Agenda Item No: U.12
AGENDA REPORT
DATE: December 17, 2024
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: David Gassaway, City Manager
SUBJECT: Resolution 2024-293
Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Agreement with West Yost Associates for the Provision of Professional Services for the North Bay Regional Water Treatment Plant Expansion Program, Updating the 5 -Year Capital Improvement Plan to Include the North Bay Regional Water Treatment Plant Expansion Project, and Authorizing an Update to the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget
Funding Source: $1,993,100; North Bay Regional Fund
Contact: Michael J. Hether, (707) 428-7493
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt resolution.
STATEMENT OF ISSUE
City Council approval would authorize the city manager to execute an agreement with West Yost Associates (WYA) to provide professional engineering and management services for program development of the North Bay Regional Water Treatment Plant (NBRWTP) expansion. NBRWTP is jointly owned by the Cities of Vacavi lle and Fairfield but is operated by City of Fairfield staff.
Governance, ownership and operation of NBRWTP is outlined in a joint powers agreement (JPA), which was executed in 1987. Both cities are experiencing growth in accordance with their adopted general plans and, accordingly, need to consider planning for a future treatment plant expansion that was originally contemplated in the JPA.
DISCUSSION
Fairfield Municipal Utilities (FMU) provides water to the cities of Fairfield and Vacaville on a continuous basis and employs staff who are responsible for the operation of Fairfield’s water system, a portion of which includes the NBRWTP. NBRWTP was concei ved and constructed out of a need to realize access to the North Bay Aqueduct (NBA), both of which were completed in 1988. Back then, both cities needed a new treatment plant capable of accessing and treating the
new delta water supply that the NBA would b ring to Solano and Napa counties. While NBRWTP was jointly constructed by the Cities of Vacaville and Fairfield, the plant facilities are operated by City of Fairfield staff through a JPA.
The JPA explicitly defines governance, ownership , and oversight p owers, which are carried out through a Joint Powers Policy Committee (JPPC). The JPPC provides broad policy oversight to execute the duties and responsibilities defined by the JPA. While the JPPC consists of city staff from both Cities (Vacaville Utilities Director and Fairfield Assistant Public Works Director), the City of Fairfield is designated as the administering party on behalf of both cities. The JPPC used to meet regularly but has reverted to an as -needed basis over time. At a minimum, the JPPC formally convenes on an annual basis to adopt the JPA budget.
The JPA stipulates that all direct and indirect costs incurred by the administering party shall be reimbursed out of the JPA fund. Conversely, the JPA requires each City to make annual contributions to a reserve fund whose sole purpose is to provide a secure source of funding for emergencies, major equipment rehabilitation, replacement, or future expansions. Over 20 years ago, long-range planning for the cities of Vacaville and Fairfield projected that the NBRWTP would require an expansion, but there have been no efforts taken to implement a facility expansion to date. Both Cities have either completed or substantially completed their respective water system master plans, and correspondingly, each h as independently identified and concluded that it is time to consider planning for the facility expansion originally envisioned in the JPA.
Master plans are guidance documents used as planning tools to ensure that systems can meet future needs. Generally , master plans are a best management practice used to identify systemwide improvements, which can span decades. Well -written master plan documents contain in-depth analysis of the physical condition, operating capabilities, and criticality, which are then used to inform decision-making. Finally, while master plans include a comprehensive list of projects across the document’s planning horizon, they do not include design details or facility expansion plans.
In order to begin the design and construction of the NBRWTP expansion project, there are a series of legal, technical, and financial determinations that both Cities must consider. Before any engineering efforts can begin, the Cities must engage to discuss changes to the existing JPA, evaluate future trea tment capacity strategies, identify funding arrangements , and determine project delivery, all of which must be summarized into a business case. The means to engage and achieve these efforts will be through a formal reconvening of the JPPC. This specific scope of work will result in laying the foundation to begin design efforts, which are expected to take place over the next two years.
Over the next couple of years, both Cities will have updated their general plans, which will allow the JPPC to lay the fou ndation to begin the next steps for the NBRWTP expansion. Updates to general plans always include an assessment of an existing or compilation of a water utility master plan to support buildout. As it pertains to water utility master plans, the City of Vaca ville has completed its water master plan, and the City of Fairfield is near completion of its water master plan. Due to the technical complexity of developing a water master plan, both Cities had solicited qualified consultants who specialize in water utility systems, and WYA was selected in both cases because WYA staff have current and historical knowledge of both Cities’ water utility systems.
The JPPC requested a statement of qualifications from WYA to facilitate the review and evaluation of their experience. WYA has performed similar program development and pre-design efforts on regional facilities owned by multiple agencies. The JPPC has determined that due to the nature and technical complexity of the NBRWTP expansion, WYA has the knowledge, experience and number of staff capable of providing the best value for both Cities.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The total cost to complete the NBRWTP plant expansion program is an amount not to exceed $1,993,100. Pursuant to the JPA, both Cities have been depositing funds into a reserve fund that is intended for this purpose.
The JPA also specifies that the administering party shall reimburse all direct and indirect costs incurred out of the JPA fund. Both parties wish to pursue the NBRWTP expansion and, consequently, inte nd to split all costs to complete this work, excluding the evaluation of Vacaville’s capacity strategy ($103,000).
The NBRWTP Plant Expansion Project was not included in the fiscal year (FY) 2024 -2025 Capital Budget. Therefore, a budget amendment is requ ired to authorize an increase in appropriations of $1,993,100 to the NBR Fund (Fund 465).
The NBR Fund (Fund 465) will utilize previously collected reserves. The estimated timing and split of the reserves are as follows:
City of Fairfield (FY 2025): $334,550
City of Vacaville (FY 2025): $430,850
City of Fairfield (FY 2026): $610,500
City of Vacaville (FY 2026): $617,200
Total Fairfield contribution: $945,050
Total Vacaville contribution: $1,048,050
PUBLIC CONTACT/ADVISORY BODY RECOMMENDATION
N/A
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
The council may choose not to authorize the city manager to execute the agreement. However, this would be inconsistent with the authority vested in the JPPC through the JPA.
COORDINATED WITH
City Attorney’s Office
STAFF CONTACT
Michael J. Hether, Assistant Director Public Works/Utilities (707) 428-7493
[email protected]
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 2: Proposed Resolution
Attachment 3: Proposed Agreement – West Yost
Attachment 4: Statement of Qualifications – West Yost
Attachment 5: NBRWTP Joint Powers Agreement