consent Calendar may be made by one motion of the City Council, provided that any Councilmember, individual or organization may request removal of an item from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration.
If a request for removal of an item from the Consent Calendar has been received, the Mayor may defer action on the particular item and place the same on the regular agenda for consideration in any order s/he deems appropriate. Please see “How to Submit Public Comments” above. a. Considering – award of a construction contract not to exceed $150,000.00 to APB Engineering Inc. for the Emergency Sewer Mainline Repair at 4000 Browning Drive and authorizing the City Manager to execute an Agreement in a form acceptable to the City Attorney (Sewer Fund Enterprise).
Recommended by the Director of Public Works.
CEQA: Not a project/exempt per CEQA Guidelines Sections 15060(c), 15061(b)(2), 15061(b)(3), 15269(b), 15301, 15302, 15303, 15304, and/or Public Resources Code Section 21065.
4 4. CLOSED SESSION
The public is entitled to address the City Council on Closed Session items appearing on the agenda before the City Council’s consideration of the items. Each speaker will be limited to approximately three minutes per Closed Session agenda item. Please see “How to Submit Public Comments” above.
a. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS PURSUANT TO
GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54957.6
Agency designated representatives: Valerie Barone, City Manager; Jasmin Loi, Director of Human Resources; Karan Reid, Director of Finance; Lisa Charbonneau, Esq., Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
Employee organizations: Peace Officer Representation Unit of Concord Police Officers Association; and Police Managerial Representation Unit of Police Managers’ Association
5. RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION - Agenda Item No. 4.a
6. ADJOURNMENT
Next Meeting: Regular Meeting
Date: 11/8/2022 6:30 PM
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
There is a 90-day limit for the filing of a challenge in the Superior Court to certain City administrative decisions and orders which require a hearing by law, the receipt of evidence, and the exercise of discretion. The 90-day limit begins on the date the decision is final (Code of Civil Procedure §1094.6). Further, if you challenge an action taken by the City Council in court, you may be limited by California law to raising only those issues you or someone else raised in the hearing or in a written correspondence delivered to the City Council prior to or at the hearing.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and California Law, it is the policy of the City of Concord to offer its public programs, services and meetings in a manner that is readily accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. If you are disabled and require a copy of a public hearing notice, or an agenda and/or agenda packet in an appropriate alternative format; or if you require other accommodation, please contact the ADA Coordinator Tianjun Cao at (925) 671-3243 or [email protected], at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Advance notification within this guideline will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility.
Staff Report
Date: November 1, 2022
To: City Council
From: Valerie J. Barone, City Manager
Reviewed by: William Tarbox, Director of Public Works
Prepared by: Jesse Crawford, Maintenance Superintendent [email protected]
(925) 671-3002
Subject: Considering award of a construction contract not to exceed $150,000 to APB Engineering Inc. for the Emergency Sewer Mainline Repair at 4000 Browning Dr. and authorizing the City Manager to execute an Agreement in a form acceptable to the City Attorney. (Sewer Fund Enterprise)
CEQA: CEQA: Not a project/exempt per CEQA Guidelines Sections 15060(c), 15061(b)(2), 15061(b)(3), 15269(b), 15301, 15302, 15303, 15304, and/or Public Resources Code Section 21065.
Report in Brief
Consider award of a construction contract not to exceed $150,000 to APB Engineering for emergency sewer mainline repair at 4000 Browning Dr.
Recommended Action
Find by a four-fifths vote (four of five Councilmembers) that there is a need to continue the action to engage APB for emergency sewer work, and authorize the payment of actual costs to complete such work, up to a total of $150,000, and authorize the City Manager or her designee to sign such agreements and other documents as are necessary or appropriate, subject to City Attorney approval.
Background
On Tuesday, October 18, 2022, City staff was advised of a clogged sewer line at 4000 Browning Drive, Concord CA (“Site”). Investigation conducted on Thursday, October 20, 2022 revealed dried concrete blocking approximate 100 feet of the sewer line
3.a3.a
City Council Agenda Report
Agenda Item No. 3.a
November 1, 2022
downstream from the Site. (See Attachment 1) It appears that construction at the Site introduced cement into the sewer line. Approximately seven houses are affected by the cement blockage at the tap of their lateral line into the mainline from the residences. To prevent overflow of wastewater into the residences City Staff pumped out the upstream portion of the sewer line daily. The sewer line blockage was sudden and unforeseen, constitutes a clear and imminent danger, and sewer work must be performed immediately to prevent and mitigate losses to health, property, and essential public services.
