Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: Consider approving an Amendment to the GHD, Inc. agreement for the preparation of the Quick Strike Design and providing additional services for completion of additional environmental technical studies Date: June 28, 2022
Written by: Craig Scott, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Recommendation
It is recommended the City Council of the City of Cotati approve by motion Amendment Number 3 to the Quick Strike Project Professional Services Contract with GHD, Inc. for preparing an Extended Phase I study of Native American archaeological resource, and authorize City Manger to execute said amendment
Background
The City’s Design Contract for the Downtown and Civic Center Connectivity and Safety Project (Project) needs to be amended to complete additional environmental technical studies requested by Caltrans. In early 2021, the City was awarded Federal street grant funding for the Project as part of the Safe and Seamless Mobility Quick-Strike Program. The grant funds are from two sources: the Federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSAA) and the One Bay Area Grant program (OBAG2). The Project consists of repaving West Sierra Avenue and La Plaza Street and providing enhanced bicycle and pedestrian safety features connecting Downtown to the Civic Center.
Analysis/Discussion
As a project to receive Federal transportation grant funds for construction, the Project is subject to the Federal Highway Administration requirements and Caltrans project delivery requirements.
Despite Caltrans having created a streamlined process for roadway paving rehabilitation projects, the City’s repaving project was found to be near sensitive cultural and historically significant areas and certain studies are not eligible for the streamlined process. Special technical studies are required which were unforeseen in the original scoping of the Project design as maps showing the delineation of these areas are not available to the public or City and, therefore, the Project’s vicinity to these sensitive areas was not known until recent Caltrans review. In any event, the repaving work is within the existing roadway section (i.e. does not disturb areas below the existing road base), so no actual impacts of any kind are expected. Upon completion of the technical studies (authorized by City Approval of Amendment 2 to GHD’s Design contract), Caltrans informed the City in late May of this year that an Extended Phase I (XPI) study is to be conducted. The XPI will consist of 4 to 6 shallow hand augered test units as close to the road as feasible. The auger holes are to be dug within City Right-Of-Way (ROW). If the site is determined to not be present within the APE, the City has completed it’s environmental review and NEPA can be finalized. If the site is determined to be present within the APE then an Environmentally Sensitive Area-Action Plan (ESA-AP) would be developed and submitted to Caltrans for review and approval.
In addition to the added costs to complete the XPI and extended Caltrans review and approval process, these studies have added two to three months to the Project’s schedule and pushes Project construction from the late summer or fall of 2022 to the spring of 2023. With this second major delay (first being the requirement for technical environmental studies), the City has worked out an extremely aggressive schedule with Caltrans to submit the approval to construct package (“E-76”) to Caltrans by then end of July so that Caltrans can begin processing the application no later than August 12, for final authorization to construct issuance on or before the September 30, 2022 funding deadline.
Other Caltrans process issues are cropping up and include ROW Certification and Encroachment Permit issuance. These are routine processes but due to inexplicable delays by Caltrans in reviewing the submittals, obtaining approval of these documents are now of concern to the Project’s schedule. Each of these issues have been escalated to upper management in Caltrans and SCTA.
Financial Considerations
The City’s adopted FY 21/22 budget includes $200,000 for the Project. On July 27, 2021, City Council approved a Professional Service Agreement with GHD, Inc. in the amount of $114,581 for design and environmental services, which included the original scope and the cost of the first amendment (which together totaled $114,358).
The cost for the additional technical studies, authorized by City Council on January 11, 2022, was $16,272. The additional costs to complete the XPI and the extended Caltrans review process are extra work items with an added design cost of $24,727. The total revised, authorized Project budget amount is therefore $155,357, which is within the Project’s authorized budget amount.
The Project’s construction and construction management costs will be included within the proposed FY22/23 City budget.
Environmental Issues
The Downtown and Civic Center Connectivity and Safety Project is Categorically Exempt under Section 15301 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines as it consists of the repair and maintenance of an existing facility.
Attachments:
Amendment 3 (PDF)