DATE: 03/19/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
2025-116
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
SUBJECT:
NOTIFICATION OF CONTRACTED EMERGENCY TRANSMISSION WATER MAIN AND PARKING LOT REPAIRS AT 515 SOUTH PROMENADE AVENUE PURSUANT TO CORONA MUNICPAL CODE 3.08.130(A)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report notifies the City Council of contracted emergency repairs to a transmission water main line break and parking lot that runs through 515 South Promenade Avenue.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council receive and file the notification of contracted emergency transmission water main line and parking lot repairs at 515 South Promenade Avenue.
That the Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct the City Council to take the above actions.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
On March 6, 2025, at approximately 4:00 p.m., the City of Corona Utilities Department responded to a water main break. A thirty-inch diameter transmission water main line at South Promenade Avenue, south of Sampson Avenue, experienced a significant failure.
The thirty-inch cross-town transmission water main provides water to the Home Gardens and Zone 2 service areas.
The immediate impacts of the water-main failure included the disruption of potable water service to residential and commercial customers. Additionally, the failure occurred within the parking lot of a commercial building, which resulted in damage to asphalt and concrete pavement, landscaping, and the drainage system. There was also flooding of the parking lot with sedimentation of washed-out dirt. The flooding, along with the damaged asphalt and concrete, presented a potential safety hazard to pedestrians and building occupants.
It also impacted business operations by limiting access to truck docking stations.
The critical nature of the water-main failure, coupled with rain and its adverse impacts on the water supply to residents and businesses, required emergency response, repairs, remediation, and restoration efforts. Timely restoration of the parking lot is crucial to minimizing the duration of both area closures and business interruptions.
ANALYSIS:
Due to the emergency nature of the situation, staff contacted multiple qualified contractors with experience in water main repairs and equipment to respond to a water-main failure of this magnitude. The City’s on-call contractors did not have the proper equipment, such as an excavator, to safely perform the work. Merlin Johnson Construction was selected based on their immediate availability, ability to mobilize resources, the proper excavation equipment, and experience with similar emergency repairs. The scope of work included:
Excavating 25-30 feet deep to reach the failed 30-inch transmission water main. Welding a 10-inch-wide steel band onto the pipe’s break and mortar the affected area to protect against corrosion.
Re-installing the 18-inch storm drain line damaged by the break. Hauling away approximately 667 yards of spoils.
Backfilling excavated area with approximately 1,000 tons of crushed miscellaneous base.
Installing asphalt and concrete in the parking lot.
Repairing curb, v-ditch, drain, asphalt, and concrete. Restoring landscaping.
The Utilities Department will present a request to ratify the Maintenance/General Services Agreement (MGSA) with Merlin Johnson Construction, Inc., at a future City Council meeting. The request will include detailed cost information for labor, materials, and equipment and the related costs incurred for the repair, remediation, and restoration of the water main.
BASIS FOR EXCEPTION TO COMPETITIVE BIDDING:
Staff believe that an exception to competitive bidding was warranted for this action pursuant to Corona Municipal Code (CMC) Section 3.08.130(A), which states as follows:
(A) Emergencies. In situations determined by the City Manager to constitute an emergency for a public project pursuant to § 22035 of the Act and Cal. Public Contract Code § 22050. The City Council hereby delegates to the City Manager the power to declare a public emergency and take any directly related and immediate action required by the emergency, up to a total of $175,000, pursuant to § 22035 of the Act and Cal.
Public Contract Code § 22050. Emergency expenditures of more than $175,000 shall first be approved by the City Council. Work shall be performed without the benefit of competitive bidding, either formal or informal, only so long as necessary under those sections.
For projects of more than $45,000, a report on the emergency and work performed shall be provided at the next regular meeting of the City Council and then at every meeting thereafter required by § 22050. At such meetings, the City Council shall determine, by a four-fifths vote, that there is a need to continue the action without the benefit of informal or formal competitive bidding in accordance with § 22035 of the Act and Cal. Public Contract Code § 22050. The City Council shall terminate the emergency action as soon as conditions warrant, so that the remainder of the emergency action may be completed pursuant to a formal bidding procedure.
Staff believe this situation meets the definition of emergency, as the immediate repair of the failed transmission water main line and parking lot repairs at 515 South Promenade Avenue was essential to restore the affected parking lot on an emergency basis and limit the impact of the break on the business.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for the recommended action is available in the Waterline Infrastructure Operating and Maintenance Project No. 71930 within the Water Utility Fund 570.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15302 (c) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Action (CEQA), which states that “operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the CEQA determination” and is therefore exempt from CEQA. This action involves repairs to existing infrastructure to maintain public health and safety. Therefore, is exempt from the requirements of CEQA, and no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: AFTAB HUSSAIN, ASSISTANT UTILITIES DIRECTOR REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, UTILITIES DIRECTOR