February 10, 2026
Agenda Item No. 9
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
David A. Webb, Public Works Director - 949-644-3311, [email protected] PREPARED BY:
Andy Tran, Principal Civil Engineer – 949-644-3315, [email protected] TITLE:
Approval of On-Call Professional Services Agreements for Geotechnical and Material Testing Services ABSTRACT:
A large portion of the City of Newport Beach’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) requires professional geotechnical and material testing services to evaluate and support design options and to confirm conformance to project specifications during construction. Accordingly, staff issued a request for proposals (RFP) for these services and requests the City Council’s consideration of four on-call professional services agreements (PSA). Each professional geotechnical and material testing services agreement would be for a term of three years, and a total not-to-exceed amount of $500,000.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; and b) Approve On-Call Professional Services Agreements with Verdantas Inc., Geocon West, Inc., GMU Geotechnical, Inc. and Ninyo & Moore Geotechnical & Environmental Sciences Consultants for geotechnical and material testing services, with each agreement being for a term of three years and a total not-to-exceed amount of $500,000, and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the agreements.
DISCUSSION:
The City’s proposed CIP budget anticipates more than $112 million in facilities, parks, harbors, beaches, streets, transportation, water and wastewater improvement projects through individual CIP projects for Fiscal Year 2025-26. Most of these projects require some level of geotechnical and material testing services such as material observation and testing, trench backfill and compaction testing, geotechnical recommendations, pipe welding, and structural inspections. These services require personnel with specialized training, certifications and licenses.
In addition, soil and material testing is performed in certified laboratories by certified technicians. The City does not have the resources to perform these services in-house. To continue to support the City’s CIP, staff requests approval of four on-call PSAs with Verdantas Inc., Geocon West, Inc., GMU Geotechnical, Inc., (GMU) and Ninyo & Moore Geotechnical & Environmental Sciences Consultants (Ninyo & Moore) for geotechnical and material testing services.
The City currently has four similar on-call agreements with four geotechnical firms. These current agreements were approved on June 8, 2021, and each had a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000 and a three-year term. These agreements were amended on March 26, 2024, to increase the total NTE amount to $375,000 (total of $1.5 million) and to extend the term to June 7, 2026. Of this amount, approximately $1.45 million, or approximately 97% has been encumbered or spent. To continue with geotechnical support for the City’s CIP, staff recommends the approval of four on-call PSAs at a not-to-exceed amount of $500,000 per agreement for a three-year term. The increased amount of each agreement is needed to address the rising costs of labor and increased project workload.
On October 8, 2025, staff issued an RFP to provide geotechnical and material testing services. The City received 15 proposals that were reviewed in detail. The following is a ranking of the firms that submitted a proposal:
Firm Name
Total Score
Rank
Verdantas, Inc.
280
1 Geocon West, Inc.
275
2 GMU Geotechnical Engineering
275
3 Ninyo & Moore
274
4 Twining, Inc.
270
5 NV5
269
6 AESCO
260
7 Certerra RMA Group
246
8 C.E.M. Lab
245
9 Hushmand Associates
241
10 Koury Engineering & Testing, Inc.
230
11 MTGL, Inc.
220
12 Petra Geosciences, Inc.
220
13 Fenagh, Inc.
219
14 Southwest Inspection and Testing
210
15 The City’s proposal review team consisted of three staff members from the Public Works Department. Using the qualification-based selection process, the proposals were evaluated by the review team independently. Proposal evaluations were based on the consultant’s understanding of the scope of work, experience, qualifications and availability of staff. While many of the firms met the minimum qualifications outlined in the RFP, the top four consultants were selected by the review team as the most qualified and responsive firms. The four firms have successfully completed similar services for other local agencies, and their billing rates are consistent with industry standards and their peers. Verdantas, Inc., Geocon West, Inc., and GMU are currently performing these services for the City and have had high marks for their current efforts.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact related to this item as the award of the on-call agreements does not create an obligation to expend funds. Funding for the work done under these on-call agreements will be expensed to individual projects and work efforts within the City’s approved operating and CIP budgets.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A – PSA with Verdantas, Inc.
Attachment B – PSA with Geocon West, Inc.
Attachment C – PSA with GMU
Attachment D – PSA with Ninyo & Moore
Approval of On-Call Professional Services Agreements for Geotechnical and Material Testing Services February 10, 2026
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