FOR THE COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 5, 2023
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: City Council
FROM: Interim City Manager Alex Posada
BY: Director of Utilities Shad S. Springer
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Approving an Agreement for Professional Services with Carollo Engineers, Inc. for Wastewater Treatment Plant Program Management Services
Description:
The City Council will consider approving an agreement with Carollo Engineers, Inc. for Wastewater Treatment Plant Program Management Services.
Environmental Notice: The activity related to Program Management Services is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) State Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to State Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) no environmental review is required.
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a Resolution approving an agreement for professional services with Carollo Engineers, Inc. for Wastewater Treatment Plant Program Management Services.
BACKGROUND:
Prior to February 2022, the City of Santa Maria (“City”) was permitted under Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (“Central Coast Water Board”) Order No. R3-2010- 0001 for individual waste discharge requirements for discharges of domestic wastewater to land from the City Wastewater Treatment Plant (“WWTP”) , located on South Black Road in Santa Maria.
On September 25, 2020, the Central Coast Water Board adopted General Waste Discharge Requir ements Order No. R3 -2020-0020 for Discharges from Domestic Wastewater Systems with Flows Greater than 100,000 Gallons per Day (the “General Permit”). The City was required to enroll under the General Permit and meet its increased and more stringent dischar ge requirements. The WWTP cannot currently meet the requirements; as a result , the City will need to upgrade the WWTP. The project will be significant in both scale, cost, and estimated to take ten years to complete.
On March 17, 2023, the Utilities Depar tment released a Request for Qualifications for WWTP Program Management Services (“RFQ”) inviting qualified firms to provide programmatic support for the project , including updating the Wastewater Master Plan, with an evaluation of existing operations, treatment alternatives, and feasibility studies; 2 establishing a time schedule to achieve compliance; and develop ing cash flow and funding scenarios.
The RFQ was sent to 12 qualified firms and submittals were received from two firms: (1) Carollo Engineers, Inc. and (2) Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. The two submittals received were evaluated and ranked by a selection committee based on the firms’ expertise (25 points), experience (25 points), and project strategy and approach (50 points). Following the selection committee’s comprehensive evaluation of submittals in consideration of the above published RFQ rating criteria, interview s with both firms and subsequent discussions, Carollo Engineers, Inc. was selected to provide the services for the project.
In consideration of the timeliness of the work to be accomplished before deadlines issued to the City by the Central Coast Water Board, the City, and Carollo Engineers, Inc. entered into a June 3 0, 2023 , agreement, and subsequent October 30, 2023 , amendment, (Attachments “A-1”, and “A-2”, respectively) for immediate, critical services to be performed by Carollo Engineers, Inc. for this project , as authorized by City Purchasing Guidelines.
DISCUSSION:
The proposed agreement for professional services (Attachment “B”) covers the scope of work for Phase 1 , which will cover approximately the first 18 months of the program management services to be provided by Carollo Engineers, Inc. Phase 1 will be focused on regulatory support, current WWTP performance, environmental processes, updating the Wastewater Master Plan, evaluating percolation pond capacity, funding, and stakeholder outreach. The estimated cost for the scope of work in Phase 1 is $1,902,274.
Following the initial Phase 1 scope of work , the City and Carollo Engineers, Inc. have agreed to negotiate the subsequent Phase 2 scope of work . That work will include program management related to the delivery, design, construction, start-up, and commissioning of the new WWTP facilities required to achieve compliance with the new General Order. This will require the execution of a written amendment to detail the Phase 2 scope and budget.
The proposed term of the agreement for Phase 1 is through June 30, 2025, but the term will be extended with Phase 2.
Alternative(s)
The City Council may reject both submittals and direct City staff to issue a new RFQ for program management services. This will result in additional staff time and costs to issue a new RFQ. In addition, the additional time required will not allow the City to meet the compliance timeline dictated by the Central Coast Water Board.
Environmental Review
The subject of this item, Program Management Services, does not require environmental review. However, implementation of future projects developed as part of Program Management Services may require some level of environmental review. Specifically, the 3 Phase 1 scope includes the preparation of review documentation pursuant to CEQA, as well as the necessary environmental documentation to satisfy the requirements of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program Operating Agreement between the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the State Water Resources Control Board.
The Phas e 1 scope assumes that a Mitigated Negative Declaration supported by the Initial Study will be the appropriate level of CEQA documentation. If potentially significant and unavoidable impacts are identified for selected projects, a Focused Environmental Impact Report will be required, which will require an adjustment to the scope and budget.
Fiscal Considerations
Costs for the proposed agreement are budgeted in the Wastewater Enterprise Fund.
Because the full scope of the modifications to the WWTP cannot be known at this time, it is not possible to estimate costs to achieve compliance under the General Permit.
Projects to update and modify treatment at other treatment plants throughout the region have cost more than $100 million . In comparison, t hose projects had different requirements and were generally smaller in size. It is anticipated the City’s cost for compliance will be significantly higher due to inflation, size, and complexity.
As the new Wastewater Master Plan is developed and the necessary improvements for compliance are identified, a better understanding of overall costs will be achieved, as well as strategies for funding those costs.
Impact to the Community
The City intends to modify the existing WWTP to serve the community’s current and future growth in a sustainable, reliable, cost-effective, and resilient manner. These modifications must be managed in a smooth and integrated manner with active WWTP operations and to comply with the Central Coast Water Board’s General Order.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment “A-1” Agreement with Carollo Engineer Inc. for Interim Scope, dated June 30, 2023 Attachment “A-2” Amendment with Carollo Engineer Inc. for Interim Scope, dated October 30, 2023 Attachment “B” Agreement with Carollo Engineer Inc. for Phase 1 Scope, dated December 5, 2023