REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Randall W. Morrison, PE, Director
Capital Projects Department
BROCK D. BUCHE, PE, PLS, Director
Department of Public Utilities
BY: francisco V. magos II, PE, Assistant Director
Capital Projects Department, Utilities and On-Site Project Management Division
PATRICIA DIEP, Project Manager
Capital Projects Department, Utilities and On-Site Project Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the First Amendment to the Professional Engineering Services Agreement with Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt Consulting Engineers, of Long Beach, California to expand the scope of services for the design of the Renewable Natural Gas Diversion into Natural Gas Pipeline Project, increasing the total contract amount by $137,356.58, for a total increased contract amount of $360,115.22, with a remaining contingency of $20,000.00, and extend the agreement term from December 30, 2023 to December 31, 2026 (Council District 3 and unincorporated Fresno County).
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends the City Council approve the First Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement (Agreement) with Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt Consulting Engineers (Consultant) to expand the scope of services, increase total contract amount by $137,356.58, for a total increased contract amount of $360,115.22, with a remaining contingency of $20,000, and extend the agreement term from December 30, 2023 to December 31, 2026 for design services for the Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Diversion into Natural Gas Pipeline Project (Project), and authorize the Capital Projects Director, or designee to sign the amendment on behalf of the City of Fresno (City).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On January 12, 2017, the City entered an initial Agreement with the Consultant for a feasibility study and to develop plans for the design of the Project. The initial agreement had an expiration date of January 31, 2018 and subsequent amendments to the original Agreement extended its expiration date to June 30, 2020. The completion of the Consultant’s remaining services became stalled, beyond the initial Agreement’s expiration date as the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) worked through issues pertaining to the digester gases on other projects at the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Facility). On December 15, 2021, the City Uniquely Qualified the Consultant and entered into a new Agreement for professional engineering services to continue with the design development work and provide the necessary bidding and construction support services for the Project with a total contract amount of $222,758.64, with a $20,000 contingency.
Due to multiple unforeseen delays to the project, the original scope of services needs to be expanded to include response to the extensive comments received and revisions to the plans and specifications to bring up to current code. Funding for the First Amendment to the Agreement is included in the Wastewater Management Division’s Fiscal Year 2024 Capital Improvement Budget Sewer Enterprise Fund.
BACKGROUND
A byproduct of the Facility’s operations is the production of digester gases that are currently burned-off by a flare. Rather than waste a valuable resource, the gases being of sufficiently high quality, are sent to a gas conditioning facility in which the gas is partially cleaned to remove undesirable constituents and a distinctive odor is added to make it detectable for humans to smell as required by California Public Utility Commission standards, resulting in a product that may then be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). The Project proposes to construct a Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) pipeline from the Facility’s Gas Conditioning System (GCS) to PG&E facilities located at Chateau Fresno Avenue, approximately three miles to the west of the Facility. The Project would result in generation of revenue for DPU, offsetting a portion of the operational costs, while at the same time, employing a more environmentally friendly use of excess digester gases.
On January 12, 2017, the City entered into an initial Agreement with the Consultant for a feasibility study and design to divert and inject renewable natural gas into the natural gas distribution pipeline at the Facility with the agreement having an expiration date of January 31, 2018. Subsequent amendments to the original Agreement extended its expiration date to June 30, 2020. The completion of the Consultant’s remaining services became stalled, beyond the Agreement’s expiration date as DPU worked through issues pertaining to the digester gases on other projects at the Facility. On December 9, 2021, the City Uniquely Qualified the Consultant and entered into a new Agreement to continue the design development work and provide the necessary bidding and construction support services for the project.
Staff now recommends Council approve First Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt Consulting Engineers to include changes to the scope of services to provide responses to the comments received by DPU staff and the City’s third-party review consultant and for revisions to the plans and specifications to bring up to current code, increasing the total contract amount by $137,356.58 for a total increased contract amount of $360,115.22, with a remaining contingency of $20,000, extend the term of the Agreement from December 30, 2023 to December 31, 2026, and authorize the Capital Projects Director or designee to sign the First Amendment to the Agreement on behalf of the City. The term extension is necessary to allow the Consultant additional time to bring the plans and specification up to current standard, go through the plan check process, and provide bidding and construction support services. Funding for the First Amendment to the Agreement is included in the Wastewater Management Division’s Fiscal Year 2024 Capital Improvement Budget Sewer Enterprise Fund.
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved the First Amendment as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, this is not a “project” for the purpose 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. This Project is located in Council District 3 and unincorporated Fresno County. Funding for the First Amendment to the Agreement is included in the Wastewater Management Division’s Fiscal Year 2024 Capital Improvement Budget Sewer Enterprise Fund.
Attachment(s):
First Amendment to the Agreement
Original Consultant Services Agreement
Vicinity Map
Location Map