REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: BRIAN BARR, Director
General Services Department
BY: ROBIN O’MALLEY, Facilities Manager
General Services Department, Facilities Management Division
CRAIG RICCI, Project Manager
General Services Department, Facilities Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the Santa Fe Depot Exterior Americans with Disability Act (ADA) Upgrades project located at 2650 Tulare Street:
1. Adopt Environment Assessment No. SFD0700, dated June 20, 2024, a determination that the proposed project qualifies for categorical exemption as set forth in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15301/Class 1 and Section 15302/Class 2.
2. Approve a Consultant Services Agreement for Professional Engineering Services with Provost and Pritchard Engineering Group, Inc, of Fresno, California, in the amount of $132,500 with a $15,000 contingency, for design, preparation of construction documents, and construction support services for the Santa Fe Depot Phase I Exterior ADA Upgrades project.
3. Authorize the Director of General Services or designee to execute all related documents.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Actions pertaining to the Santa Fe Depot Exterior ADA Upgrades project located at 2650 Tulare Street:
1. Adopt Environment Assessment No. SFD0700 dated June 20, 2024, a determination that the proposed project qualifies for categorical exemption as set forth in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15301/Class 1 and Section 15302/Class 2.
2. Approve an Agreement for Professional Engineering Services with Provost and Pritchard Engineering Group, Inc. of Fresno, California, in the amount of $132,500 with a $15,000 contingency for the design, preparation of construction documents, and construction support services for the Santa Fe Depot Phase I Exterior ADA Upgrades project.
3. Authorize the Director of General Services or designee to execute all related documents.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In accordance with the City of Fresno’s ADA Transition Plan, the City must plan and remediate barriers for access. In the FY2021-2022 ADA Transition Plan update, the City added the Santa Fe Depot to the list of facilities with identified barriers for access. General Services Department seeks to design and engineer ADA upgrades necessary to address barriers identified on the exterior of the site. The remediation will be divided into two phases. Phase I will focus on street side improvements such as curb ramps and the exterior path of travel from the passenger drop off zone to the front entrance of the facility. Phase II focuses on ADA parking lot upgrades and paths of travel to the train platform. This Council action focuses on Phase I improvements only. The Historic Santa Fe Depot opened in 1899, serving the community in both Amtrak rail and Greyhound bus transportation.
The City is also required to eliminate barriers to access at the Santa Fe Depot per settlement agreement between the City and Department of Justice. The settlement agreement commits the City to promptly address ADA deficiencies at the Santa Fe Depot.
BACKGROUND
The Santa Fe Depot, located at 2650 Tulare Street, serves the community in both rail and bus transportation. The facility was built in 1899 and has been expanded and remodeled on numerous occasions. The most recent substantial remodel completed by the City was in 2003.
The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) is a comprehensive civil rights law for persons with disabilities. The ADA states that its purpose is to provide a "clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities." In accordance with the City of Fresno’s Transition Plan, required by Title II of the ADA, the City must identify and provide a plan to remediate barriers for access. The Santa Fe Depot was added to the City’s Transition Plan in the FY2021-2022 update which identified barriers to access on the interior and exterior of the facility. The City is responsible for these upgrades.
The General Services Department completed numerous ADA upgrades to the interior of the facility earlier this fiscal year. General Services now seeks to commence design and engineering services on ADA upgrades necessary to address barriers on the remainder of the property, as identified in the ADA Transition Plan. The primary areas requiring ADA upgrades are the exterior paths of travel and the parking lot.
The remediation will be divided into two phases. Phase I will focus on street side improvements such as curb ramps and the exterior path of travel from the passenger drop off zone to the front entrance of the facility. This consultant agreement is for Phase I design and engineering only.
Phase II will focus on ADA improvements to the Santa Fe Depot parking lot and exterior paths of travel from designated accessible parking spaces to Amtrak’s train platform. It will also include exterior paths of travel from Santa Fe and Tulare Avenues to Amtrak’s train platform.
In accordance with a settlement agreement between Amtrak and the federal government, Amtrak is responsible for the design and construction of ADA upgrades specifically located on the platform. The City has no responsibility for ADA improvements to the train platform. Per the City’s ADA Transition Plan and a separate settlement agreement between the Department of Justice and City, the City has responsibility for ADA improvements on city property outside of the train platform. General Services will return to Council with an amendment to this consultant agreement incorporating phase II engineering requirements following the receipt of engineering information from Amtrak regarding their project.
The Santa Fe Depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is included in the local and state registries. As such, site remediation that impacts the historic features is subject to approval of the local and state Historic Preservation Commissions.
The Consultant is responsible for determining the full extent of ADA improvements necessary and will provide the City with an estimate of probable construction costs as engineering progresses.
On May 1, 2023, staff published a Request for Qualifications inviting consultants to submit for services on an “as needed” or “on call” basis for Facilities Management Divisions Projects. Provost and Pritchard Engineering Group, Inc. was selected as an “as needed” or “on call” Engineering Firm for a three-year term.
The City Attorney has approved the contract as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Staff performed a preliminary environmental assessment of the project and determined that it falls within the Categorical Exemptions set forth in CEQA Guidelines, Section 15301/ Class 1 (Minor alteration to existing facilities), which exempts the repair and maintenance of existing facilities that involves negligible or no expansion of an existing use, and Section 15302/Class 2 (Replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities), which exempts the replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity.
The proposed project is consistent with Class 1 and Class 2 exemptions because the project proposes improvements to existing public facilities to reconstruct pavement, install curb ramps to meet ADA regulations, and add signage and platform side improvement, which includes the parking lot, exterior path of travel from designated accessible parking spaces to the train platform, and exterior of paths of travel from Santa Fe and Tulare Avenues to the platform. These proposed improvements do not constitute an expansion of use and will improve the public right-of-way without increasing road capacity. The proposed project involves negligible expansion of the existing use and will have substantially the same purpose.
Based on staff analysis, it was determined that no adverse environmental impacts would occur because of the proposed project and none of the exceptions to Categorical Exemptions set forth in the CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 apply to this project.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local Preference was implemented, and Provost and Pritchard Engineering Group, Inc. is a local business, as defined by the Fresno Municipal Code.
FISCAL IMPACT
The initial stages of Phase I have been appropriated in the FY2024 adopted budget under the Public Works Department. The funding source is the General Fund.
Attachments:
Environmental Assessment No. SFD0700
Consultant Agreement