EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: October 4, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Patrick Heisinger, Interim City Manager
BY: Batool Zaro, Assistant Civil Engineer
Humza Javed, Public Works Director
SUBJECT: Actions Related to the 2022 Water System Master Plan Adoption Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
1. Adopt a Resolution (Attachment 1) approving the 2022 Water System Master Plan;
2. Adopt a Resolution (Attachment 2) approving a funding strategy for the two water improvements necessary to advance the 965 Weeks Street affordable housing project; and
3. Adopt a Resolution (Attachment 3) approving a contract amendment with Freyer and Laureta for the purposes of designing additional water improvement projects as discussed in the staff report.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 1: Enhance Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Priority No. 4: Improve Public Facilities and Infrastructure Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
Background
The City of East Palo Alto (City) last updated its Water System Master Plan (WSMP) in 2010.
The 2010 WSMP was created as a comprehensive evaluation of East Palo Alto’s water distribution system. The City has committed to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) that it will complete the update of the WSMP by 2022 as part of its Corrective Action Plan.
Since the adoption of the 2010 WSMP, growth projections within the City have been updated and several new development projects have been planned. Additionally, the prior hydraulic model developed for the 2010 WSMP was a skeletonized model that did not include all pipes within the system, and thus was not able to fully assess the City’s water system performance.
On July 27, 2021, City Council adopted a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract with EKI Environment & Water, Inc., (EKI) for the preparation of the 2022 WSMP.
The purpose of this staff report is to present the 2022 WSMP to the City Council and for staff to request the City Council appropriate funding to support the design and construction of several key water infrastructure projects.
Analysis
The Water System Master Plan
The WSMP is intended to provide the City with an overall plan for potable water infrastructure improvements over the next twenty (20) years to maintain water system reliability and support anticipated development within the City.
The scope of the WSMP includes:
• A summary and description of the City’s water service area and existing water system; • An assessment of existing and projected water demands, including a spatial allocation of demands, an assessment of peak demands, and a review of fire flow requirements; • Establishment of performance, operational, and reliability criteria for evaluating water system capacity, and establishing criteria for identifying rehabilitation and replacement needs;
• An assessment of the City’s existing and future water supply and storage capacity requirements;
• Construction, calibration, and evaluation of a new hydraulic model to assess the existing water system’s ability to deliver existing and future water demands and fire flows and identify potential capital improvements to improve system operation; • Preparation of a comprehensive system evaluation that assesses system capacity, redundancy, resiliency, rehabilitation, and replacement needs for the next 20-years • Verify the need, sizing, and priority for the planned water system improvements; • Development of a 20-year risk-based capital improvement program that will prioritize future water system improvements based on identified deficiencies and existing and future needs;
• A city-wide non-potable demand analysis to identify potential opportunities to use recycled water.
The Final 2022 WSMP may be found on the City website here:
https://www.cityofepa.org/publicworks/project/water-system-master-plan-2022 Projects
As part of the WSMP, projects were identified for the next 20 years. Projects were categorized as Priority 1A, 1, 2, and 3 as described in Table 1 below:
TABLE 1
WSMP PROJECT CATEGORIZATION
Priority Term
1A 1-5 Years
1 5-10 Years
2 10-15 Years
3 15-20 Years
The Priority 1A projects, the most urgent and timely, are listed below:
• WS-01/P-1: Woodland Avenue Waterline and City of Palo Alto Interconnect Project • P-2: 16’’ Purdue Water Transmission Main and fourth SFPUC turn-out • WS-04B/WD-04C/P-3: 12" University Avenue Watermain Replacement Project • P-21: 12" Weeks Street Watermain Replacement Project
• P-3: Pipeline Replacement - 8’’ CI on University Avenue between Bay Road and Donohoe Street with new 12’’ PVC
• P-29: Pipeline Replacement on East Bayshore Road
• P-32: Pipeline Replacement West of Highway 101 and East of University Ave • P-33: Pipeline Replacement West of Highway 101 and West of University Ave • WS-03A: New Storage Tank ‐ East of Highway 101
Detailed project information is included on the project summary sheets in the WSMP.
During the City Council Meeting on October 4, 2022, staff and consultant, EKI, will provide a comprehensive presentation regarding the WSMP.
Proposed Infrastructure Projects | 965 Weeks St Affordable Housing Development Since 2019, staff has been working to identify the necessary water improvements to advance the 965 Weeks Street affordable housing development. The City has applied for various federal and state infrastructure grants to fund this effort, but the City’s applications have not been awarded.
On March 15, 2022, in an effort to fund the necessary improvement needed to advance the 965 Weeks Street development, the City Council approved a financing plan in the amount of $4,950,000.
As part of the WSMP process, consultant EKI recommended that the City reconsider the originally identified public improvement that would provide the 965 Weeks Street development with ample water pressure, in favor of two new projects. The two recommended water infrastructure projects and total associated estimated costs are shown in Table 2:
TABLE 2
965 WEEKS STREET WATER INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS
Project Estimated Cost
WS-04B/
WD-04C/
12” Water Transmission Main Project along University
Avenue $5,230,000
P-3
P 21-A Replace existing 8” main on Weeks Street between Cooley Avenue and Pulgas St with new 12” PVC main $2,000,000 Design Costs for Both Projects $426,000
Total $7,656,000
The fact that the two improvements are necessary to advance the 965 Weeks Street affordable housing development provides the City with the opportunity to leverage housing funds to support infrastructure improvements. Taking this into account, staff propose the following new funding strategy for the two improvements in Table 3 below.
