CITY OF SAN MATEO
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CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 19 Section Name: CONSENT CALENDAR Account Number: 72-4671 File ID: 25-10601 TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Public Works Department
MEETING DATE: November 17, 2025
SUBJECT:
Staff Augmentation Services for the Wastewater Treatment Plant — Amendment RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Amendment No. 4 with waterTALENT LLC for staff augmentation services for the Wastewater Treatment Plant in the amount of $350,000, for a new total agreement amount of $1,149,000 and authorize the Public Works Director to execute the amendment in substantially the form presented.
BACKGROUND:
The City is currently constructing a new facility for the liquids treatment portion of the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The new WWTP facilities are expected to be commissioned late in 2025. In the months leading up to the new facility coming online and during actual startup, WWTP staff will need to observe and participate in clean water testing and keep both the existing and new WWTP facilities operational for up to two months during the transition from the old to the new facilities. This significant increase in demand for WWTP staff’s time and focus is not feasible with the quantity of City staff at the WWTP. The operational priority is to ensure WWTP staff are fully capable of operating the new facilities during this transitional period.
To allow staff to focus their time and effort where necessary in support of the startup of the new facilities, in August 2024, staff solicited proposals for staff augmentation services to operate and maintain the existing facilities. As a result, staff executed an agreement on August 30, 2024, with waterTALENT LLC for staff augmentation services for the WWTP for an amount of $99,000, which was expedited to manage the City’s risk of temporarily having WWTP Operations staff unavailable due to the potential employee strike from the SEIU Local 521 Maintenance Unit. In September 2024, City Council approved Amendment No. 1 to increase the amount of the agreement by $400,000, for a new agreement amount of $499,000, to address the anticipated costs associated with the operational startup of the new plant facilities.
Startup of the new WWTP Facility has continued to be delayed, requiring additional amendments to add more funding to the agreement. Council approved Amendment No. 2 in June 2025 to add an additional $200,000 and extend the term through June 30, 2026. Staff executed Amendment No. 3 in October 2025 utilizing $100,000 in Council-approved contingency funds. Further delays in the startup of the new facility through the holidays with an anticipated extended duration during which staff will have to operate both the old and new plants as the transition occurs requires additional funding to be added to the agreement. Amendment No. 4 will increase the overall dollar amount by $350,000, for a grand total of $1,149,000.
BUDGET IMPACT:
Sufficient funds are included in the FY 2025-26 WWTP operating budget to cover the cost of these services and the contingency reserve.
CITY OF SAN MATEO
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ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
Approval of this agreement is not a project subject to CEQA, because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that approval of an agreement to provide staff augmentation services may have a significant effect on the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).)
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 – Amendment No. 4
STAFF CONTACT
Robert Learmonth, Wastewater Treatment Plant Manager
[email protected]
650-522-7386
James O’Connell, Deputy Public Works Director
[email protected]
650-522-7304