REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: BROCK D. BUCHE, PE, PLS, Director
Department of Public Utilities
BY: AHMAD ALKHAYYAT, PE, MBA, Assistant Director
Department of Public Utilities - Solid Waste Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Second Amendment to the consultant services agreement with Stearns, Conrad, and Schmidt Consulting Engineers, Inc., to expand the scope of services, to extend the agreement to December 31, 2023, and increase the previously amended contract amount of $84,540 by $65,024 for a total amended contract amount of $149,564, for professional consulting services for SB 1383 compliance planning. (Citywide)
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that Council approve the Second Amendment to the consultant services agreement with Stearns, Conrad, and Schmidt Consulting Engineers, Inc., (SCS) to expand the scope of services, to extend the agreement to December 31, 2023, and increase the previously amended contract amount of $84,540 by $65,024 for a total amended contract amount of $149,564, for professional consulting services for SB 1383 compliance; and authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to sign the Second Amendment on behalf of the City of Fresno (City).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
SCS Engineers, Inc., was previously selected to provide consultant services for SB 1383 compliance. Due to the level of compliance detail required by SB 1383, the Department of Public Utilities (Department) requires additional consultant assistance through the end of December 2023. Approval of this Second Amendment will help take the Department through the collection implementation phase. Approval of this agreement is necessary at this time as agreement is about to expire on December 31, 2022 and this is the last Council session of the year.
BACKGROUND
In order to meet the January 1, 2022, SB 1383 compliance deadline, the Department entered into a consulting services agreement with SCS on September 7, 2021, in the amount of $49,600, after the City Manager determined that SCS was a uniquely qualified professional consulting services provider for SB 1383 compliance planning. SCS was selected for the work and was determined to be uniquely qualified because they were already contracted with Fresno County and had already completed a lot of the preliminary SB 1383 compliance planning work countywide, resulting in an extensive knowledge regarding the services, programs, and capacity within the City of Fresno. Additionally, since SB 1383 compliance is required of all jurisdictions throughout the State of California, there are very limited options for compliance consulting services anywhere in the State, and SCS was willing to take the City on as a client since the work required aligned with the work that had already been completed for Fresno County.
Since entering into the agreement with the City, SCS has been working with the Solid Waste Management Division to gather the appropriate background information, review and amend hauler agreements, analyze programs, and prepare the City’s Notice of Intent to Comply (NOIC), among other tasks.
The City’s NOIC was submitted to CalRecycle on February 25, 2022, committing the City to a more flexible schedule of deliverables and actions toward full compliance with SB 1383 regulations.
In order to meet the NOIC deadlines, SCS assisted the City with specific tasks, including review of waivers, preparation of an education and outreach implementation plan, and preparation of updates to the City’s procurement policies to incorporate the purchasing requirements of SB 1383.
On April 21, 2022, the First Amendment to the agreement with SCS was approved and increased the original contract amount of $49,600 by $34,940 for a total amended contract amount of $84,540. SCS assisted the City to review and update the City’s existing franchise agreements with Republic Services and Mid Valley Disposal; and the service agreements with CARTS, Green Valley and West Coast Waste to incorporate the requirements of SB 1383. The negotiated agreement amendments will be brought to City Council in the near future for consideration and approval. Ultimately, completion of this task will bring the City closer to compliance with SB 1383 regulations as identified in the NOIC.
Currently the agreement is set to expire on December 31, 2022. Due to the level of compliance detail required by SB 1383, the Department requires additional consultant assistance through the end of December 2023 to provide: continued support for service agreement negotiations; NOIC compliance and associated Correction Action Plan; and assistance with overall program implementation. These additional services result in an increase of $65,024 which will bring the agreement total amount to $149,564.
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved as to form this Second Amendment to the Agreement. Upon approval by the City Council, the Second Amendment to Agreement will be executed by the Director of Public Utilities, or designee.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, the approval of this amendment does not qualify as a “project” for the purposes of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference does not apply to this action because this is an amendment to an existing agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund. Funding for the Agreement is included in the Solid Waste Management Division’s Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Fund (41001) Budget.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Second Amendment to Agreement
Attachment 2 - First Amendment to Agreement April 21, 2022
Attachment 3 - Consultant Services Agreement September 7, 2021