City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: April 7, 2025
Report #:2502-4177
TITLE
Approval of Contract Amendment No. 2 to Contract Number C21181509 with SCS Field Services in the amount of $46,203 for a New Not-to Exceed Amount of $417,012, and to Extend the Contract Through October 10, 2025, to Provide Continuous Gas Monitoring and Reporting Services for the City’s Closed Landfill; CEQA Status - Exempt Under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Contract Amendment No. 2 to Contract C21181509 with SCS Field Services, to increase compensation by $46,203 and extend the contract term an additional six months through October 10, 2025. The revised total contract amount is not-to-exceed $417,012, including $372,151 for basic services and $44,861 for additional services.
BACKGROUND
The City owns and operates a closed, class III municipal solid waste disposal site (landfill), located at 2380 Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto, California. The landfill reached refuse capacity and ceased accepting waste in 2011, underwent final capping and regulatory closure in 2015, and is now known as Byxbee Park. The landfill is currently in its “post-closure” maintenance and monitoring period, under regulatory oversight by CalRecycle, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), and Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health.
State and federal regulations require that landfill operators provide effective environmental control and monitoring systems to prevent the buildup and release of landfill gas from the buried waste. The landfill’s gas extraction system consists of buried underground piping, 91 vertical extraction wells, and a flare/blower system that keeps the wellfield under vacuum.
Specific landfill gas control activities are listed in the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD’s) Regulation 8, Rule 34, and include well-head monitoring, surface emissions
monitoring, maintaining detailed operating records, continuous flow and temperature monitoring and recording at the flare/blower station, and source testing.1 The environmental control systems monitoring and reporting tasks are required after the landfill closure for as long as the landfill continues producing methane and leachate (estimated for a minimum period of 30 years).
The original agreement with SCS Field Services, Contract C21181509, approved by Council on October 25, 20212, expired on October 10, 2024. Amendment No. 1 extended the contract for a six-month term through April 10, 2025, without additional funding being needed. However, an additional six-month extension and authority for additional funds to cover the extended term is needed to allow staff time to conduct a competitive solicitation for a new contract while maintaining continuity of gas monitoring services and compliance with the various permits and regulations pertaining to the gas system.
ANALYSIS
The City requires the services of a qualified and experienced contracting firm to ensure regulatory compliance of the landfill’s gas collection system due to the complexity and quantity of the work. The current contract with SCS Field Services provides continuous services for gas monitoring and reporting for the landfill gas control system as required by regulators. The current contract needs to be extended in the form of an amendment (Attachment A), for another six-month term extending the end date to October 10, 2025 and increasing compensation by $46,203, which was calculated using existing rates and based on the services required during the extended period. This will allow SCS Field Services to continue providing the regulatorily required gas monitoring and reporting services for the closed landfill while staff prepares a formal Request For Proposals solicitation for a new contract. The Request For Proposals is anticipated to be posted to the City’s online procurement site in June 2025. As a result, an exemption to competitive solicitation for the additional six-month term was approved by the City Manager pursuant to Palo Alto Municipal Code section 2.30.360(d).
1 Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD’s) Regulation 8, Rule 34; https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/dotgov/files/rules/reg-8-rule-34-solid-waste-disposal- sites/documents/rg0834.pdf?rev=41e786097ed348e99bf53c14f101e055&sc_lang=en 2 City Council, October 25, 2021; Agenda Item #4; SR #12080, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=77&page=41&repo=r-704298fc&searchid=44d34e8e-3aae- 4c6d-a2d4-c2ef3c9802d2
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for the additional six-month term of this contract (April 10, 2025 to October 10, 2025) is available in the Adopted Fiscal Year 2025 Refuse Fund operating budget. As shown in Table 1, the revised contract amount is not-to-exceed $417,012.
Table 1: Summary of Contract Costs for Landfill Gas Monitoring and Reporting Services:
Monitoring and Reporting per Year $112,366
Additional Services per Year $11,237
Total Annual Cost $123,603
SUBTOTAL Contract Not-to-Exceed Amount for the original 3-year term $370,808 Monitoring and Reporting for additional 6-month term (4/11/2025 – 10/10/2025) $46,203 GRAND TOTAL Contract Not-to-Exceed Amount through October 10,2025 $417,012
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
This contract is for a continuation of existing landfill monitoring and reporting services that is required by multiple regulations. Engagement consisted of the procurement process for the initial contract.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because the contract involves monitoring of existing facilities and involves no expansion of the existing use. CEQA Guidelines section 15301.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Partially Executed Amendment No. 2 to Contract with SCS Field Services; Contract #C21181509
APPROVED BY: Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer