August 25, 2026
Agenda Item No. 13
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
Zachary Gentry, Municipal Operations Director - 949-644-3055, [email protected] PREPARED BY:
Kevin Pekar, Public Works Superintendent - 949-644-3069, [email protected] TITLE:
Amendment No. Two to On-Call Professional Services Agreement with Dudek for Consulting Arborist Services (Contract No. 7936-1) ABSTRACT:
The City of Newport Beach (City) utilizes on-call consulting arborist services to perform a variety of inspections and testing on City trees. To complete the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) and additional tree risk assessment consulting work, staff requests approval to amend the City’s agreement with Dudek to increase the total not-to-exceed (NTE) amount to $520,000 and extend the contract term an additional three years to a new expiration date of October 1, 2029.
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) Authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute Amendment No. Two to On-Call Professional Services Agreement with Dudek for Consulting Arborist Services to increase the contract amount by $250,000 for a total not-to-exceed of $520,000 and extend the contract an additional three years to a new expiration date of October 1, 2029.
DISCUSSION:
The City’s urban forest is comprised of over 35,000 trees of varying species and maturity. The Municipal Operations Department routinely requires the use of on-call consulting arborist services throughout the city, including but not limited to: basic and advanced tree risk assessments, tree appraisals (valuation), third-party arborist reviews/reports, and UFMPs.
After conducting a formal consultant selection process, the City entered into a three-year contract with Dudek on September 30, 2020, for consulting arborist services with a total NTE of $120,000. In August 2023, because of the rising demand for consulting arborist services and the use of advanced tree risk testing methods called for in revisions to City Council Policy G-1, the agreement was amended, increasing the NTE amount by $150,000 and extending the term by three years.
Over the past couple of years, staff has embarked on a three-phased program of updating the City tree inventory with a fuller assortment of data collected. The culmination of this program would produce a UFMP. The UFMP will lead to the better preservation of the City’s existing tree assets and will be used to assist staff in forecasting future arboricultural needs and decisions. For example, it will identify areas of the city where staff should focus on tree planting, or areas where the tree population is aging and replacements should be considered.
The UFMP would provide preventative tree maintenance recommendations, identifying areas for increased inspection or areas of potential pest and disease pressures. The requested NTE increase will go into finishing the third and final phase of the inventory and creating the UFMP documents, as well as continued arborist consultation, particularly in the area of advanced tree risk assessment.
Dudek has vast municipal arboricultural experience in a multitude of areas. Its rates are competitive and the contractor has provided quality services on a wide array of projects locally, including project for the City of Irvine. Staff is satisfied with the reporting and services provided to date by Dudek under this contract. Thus, to complete the UFMP and due to an on-going need for consulting arborist services, staff is requesting an amendment to the Dudek contract to increase the total NTE amount to $520,000 and extend the contract an additional three years to a new expiration date of October 1, 2029.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The adopted budget includes sufficient funding for this purchase. It will be expensed to the Trees - Professional Services account in the Municipal Operations Department, 0108532-811008.
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).
ATTACHMENT:
Attachment A – Amendment No. Two
Amendment No. Two to On-Call Professional Services Agreement with Dudek for Consulting Arborist Services (Contract No. 7936-1) August 25, 2026
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