REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
October 8, 2015
FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
THROUGH: ANDREW J. BENELLI, PE, City Engineer/Assistant Director
Public Works Department, Traffic and Engineering Services Division
BY: DAVID A. CISNEROS, Projects Administrator
Public Works Department, Capital Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Fourth Amendment, in substantially the form presented, to the Measure “C” Cooperative Agreement with Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) for Short-Term Regional Transportation Program Project N-1 Urban, Veterans Boulevard SR-99 Interchange and Grade Separation and authorize the Public Works Director or his designee to execute the amendment on behalf of the City.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Council approve the Fourth Amendment in substantially the form presented and authorize the Public Works Director or his designee to execute the amendment on behalf of the City.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The original Cooperative Agreement for the Veterans Boulevard State Route 99 Interchange and Grade Separation was first approved by the Council on March 31, 2009 for the environmental phase of the project. It has since been amended by Council action to include the engineering design work and right-of-way acquisition, now totaling $29,556,000. The project is running a dual track; developing final design plans and right-of-way (ROW) acquisition. However, due to unforeseen changes in the design required to complete the plans, specifications and estimate (PS&E) portion it is necessary that funds for right of way acquisition be transferred to cover additional design plan modifications. Staff recommends the Council approve this Fourth Amendment in order that the City may transfer $401,572 in Measure "C" funds allocated for the ROW phase to the PS&E phase of the Veterans Boulevard SR-99 Interchange and Grade Separation Project. This transfer of funds will not impact the ROW acquisition process which will still include $18.8 million after the amendment is approved.
BACKGROUND
Construction of Veterans Boulevard, originally known as the Herndon-Grantland Diagonal, has long been a goal of the City of Fresno, as illustrated in the 1984, 2025 and 2035 General Plans. In FY2006, the City undertook the preparation of a Project Study Report using approximately $500,000 in local funds, to take the first step in the Caltrans process toward the ultimate development of the interchange. In November 2006, the 20 year extension of Measure “C” was passed by the voters of Fresno County. The adopted Measure “C” Expenditure Plan, which accompanied the ballot measure, included Veterans Boulevard as a Tier 1 Regional Project to be funded with a combination of Regional Measure “C”, State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), Federal Transportation Funds and Regional Transportation Mitigation Fee (RTMF).
A cooperative agreement between the City and FCTA was approved by the Council on March 31, 2009 for the Environmental Impact Report and Caltrans Project Report, totaling $1.5 million in Measure “C” funds. On December 11, 2011, the Council approved an amendment to the FCTA Cooperative Agreement with the FCTA for the Veterans Boulevard/State Route 99 Interchange and Grade Separation, Urban Project N-1. The amendment provided authorization from FCTA for $8.8 million for the PS&E or final design phase of the project. On July 19, 2012, the City Council approved a professional services agreement with Mark Thomas & Company in the amount of $5,489,621 with a contingency of $500,000 for the completion of Caltrans project PS&E for the Veterans Boulevard/State Route 99 Interchange and Union Pacific Railroad Grade Separation Project.
On October 10, 2012, the City entered into a second amendment to draw down the balance of the funds set aside for the Veterans Boulevard project. Said funds will allow the project to proceed to the next phase of ROW of the approved Measure “C” Regional Transportation Program funding for the transportation improvement Project N-1 Urban, Veterans Boulevard/SR-99 Interchange and Grade Separation Project. On November 21, 2013, Council approved the Third Amendment which provided additional funding in the amount of $3,421,000 bringing the total “not to exceed” amount of allocated project funding to $29,556,000 of Measure “C” funds (Original and Extension) and Regional Transportation Mitigation Fee (“RTMF”) funds.
The overall project design is approaching the 90% Design-Development stage of completion. Currently there is a need to redesign the proposed bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) - California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) corridor in order to accommodate a change in track alignment. In close coordination with the City, the CHSRA has approved a design change to create a railroad underpass for Herndon Avenue, rather than leaving the at-grade railroad crossing in place as originally planned by the CHSRA. This change will be beneficial to the community and will create a completely grade-separated UPRR corridor between the San Joaquin River and North Avenue. However, the required change in CHSRA track alignment will necessitate a re-design at the Veterans Boulevard bridge over the rail corridor. The current amendment will allow for the transfer of excess ROW funds to the under-funded PS&E portion of this project. The transfer of these funds will have no negative impact upon the ROW acquisition process.
Following Council approval of this amendment, the FCTA can then take action to authorize the City to proceed with the fund transfer.
Staff recommends at this time that the Council approve the Fourth Amendment. The Amendment has been approved as to form by the City Attorney's Office.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This item regards a portion of a project that has been previously assessed by Caltrans. Caltrans is the lead agency for preparation of the environmental impact document in compliance with CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act). The Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment with a Finding of No Significant Impact was approved by Caltrans in June, 2013.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Not applicable because this is not a competitive bid. This is a funding mechanism only.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of the Fourth Amendment will have no fiscal impact upon the General Fund. Funding will come from Measure “C” Tier 1 and RTMF dollars being collected by the FCTA. After approval of the Fourth Amendment to the Agreement by the Council and the FCTA Board, staff will return to Council, within 60 days, with a proposed re-budget of these Veterans Boulevard capital project appropriations which had been included in the City's FY2016 budget.
Attachment:
Amendment No. 4