TABLE 3
Funding Strategy
Source Amount
State Earmark1 $1,500,000
Measure HH2 $1,000,000
RDA Housing Successor $1,000,000
Unassigned General Fund Reserve $2,041,000
Water Impact Fees $450,000
Water Capital Fund $965,000
Past ARPA Allocation $700,000
Total $7,656,000
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a Resolution (Attachment 2), approving the funding strategy and sources outlined above. The RDA Housing Successor Funds are part of the housing assets transferred to the City upon redevelopment dissolution when the City assumed the RDA’s housing obligations. These funds have to be spent in accordance with the Redevelopment Law requirements as amended by the dissolution provisions, to increase, improve and preserve the supply of affordable housing. Eligible uses include on and off site improvements provided that the improvements directly benefit affordable housing and are fundamental part of the low income housing units. The proposed improvements are an essential part of the 965 Weeks project which is required as a condition of approval to identify the on and off site improvements necessary to achieve adequate water pressure and fire flows to satisfy the Menlo Fire Protection District. The improvements identified above will allow the 965 Weeks project to comply with this condition of approval which must be met before building permits can be issued and thus use of the funds for this purpose will increase and improve the supply of affordable housing by addressing a necessary precondition to the construction of 965 Weeks. It should also be noted that 965 Weeks is subject to a regulatory agreement that restricts the homes being constructed to affordable rents for extremely low income, very low income and low income households for a term of 55 years as required by the Redevelopment Law. The RDA Housing Successor Funds are only paying a proportion of the costs associated with the improvements in recognition that the improvements will serve not just 965 Weeks but other projects in the area, although the initial primary beneficiary of the improvements will be 965 Weeks.
Next Steps for Projects to Support 965 Weeks Street
If the City Council elects to fund the two improvements to support the 965 Weeks Street project, the next steps would be as follows:
Design for the two projects would begin in October 2022 and be completed by April 2023. City Staff would then return to City Council at the design completion phase and request approval of the design package and authorization to advertise for bids. Construction would begin June 2023 and be complete by December 2023.
Emphasis on Designing Additional Priority 1A Projects
Consistent with City Council direction, as evidenced in the City Council’s Strategic Priorities, it is imperative that the City begin a proactive effort to design additional priority water improvement projects. To accomplish this goal, staff requests City Council approval for 1) a contract amendment with Freyer and Laureta, and 2) associated budget authority to proactively design the projects in Table 4 below.
TABLE 4
PRIORITY WATER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT DESIGN COSTS
Project Design
Cost
P-29 Pipeline Replacement on East Bayshore $148,800
P-32 Pipeline Replacement West of HWY 101 & East of University Ave $327,600 P-33 Pipeline Replacement West of HWY101 & West of University Ave $202,050 Total $678,450
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a Resolution (Attachment 3), amending the existing contract with Freyer and Laureta for design services, as detailed in Table 2 and Table 4, in a total amount of $1,104,450. Staff recommends that the City’s Water Capital Fund be utilized to fund the priority project design costs in Table 4 ($678,450).
Next Steps for Designing Additional Priority 1A Projects If the City Council accepts staff recommendation to proactively design the three projects in Table 4, staff expects the projects to be “shovel ready” by Spring 2024. At that time, the City Council could decide to fund some of the improvements or seek grant funding to do so.
Woodland Avenue Waterline and City of Palo Alto Interconnect As noted in the WSMP, the Woodland Avenue Waterline and City of Palo Alto Interconnect is a key project for future funding. Staff is prepared to make a recommendation to the City Council in late October 2022 to allocate a portion of existing ARPA funding towards this project, which is already designed and shovel ready.
Priority 1A Projects in the Ravenswood Business District There are two priority 1A projects that staff recommends the Developers in the Ravenswood Business District (RBD) fund as conditions of approval for projects that advance. Those projects are identified in Table 5below:
TABLE 5
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN THE RAVENSWOOD BUSINESS DISTRICT Project Name Estimated Cost
P-2 16‐Inch Water Transmission Main Project and
Fourth SFPUC Turn-Out
$1,600,000
WS03A
New Storage Tank ‐ East of Highway 101 $5,000,000
Total Cost $6,600,000
The City Council will have ultimate authority on all aspects associated with the RBD.
Fiscal Impact
The recommendations outlined in this staff report represent a significant investment in the City’s water infrastructure. To better understand the ramifications of the proposed action, Table 6 below provides an accounting of each funding source, the proposed amount requested, and the remaining balances that would result from City Council approval.
TABLE 6
Funding Source Amount Requested Remaining Amount, if
Funded3
Measure HH $1,000,000 $3,700,000
RDA Housing Successor $1,000,000 $1,700,000
Unassigned General Fund Reserve $2,041,000 $15,000,000
Water Capital Fund $965,000 $3,635,000
Water Impact Fee $450,000 $0
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and at the San Mateo Co. Library located at 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The action being considered by the City Council is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a “project” pursuant to 15378(b)(4) because it is a fiscal activity which does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant impact on the environment.
Attachments
A. Resolution 1- 2022 WSMP Adoption
B. Resolution 2 - Funding strategy for serving developments C. Resolution 3 - Contract amendment with Freyer and Laureta D. Final 2022 WSMP