CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 11, 2026 CONSENT CALENDAR
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH
ACCENTURE INFRASTRUCTURE AND CAPITAL PROJECTS LLC, FOR
CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES, PUBLIC OUTREACH,
INSPECTION AND MATERIALS TESTING SERVICES IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,933,034.52 AND APPROVAL OF THE CALTRANS FUNDING
COMMITMENT LETTER FOR THE RAMON ROAD WIDENING (FROM
SAN LUIS REY DR. TO LANDAU BLVD.) INCLUDING THE WHITEWATER RIVER BRIDGE WIDENING, CITY PROJECT NO. 08-25, FEDERAL-AID PROJECT NO. BHLS-5282 (040)
FROM: Scott C. Stiles, City Manager
BY: Engineering Services
SUMMARY:
Award of this professional services agreement and approval of a Funding Commitment Letter with Caltrans will allow the City to proceed with construction preparation of the Ramon Road Widening (San Luis Rey Dr. to Landau Blvd.) including the Whitewater River Bridge Widening, City Project No. 08-25, Federal-Aid Project No. BHLS-5282 (040), (the “Project”).
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Accenture Infrastructure and Capital Projects LLC, in the amount of $5,933,034.52 for construction management, inspection, public outreach, and materials testing services;
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the Local Agency AC Commitment Block of the Caltrans Funding Commitment Letter regarding the cash management policy for projects over $35 Million; and
3. Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents.
BUSINESS PRINCIPAL DISCLOSURE:
A copy of the Accenture Infrastructure and Capital Projects LLC (Accenture) Public Integrity Disclosure Form is included as Attachment A.
City Council Staff Report
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Accenture Agreement – Ramon Road Widening
BACKGROUND:
In 2008, the City of Palm Springs, the City of Cathedral City, and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians submitted a letter to CVAG requesting funding for a Project Study Report (PSR) to identify the Project details and overall scope for the widening of Ramon Road to its full 6-lane width, extending from San Luis Rey Drive to Landau Boulevard, including widening of the existing bridge over the Whitewater River. A location map is provided in Figure 1 for reference.
Figure 1 – Location Map
Subsequently, CVAG funding was approved and the City entered into a Professional Services Agreement with CNS Engineering Inc. (CNS) to prepare the PSR, which would detail the overall Project scope and funding package to submit to the Federal Highway Bridge Program (HBP), which is administered by the State of California Department of Transportation (“Caltrans”).
The federal funding request was ultimately approved by Caltrans, with the HBP funds covering 88.53% of eligible Project costs, requiring an 11.47% local match. Pursuant to a previous funding agreement with CVAG and Cathedral City, the local funding amounts were funded by CVAG with 75% Regional Measure A funds with the remaining 25% appropriately split between Palm Springs and Cathedral City. Any costs that are not eligible per HBP funding requirements will be split between CVAG and both Cities. The budget with Caltrans has been revised over time as additional scope and costs have been identified. The most current funding request is detailed in the Staff Analysis below.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
Given the scale of the Ramon Bridge Project, it is essential that the City engages early
City Council Staff Report
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Accenture Agreement – Ramon Road Widening
with a construction management firm to ensure all preconstruction surveys are completed, environmental measures are in compliance per current mandate updates, to develop and administer a community outreach program to include public outreach meetings before and during construction, and recommend the most efficient project staging to reduce impacts to traffic and the surrounding communities/businesses.
Request for Proposals for Construction Management Services On October 30, 2025, the City issued Request for Proposals (RFP) 08-25-CM to invite consultants to provide proposals for “turnkey” construction management, inspection, material testing, and preconstruction services needed for the Project. As a federally funded Project, this scope of work required a separate solicitation in accordance with federal guidelines.
On December 4, 2025, the City received a total of five (5) proposals from 3D Built, Accenture, CHA Consulting, Inc., Fountainhead Consulting Corporation, and Southstar Engineering & Consulting, Inc.
An evaluation committee reviewed the proposals following the federal process for consultant selection based on qualifications and experience per the criteria specified in the RFP. Based on this review, the evaluation committee recommended Accenture as the most qualified consultant for these services. It is important to note that the fee cannot be a factor in picking the most qualified firm to provide professional services. However, after Accenture was picked as the most qualified professional firm, staff negotiated the final scope and fee and reduced the original fee by approximately $1,200,000. After negotiations, staff believe that Accenture has presented a fair and reasonable price for the requested scope. A copy of the Agreement with Accenture is included as Attachment B.
