Agenda Item #13.2
For Council Meeting of: May 13, 2025
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: DAN HENNESSEY, DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION
AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO CERTAIN STAFF TO EXECUTE PROJECT WORK ORDERS ISSUED UNDER EXISTING MASTER PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENTS AGENDA ACTION: RESOLUTION
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the Department of Transportation and Public Works that the Council, by resolution, 1) delegate authority to certain staff to execute Project Work Orders issued under existing Master Professional Services Agreements (MPSA) up to an amount not to exceed $500,000, through December 2025; 2) delegate authority to certain staff to execute Project Work Orders issued under existing MPSA up to an amount not to exceed $500,000, with the cumulative sum of all such Project Work Orders not to exceed $18 million for Fiscal Year 2024-2025; and 2) ratify Project Work Orders, and associated payments, executed by certain staff from July 1, 2024 through adoption of this resolution, under existing MPSAs up to an amount not to exceed $500,000.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City has pre-qualified ninety-four (94) consultants to provide design, engineering and related professional services for the City’s Capital Improvement Projects team and related departments (Exhibit A). Each pre-qualified consultant is under contract with the City’s standard Master Professional Services Agreement (Exhibit B). The MPSA is an “umbrella” agreement that establishes basic legal terms for professional services in advance, without obligating the City to undertake any specific project. Then, on a project-by-project basis, staff solicits Project-specific work from the pre-qualified consultants and issues a Project Work Order under the MPSA to the selected consultant, which memorializes the work to be performed for the Project.
Staff recommends that Council delegate to certain staff the authority to execute Project Work Orders issued up to an amount not to exceed $500,000 with the current consultant list under existing Master Professional Services Agreements through December 2025, and with the cumulative sum of all such Project Work Orders not to exceed $18 million for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. Staff does not propose any changes to the consultant list (Exhibit A) or the Master Professional Services Agreement (Exhibit B) executed by those consultants.
BACKGROUND
The City utilizes consultants to assist in the delivery of Capital Improvement Projects and on a more limited basis for related work in other City departments. City staff routinely hire consultants when specialized expertise or additional engineering capacity is needed. Usage of MPSA’s makes the consultant hiring process more efficient by prequalifying consultants for future work and establishing in advance the legal framework for utilizing consultant services thereby eliminating the time required for consultant preparation and City review of qualifications for every project solicitation.
The City’s MPSA Program establishes the MPSA as “umbrella agreements” to have qualified consultants readily available to perform work under Project Work Orders when needed. The City’s Master Professional Services program allows the City to quickly issue competitive solicitations to a large pool of pre-qualified design, engineering and related consultants for Capital Improvement Projects that have already agreed to and signed on to the City’s standard agreement terms. Project-specific solicitations are competitively issued to consultants under these MPSA’s when specific needs for consultant services arise. When a consultant is then selected, a Project Work Order is issued and approved by Council, the Board of Public Utilities, or staff according to signature authority. The City is under no obligation to use the MPSA. Funds are encumbered to the appropriate charge numbers at the time of Project Work Order issuance.
On February 28, 2024, the City Council, by Resolution No. RES-2024-026, authorized delegation of authority to certain staff to execute Project Work Orders issued under existing Master Professional Services Agreements (MPSA) up to an amount not to exceed $500,000 with the cumulative sum of all such Project Work Orders not to exceed $18 million for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL REVIEW
Not applicable.
ANALYSIS
The City currently has ninety-four (94) consultants prequalified under the City’s MPSA Program (Exhibit A). All consultants that participate in the MPSA Program must execute the City’s standard Master Professional Services Agreement (Exhibit B), which establishes the basic legal terms for such services in advance. After the City solicits a project from those pre-qualified consultants that have signed the MPSA, staff issue a Project Work Order under the MPSA agreement for the project to the selected consultant.
Staff recommend that Council delegate to certain staff the authority to execute Project Work Orders issued up to an amount not to exceed $500,000 with the current consultant list under existing Master Professional Services Agreements, with the cumulative sum of all such Project Work Orders not to exceed $18 million for Fiscal Year 2024-2025, and further through December 2025 as follows:
$500,000 or less – approval by the City Manager.
$250,000 or less – approval by the Assistant City Manager, Director of Transportation and Public Works, Director of Planning and Economic Development or Director of Santa Rosa Water.
In addition to the delegation of authority identified above, this item also delegates limited authority to staff to make other administrative changes in connection with these agreements such as payment under appropriate charge numbers, authority to execute routine assignment agreements and to terminate the MPSA’s.
Ratification is necessary because Resolution No. RES-2024-026 only delegated authority for the Fiscal Year 2023-2024. A resolution authorizing delegation of signature should have been passed at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2024-2025. Staff seeks ratification of all PWOs, and associated payments, executed by certain staff from July 1, 2024 through adoption of this resolution, under existing MPSAs up to an amount not to exceed $500,000.
This item does not change the existing list of consultants under the MPSA program (Exhibit A) or modify the City’s current, standard MPSA terms and conditions (Exhibit B). All the consultants identified in Exhibit A have signed the standard MPSA attached to this report as Exhibit B.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this action does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378, the proposed action is not a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it does not have a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. In the alternative, the proposed action is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the project may have a significant effect on the environment.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Not applicable.
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
Exhibit A - 2025 Consultant List
Exhibit B - MPSA Template
PRESENTERS
Lisa Welsh, Supervising Engineer
Dan Hennessey, Director of Transportation and Public Works
DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO CERTAIN STAFF TO EXECUTE PROJECT WORK ORDERS ISSUED UNDER EXISTING MASTER PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENTS PAGE 3 OF 3