CITY OF SAN MATEO
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 12 Section Name: CONSENT CALENDAR Account Number: 72-4671 File ID: 26-11496 TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Public Works Department
MEETING DATE: August 17, 2026
SUBJECT:
Wastewater Treatment Plant Motor Control Centers Replacement Project — Amendment RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Amendment No. 2 to the professional services agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc. for design services for the Wastewater Treatment Plant’s Main Structure Motor Control Centers (MCC) Replacement Project to expand the scope of services and increase the agreement amount by $156,129, for a revised total not to exceed amount of $244,424; establish a contingency reserve in the amount of $23,500; and authorize the Public Works Director to execute Amendment No. 2 in substantially the form presented and issue amendments within the contingency amount.
BACKGROUND:
The City is currently under a Regional Water Quality Control Board Cease and Desist Order requiring improvements to its sewer collection system and Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows and unauthorized discharges of untreated or partially treated wastewater to San Francisco Bay. The Clean Water Program (CWP) includes several capital improvements that are currently under construction and intended to comply with the Cease and Desist Order. The CWP Annual Major Components (AMC) Projects include capital improvements that are currently under development or under construction and are intended to upgrade or rehabilitate aging infrastructure in the City’s sewer collection system and WWTP. The Motor Control Centers (MCCs) Replacement Project (Project) was identified as one of these projects.
The MCC Replacement Project will replace four aging motor control centers in the main structure with two new units. The MCCs control and distribute power to critical plant equipment, making them essential to reliable wastewater treatment operations. The Project also includes replacing electrical feeders and conductors, upgrading a junction box, removing unused conduits, and identifying the most efficient routing for the new electrical connections.
On November 13, 2025, staff awarded an agreement to HDR Engineering, Inc. (HDR) in an amount not to exceed $75,665 for the MCC Replacement Project to prepare and finalize the design and bid package for advertising. In early 2026, field work conducted as part of another concurrent project revealed aging conduits that were deemed unusable for electrical upgrades. As a result of this, on February 25, 2026, staff executed Amendment No. 1 in an amount of $12,630 to HDR’s agreement to perform field investigations and develop cost estimates to enable new electrical pathways for the new MCCs, bringing the agreement total to $88,295.
As HDR advanced the design in coordination with plant staff, additional improvements were identified to address existing site conditions, maintain plant operations during construction, minimize shutdowns, and improve the safety and reliability of the new MCCs. The revised scope includes related electrical and facility modifications, temporary power and construction sequencing, and an updated construction cost estimate.
CITY OF SAN MATEO
An additional $156,129 is estimated to complete this expanded engineering effort, which now requires substantial additional work across multiple disciplines, including electrical, structural, architectural, civil, geotechnical, and mechanical. These changes are necessary to address existing site constraints, improve long term operability, and incorporate City requested modifications to the project design approach.
City staff has reviewed HDR’s proposal and level of effort and agrees with the requested amendment. Staff negotiated a $156,129 fee for HDR’s amended services to complete the design and prepare the bid advertisement package bringing the total agreement to $244,424. Staff also recommends approval of a $23,500 contingency reserve to address any unforeseen issues in completing the project design.
BUDGET IMPACT:
There are sufficient funds available in the CWP WWTP Annual Major Components (46t090) project budget for this amendment.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
The proposed action is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), since amending an on-call professional services agreement is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect significant physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).) In addition, on June 6, 2016, the City Council certified a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (Final PEIR) (SCH No. 2015032006), which serves as the primary environmental compliance document for implementation of the Clean Water Program. On July 16, 2018, the City approved Addendum 1 to the Final PEIR, and on April 15, 2019 approved Addendum
2. Any resultant capital improvement or operations and maintenance-related projects resulting from the on-call professional consulting services shall be reviewed on an individual basis or evaluated for consistency with the PEIR and Addenda.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENTS:
This staff report supports the Infrastructure initiative.
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 – Amendment No. 2
STAFF CONTACT
Jennifer Lam, Project Manager II
[email protected]
(650) 522-7281
Thomas W. Williams, Engineering Manager
[email protected]
(650) 522-7307