REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Award a Contract to Prepare a Two-Phase Feasibility Study of Structural Stormwater Best Management Practices for the SMaRT Station® and the Concrete Recycling Facility (F14-103) and Approval of Budget Modification No. 14
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Council approval is requested to award a contract in an amount not-to-exceed $166,887 to Geosyntec Consultants of Oakland to prepare a two-phase feasibility study of structural stormwater best management practices for the SMaRT Station® and the Concrete Recycling Facility. Approval is also requested for a 10% contract contingency in the amount of $16,688, and for Budget Modification No. 14 to provide additional funding which will be shared among the cities of Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale, as more fully explained below.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to California Code of Regulations Section 15262 in that it is a project involving only feasibility or planning studies for possible future actions which have not been approved, adopted, or funded by the City.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
In 2013, San Francisco Baykeeper (Baykeeper) filed a lawsuit claiming that the City had failed to comply with the Industrial Stormwater Permit requirements of the federal Clean Water Act with regard to stormwater runoff at the SMaRT Station and various locations on the closed Sunnyvale Landfill. On December 6, 2013, a negotiated settlement agreement between the City and Baykeeper became effective.
Staff is presently planning and implementing various actions to maintain compliance with the settlement agreement and to reduce stormwater pollution at the SMaRT Station and the Concrete Recycling Facility, which is operated by Stevens Creek Quarry, Inc. (SCQ) on land leased by SCQ on the East Hill of the closed landfill.
One of the required actions is a feasibility study to determine the most effective and cost-efficient Best Management Practices (BMPs) for managing stormwater at the SMaRT Station. This feasibility study must be provided to Baykeeper by December 15, 2014. Following Baykeeper comments, if any, the consultant will prepare a timeframe and implementation plan for design and installation of the BMPs arising from the study, which must be provided to Baykeeper by May 15, 2015.
The necessity and timing of a feasibility study for the Concrete Recycling Facility is still under discussion between the City and Baykeeper. Staff has requested that another year of stormwater sampling be conducted because the 2013/14 rainy season did not produce representative samples to definitively conclude that this feasibility study is necessary. Staff believes that Baykeeper will agree to the additional year of sampling but has not received written confirmation yet.
Should Baykeeper agree to the additional sampling, and the sampling concludes that the feasibility study for the Concrete Recycling Facility is necessary, the due dates for the study and implementation plans would be December 15, 2015 and May 15, 2016, respectively. If Baykeeper does not agree to the one-year sampling extension, the feasibility studies and implementation plans for both facilities will be completed by December 15, 2014 and May 15, 2015, respectively. If the additional sampling concludes that the feasibility study for the Concrete Recycling Facility is unnecessary, this phase of the not-to-exceed contract will not move forward.
The Request for Proposals (RFP No. F14-103) for this work was issued on July 7, 2014. The RFP was directly sent to several consultants known to offer these services. A pre-proposal conference was held on July 23, 2014 and five firms attended the conference. One proposal was received from Geosyntec of Oakland. It is not definitively known why only one proposal was received but, based on feedback received by staff, the City's preference for firms having direct experience with stormwater third party lawsuits and associated settlements, coupled with existing consultant workloads, may have been factors.
The Geosyntec proposal was evaluated on adherence to the requirements of the RFP, experience, understanding of the required services, approach and methodology to be used in the performance of the services, proposed timeline for completion of the services, and cost/value. Following an interview with Geosyntec, staff determined that it met all of the evaluation criteria. Geosyntec proposed to complete the work for $170,000, which was reduced to $166,888 following pricing discussions.
FISCAL IMPACT
Council is also being asked to create and fund a capital project structure within which the funds for the Geosyntec work and subsequent implementation projects can be appropriated. Two projects are proposed:
1. A project in Fund 490 (SMaRT Station) titled "Structural Stormwater BMPs, SMaRT Station," for work related to that facility. Expenses for this project will be shared among the cities of Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto consistent with the SMaRT Station Memorandum of Understanding. It is anticipated that Sunnyvale's share of this project will be $56,080.
2. A project in Fund 485 (Solid Waste) titled "Structural Stormwater BMPs, Concrete Recycling Facility" for work related to the leased recycling facility located on the East Hill of the closed Sunnyvale Landfill. Staff is discussing with the recycling lessee, Stevens Creek Quarry, the roles that the City and SCQ will play with regard to designing and implementing future BMPs on the East Hill.
Budget Modification No. 14 has been prepared to fund both projects. Staff proposes that Sunnyvale's share for both projects come from the Solid Waste Management Fund's Rate Stabilization Reserve. It is anticipated that these modest one-time costs will not impact future rates. The budget modification includes a payment from the Solid Waste Management Fund to the SMaRT Station Fund for Sunnyvale's share of the Structural Stormwater BMPs, SMaRT Station project.
Budget Modification No. 14
FY 2014/15
|
Current |
Increase/ (Decrease) |
Revised |
SMaRT Station Fund |
|
|
|
Revenues |
|
|
|
Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto shares of Structural Stormwater BMPs, SMaRT Station Project |
$0 |
$108,593 |
$108,593 |
Expenditures |
|
|
|
New Project - Structural Stormwater BMPs, SMaRT Station |
$0 |
$108,593 |
$108,593 |
Solid Waste Management Fund |
|
|
|
Expenditures |
|
|
|
Program 363 Solid Waste Management - Refuse Transfer and Disposal (363220) |
$12,513,149 |
$56,080 |
$12,569,229 |
New Project - Structural Stormwater BMPs, Concrete Recycling Facility |
$0 |
$74,983 |
$74,983 |
Reserves |
|
|
|
Solid Waste Management Fund Rate Stabilization Reserve |
$1,194,758 |
($131,063) |
$1,063,695 |
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Senior Center, Community Center and Department of Public Safety; and by making the agenda and report available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1) Award a contract, in substantially the same form as the attached draft and in an amount not-to-exceed $166,887 to Geosyntec Consultants for the subject project and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract when all the necessary conditions are met; 2) Approve a 10% contract contingency in the amount of $16,689; and 3) Approve Budget Modification No. 14.
Staff
Prepared by: Pete Gonda, Purchasing Officer
Reviewed by: Grace K. Leung, Director, Department of Finance
Reviewed by: Mark A. Bowers, Solid Waste Programs Division Manager
Reviewed by: John Stufflebean, Director, Environmental Services Department
Reviewed by: Robert A. Walker, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft Consultant Services Agreement