Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: august 16, 2022
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: meg mcwade, public works director
PREPARED BY: David Grantham, principal civil engineer
cinndy barrios, budget analyst II
SUBJECT: obligate remaining $1 MIllion ARPA FUNDS to orangethorpe water main replacement project
SUMMARY
City Council has obligated $31.7 million out of $32.7 million of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds to date. Staff proposes allocating the remaining $1.0 million of unobligated ARPA funds to the Orangethorpe Water Main Replacement (State College Boulevard to Placentia Avenue) project.
RECOMMENDATION
Obligate and appropriate remaining $1.0 million unobligated ARPA funds to Project 44062, Orangethorpe Water Main Replacement (State College Boulevard to Placentia Avenue).
Authorize City Manager, or designee, to make necessary budget adjustments to account for and maintain financial records to comply with US Treasury guidelines.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
None.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statements:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability
Public Safety
Infrastructure and City Assets.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Orangethorpe Water Main Replacement project will obligate the remaining $1.0 million of the City’s total $32.7 million ARPA allocation. US Treasury guidelines require obligation of ARPA allocations on eligible costs by December 31, 2024 and fully expended by December 31, 2026. Outside of this request, the Orangethorpe Water Main Replacement (State College Boulevard to Placentia Avenue) project has no budget or additional funding available.
If approved, staff will make budget transfer and appropriation adjustments to the FY 2022-23 budget.
DISCUSSION
City Council obligated $16.2 million of ARPA funding to various programs and projects on February 1, 2022. City Council approved an additional $15.5 million on February 15, 2022, leaving $1.0 million of unobligated funds to revisit at a future date. City Council obligated $2.0 million of ARPA funds towards Water Main Replacements, eligible under the Infrastructure – Water, Sewer and Broadband expenditure category during the February 15, 2022 meeting. Staff has allocated and budgeted these funds to the Orangethorpe (Harbor Boulevard to Lemon Street) project.
Staff requests City Council consider obligating the remaining $1 million of ARPA funding to support water main replacement in conjunction with the Orangethorpe street project. Industrial development is underway in the vicinity of Orangethorpe, near State College Boulevard and Placentia Avenue, which will not only increase truck traffic but also weaken the pavement throughout time. As a result, this heavily utilized area will become especially vulnerable to water main failures.
When identifying infrastructure projects, the City prefers to replace the aged water main pipes in conjunction with street rehabilitation projects. This preference can be difficult to execute because of the extensive rehabilitation of the City’s arterial (major) streets and limited water funds resulting in circumstances where staff has recommended street rehabilitation but cannot perform water main replacement.
This is the case for Orangethorpe Avenue between State College Boulevard and Placentia Avenue. The City programmed this segment of roadway for rehabilitation in FY 2022-23 after discussions with the Infrastructure and Natural Resources Advisory Committee (INRAC) and City Council review and approval on April 5, 2022. At both the INRAC and City Council meetings, staff discussed that due to other water main replacement priorities where line failures occur, the City cannot replace the water main in conjunction with the street rehabilitation project. INRAC and City Council also discussed in these meetings that by completing the street rehabilitation project, the City would assume the risk of future water main failures that could impact the rehabilitated street pavement. The $1.0 million of unobligated ARPA funds will ensure the City can complete the majority of both street rehabilitation and water main replacement components.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Proposed ARPA Spending Plan
cc City Manager Eric J. Levitt
Obligate Remaining ARPA Funds to Orangethorpe Water Main Replacement Project August 16, 2022 - Page 2