Funding Commitment Letter with Caltrans
The California Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the HBP advisory committee, has implemented a policy to fund high-cost bridge projects. High-cost projects commit large sums of federal funds which cannot be spent within one year. Given the timeline to complete such projects and implement more efficient cash management practices, Caltrans and the HBP Advisory committee have decided in the best interest of the program as a whole that portions of these idle federal funds can be used to advance other federal projects.
The updates to the cash management practices apply to federal projects whose construction phase exceeds $35 million. Currently, the construction cost of the Project is estimated at $74 million. Since the Ramon Bridge Project is next in line for release of federal funds, Caltrans has provided a Funding Commitment Letter and associated funding sheet. Caltrans will commit to programming the funding in the manner proposed on the funding sheet once the City signs the AC Commitment Block. Caltrans indicated City Council Staff Report
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Accenture Agreement – Ramon Road Widening
that there are multiple projects in line for this funding commitment and requested the City sign as soon as possible to ensure HBP funds are available throughout the construction phase, which is anticipated to start by August 2026.
The acronym “AC” stands for “Advanced Construction” and is the federal term used to indicate that the project is fully funded for the purposes of providing authorization to proceed. Funds programmed in “AC” represent the federal share of funding that is financed by local funds until such time that the AC funding can be converted to true federal dollars as the budget allows. The funding sheet provided with the Funding Commitment Letter shows when Caltrans will commit to converting the AC funding to real federal funds.
The AC Commitment Block in the Funding Commitment Letter represents the City’s acknowledgement that it will use local funds to finance the project until such time that federal funds are available for obligation.
Staff has reviewed the proposed Funding Commitment Letter and proposed conditions and supports the execution of the AC Commitment Block. A copy of the Funding Commitment Letter and associated funding sheet is included as Attachment C.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
Section 21084 of the California Public Resources Code requires Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). In accordance with the CEQA Guidelines, the City acting as “Lead Agency” pursuant to CEQA, previously completed an environmental analysis of the potential impacts resulting from construction of the Project. On May 7, 2014, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 23544, adopting and ordering the filing of a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Project. Subsequently, on May 14, 2014, Staff filed a Notice of Determination with the Riverside County Clerk and State Clearinghouse.
The Project is funded, in part, by federal funds, requiring local oversight by Caltrans. As a federally funded project, the Project is subject to environmental review pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). On June 9, 2014, Caltrans, acting as the lead agency pursuant to NEPA, made an environmental determination that the Project does not individually or cumulatively have a significant impact on the environment as defined by NEPA and is excluded from the requirements to prepare an Environmental Assessment (“EA”) or Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”), and that it qualifies for a Categorical Exclusion in accordance with 23 USC 327. Subsequently, on January 21, 2016, Caltrans completed a NEPA re-validation of the Project, confirming that the prior NEPA determination for the Project remains valid.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLANNING:
This item aligns with the following City Council Strategic Plan Broad Goal: Infrastructure and Facilities.
City Council Staff Report
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Accenture Agreement – Ramon Road Widening
FISCAL IMPACT:
Sufficient funding is available to approve the Accenture Agreement in the amount of $5,933,034.52 from the following accounts:
Capital Project Fund (261); $5,252,515.46 (88.53% – Caltrans share) Regional Measure A Fund (134); $510,389.29 (75% of 11.47% - CVAG share) Local Measure A Fund (134); $68,051.91 (10% of 11.47% - Palm Springs share) Capital Project Fund (261); $102,077.86 (15% of 11.47% - Cathedral City share) The City will finance the initial upfront costs, however, through reimbursements with the other Agencies, the above amount is what the City is expected to spend for the term of the Construction Management agreement.
Note, the local share (25% of the 11.47%) cost for Construction Management services between the City and Cathedral City is based on the January 9, 2020, Amendment No.1 to the Cooperative Agreement A6923 between both Cities. For construction costs, this split will vary as it is dependent upon how much construction is taking place with the right- of-way of each City. As such, this split may be updated in the future once the construction bids are received.
REVIEWED BY:
Department Director: Joel Montalvo
Assistant City Manager: Flinn Fagg
Director of Finance: Kristopher J. Mooney
City Manager: Scott Stiles
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Public Integrity Disclosure Form
B. Accenture Agreement (Link to City webpage)
C. Funding Commitment Letter and associated Funding Sheet