REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: DENIX D. ANBIAH, PE, Director
Capital Projects Department
PAUL AMICO, PE, Director
Department of Public Utilities
BY: francisco V. magos II, PE, Assistant Director
Capital Projects Department, Utilities and On-Site Project Management Division
JUSTIN CHAN, PE, Licensed Professional Engineer
Capital Projects Department, Utilities and On-Site Project Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Third Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Ericsson-Grant, Inc., of Fresno, California, to increase the total contract by an amount not to exceed $27,395.00, paid on a time and materials basis and add an additional contingency amount not to exceed $5,000.00, for a revised total contract amount not to exceed $61,665.00 paid on a time and materials basis, and a revised contingency amount not to exceed $20,000.00, and extend the term of the agreement to December 31, 2027, for the California Environmental Quality Act Environmental Assessment for the Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility Natural Gas Pipeline Project. (Council District 3)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council approve the Third Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement (Agreement) with Ericsson-Grant, Inc.,(Consultant), to increase the total contract by an amount not to exceed $27,395 paid on a time and materials basis, and add an additional contingency amount not to exceed $5,000, for a revised total contract amount not to exceed $61,665 paid on a time and materials basis and a revised contingency amount not to exceed $20,000, and extend the term of the agreement to December 31, 2027, for additional services needed to complete the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Environmental Assessment for the Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (RWRF) Natural Gas Pipeline Project (Project), and authorize the Capital Projects Director or designee to sign and execute all documents on behalf of the City of Fresno (City).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On January 8, 2021, the City approved a Consultant Services Agreement with Ericsson-Grant, Inc., to provide consulting services for the Project. The original scope of services included field investigations, and preparing an Initial Study Mitigated Negative Declaration (ISMND). Following execution of the original Agreement, the City and Consultant entered into a First Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement dated December 21, 2022. The First Amendment extended the term of the Agreement from December 31, 2022, to December 27, 2023. After an extensive review of site requirements, the City and Consultant entered into a Second Amendment dated October 30, 2023, adding to the scope of work a site visit to ensure that conditions had not changed since the initial site visit, which took place in the month of June, 2021, as well as revising the ISMND to include any changes observed during the site visit. Additionally, the Second Amendment further extended the Agreement to December 31, 2026.
Staff now recommends approval of the Third Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement to revise the ISMND, add a pre-construction site walk, add a Biological Assessment, and revise the ISMND to include the results of the pre-construction site walk and Biological Assessment, and extend the term of the agreement to December 31, 2027. The Third Amendment to the Agreement will be funded utilizing appropriations included in the Fiscal Year 2026 Capital Improvement Budget within the Wastewater Management Division’s Sewer Enterprise Fund.
BACKGROUND
On February 13, 2017, the City of Fresno (City) authorized SCS Engineers (SCS) to proceed with an engineering evaluation, the goal of which was optimizing the value of the renewable natural gas (RNG) produced by the City’s digester gas conditioning system (GCS), which is located at the RWRF. The CEQA mandates that, before a project can begin, state and local agencies evaluate and disclose the environmental impacts of their actions before making decisions, unless it meets the exemption requirements. This Project does not meet the CEQA exemption requirements, therefore the City determined that a more detailed Environmental Assessment would be necessary and that an ISMND would be required to explain the findings of the Environmental Assessment.
On January 8, 2021, the City and the Consultant entered into an Agreement for an amount not to exceed $29,320 paid on a time and materials basis, with a contingency amount not to exceed $15,000, for professional consulting services. The original scope of work included field investigations, coordination with the City, as well as preparing an ISMND.
Following execution of the Agreement with Ericsson-Grant, Inc., the City performed an extensive review of the Project site. During this time, the original Agreement was approaching the contract expiration date, so the City and Consultant agreed to enter into the First Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement dated January 8, 2021, to extend the term of the original Agreement to December 27, 2023, to allow completion of the original scope of services without changing the overall compensation of the Agreement.
Following execution of the First Amendment, the City determined that an additional site visits were necessary, and the City and Consultant entered into the Second Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement dated October 30, 2023, to increase monetary consideration in the amount of $4,950, for a revised total contract value of $34,270 paid on a time and materials basis and a contingency amount not to exceed $15,000. The Second Amendment included a supplementary site visit to verify any change in conditions since June 2021, revise the ISMND considering any changes observed, and extend the term of the original Agreement to December 31, 2026.
The Third Amendment includes additional scope of services required to complete the environmental assessment, and additional time to complete the services. The additional services include a biological study that was not included in the original agreement, which will determine if special status species or resources are potentially present, and a pre-construction site walk to ensure no sensitive environmental features are noted prior to the commencement of construction. The Consultant will also update the ISMND as necessary to include the findings of the biological study and any updates that may be required since the last update. The Third Amendment also extends the term of the agreement to December 31, 2027.
Staff now recommends approval of the Third Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement to increase the total contract by an amount not to exceed $27,395 and increase contingency by an amount not to exceed $5,000, increasing the total contract to an amount not to exceed $61,665 paid on a time and materials, with a revised contingency amount not to exceed $20,000, and extend the term of the agreement to December 31, 2027, and authorization of the Capital Projects Director or designee to sign the Third Amendment on behalf of the City. The Third Amendment to the Agreement will be funded utilizing appropriations included in the Fiscal Year 2026 Wastewater Operating Fund.
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved the proposed Amendment as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, the Amendment of this Consultant Services Agreement for design services does not qualify as 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 Consultant Services Agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed Project is located in Council District 3 and has no impact to the General Fund. Funding for this Project is included in the Fiscal Year 2026 Capital Improvement Budget within the Sewer Enterprise Fund.
Attachments:
Third Amendment to Agreement
Second Amendment to Agreement
First Amendment to Agreement
Original Consultant Agreement
Vicinity Map
Location Maps