The City Manager was briefed, and on October 20, 2022 authorized the Director of Public works to take immediate action to repair the sewer line and restore sewer service to the affected homes. The City’s Public Works Department contacted APB General Engineering of Concord (APB) to undertake such emergency sewer work.
Although APB was able to clear 10 feet of the sewer line on Friday, October 21, 2022, excavation is required to repair the remainder of the sewer line. Standby crews were dispatched on Saturday, October 22, 2022 to monitor the situation pending further emergency sewer work.
Analysis
Concord Municipal Code (CMC) Chapter 3.10 (Purchasing) (“Purchasing Ordinance”) defines an “emergency” as “[a] sudden, unforeseen occurrence that poses a clear and imminent danger, requiring immediate action to prevent or mitigate the loss of impairment of life, health, property, or essential public services.” CMC Section
3.10.020. The loss of sewer service as described above qualifies as an “emergency.” When an emergency calls for repairs or replacement, the Purchasing Ordinance provides that contracts be awarded in accordance with Public Contract Code Sections 22035 and 22050. CMC Section 3.10.030(13).
Public Contract Code Section 22035 permits the City to undertake emergency repairs or replacements without, among other things, giving notice for bids to let contracts.
Emergency contracting procedures further provide that if the City Council has delegated emergency purchasing authority to the City Manager, such City Manager may order emergency repairs. Public Contract Code Section 22050(b).
Via the Purchasing Ordinance, the City Council has designated the City Manager to serve as Purchasing Officer of the City of Concord. CMC Section 3.10.040(c). 1As such, the City Manager, in her role as Purchasing Officer, has authority to order emergency repairs under the Public Contract Code.
1 The Purchasing Ordinance also allows the Purchasing Officer to waive bidding regulations “Where an emergency situation exists and the public health, welfare, and safety of the city requires that an order be immediately placed with a source of supply[.]” CMC Section 3.10.080(1).
City Council Agenda Report
Agenda Item No. 3.a
November 1, 2022
The City has complied and will continue to comply with applicable legal requirements.
The Purchasing Officer took action to address the emergency by authorizing APB to conduct emergency sewer work, and reported the action to the City Council at its October 25, 2022 meeting under the agenda item “City Manager Reports.” Pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 22050(c)(2), the City Council must then review the action at its next regularly scheduled meeting if it is within 14 days of the City Manager’s action, and at every regularly scheduled meeting thereafter until the action is terminated, to determine by a 4/5 vote if there is a need to continue the action.
City staff estimates that the work will cost approximately $85,000 but is requesting authority up to $150,000 to address unforeseen conditions. It is anticipated that the work will be completed by November 4, 2022. If the work is completed before the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting, the Purchasing Officer will terminate the action and this matter will no longer need to come before the City Council.
Financial Impact
Cost for repair is estimated to be up to $150,000. Once the work is completed, City staff will explore seeking reimbursement for the work and recovery of associated expenditures.
Environmental Determination
The City Council’s action on this item and the associated sewer work (collectively, the “Activity”) are statutorily exempt from environmental review under CEQA Guidelines Section 15269(n) – Emergency Projects. In the alternative, the Activity is categorically exempt under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 – Existing Facilities, 15302 – Replacement and Reconstruction, 15303 – New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures, and/or 15304 – Minor Alterations to Land. In the alternative, pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21065, CEQA Guidelines Sections 15060(c), 15061(b)(2), and/or 15061(b)(3), the Activity is not a project subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) of 1970, as amended, as it will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and/or falls within the “common sense” exemption set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), excluding projects where “it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.”
Public Contact
The City Council Agenda was posted.
Attachment
1. Map of sewer line blockage
Attachment 1
Emergency Sewer Mainline Repair
Addresses Affected:
1056 Kipling Court
1063 Kipling Court
1057 Kipling Court
4000 Browning Drive
4005 Browning Drive
4001 Browning Drive
4004 Browning Drive
Figure 1. Sewer line blockage occurred between the red arrows