REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
May 12, 2016
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 CISNEROS, Project Administrator
Public Works Department, Traffic and Engineering Services Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Fourth Amendment to the Cooperative Agreement with the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) re-allocating funds in the amount of $60,000 from the Right-of-Way phase to Construction phase of the Willow Avenue Widening Project, 0.25 miles south of Nees to Shepherd Avenue under the Measure “C” Tier 1 Program. (Council District 6)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Council approve the Fourth Amendment to the Cooperative Agreement with the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) for the Willow Avenue widening project under the Measure “C” Tier 1 Program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
All construction work on the Willow Avenue widening project is now complete. The project included construction of southbound travel lanes, bike lanes, curb, gutter, and pedestrian trail gaps on Willow Avenue between Decatur and Shepherd. Nees Avenue was also improved at the Willow Avenue intersection. There is $60,000 in unspent funds in the right-of-way phase that are no longer needed. Approval of the Fourth Amendment to the cooperative agreement with FCTA will allow these funds to be transferred to the construction phase. The City has paid for the construction costs and will be reimbursed from FCTA after the amendment is approved.
BACKGROUND
In November 2006, the voters approved a 20-year extension of Measure “C”, the half-cent sales tax for transportation. On January 27, 2009, the Council adopted Resolution No. 2009-19 in support of the proposed Measure “C” Short-Term Regional Transportation Program. The program and associated handbook was approved by the Council of Fresno County Governments (“COG”) on January 29, 2009, and in turn by the Fresno County Transportation Authority (“Authority”) on February 18, 2009. The Authority prepared a Measure “C” Cooperative Project Agreement which is to be executed by the Authority and a project sponsor such as the City of Fresno for each specific project. Upon approval by the FCTA Board, the City of Fresno leveraged Measure “C” and Federal grant funds and moved forward to begin work towards this long planned widening of Willow Avenue which is consistent with the 2025 General Plan.
On January 27, 2009, the Council adopted Resolution No. 2009-19 in support of the Measure “C” Short-term Regional Transportation Program. On April 28, 2011 the Council approved a Cooperative Agreement with the FCTA to fund the Willow Avenue widening project. Subsequently this agreement was amended on October 10, 2012 to allocate funds for the right-of-way acquisition phase. On May 29, 2013 a second amendment was completed allocating funds for the construction phase. During the design phase the scope of the project was expanded to cover the elimination of the traffic bottleneck on Nees Avenue and a pedestrian trail was added plus the undergrounding of the overhead utilities. On August 28, 2014 the agreement was amended for the third time to re-allocate funds from the Construction phase to the preliminary engineering phase to cover the cost of the expanded scope. The proposed Fourth Amendment will re-allocate $60,000 of residual funds from the right-of-way phase to the Construction phase to cover any additional cost arising from the expanded scope.
The Willow Avenue Widening Project from Decatur Avenue to Shepherd Avenue was awarded for construction on July 31, 2014. The construction was completed on March 15, 2016. The project included construction of southbound travel lanes, bike lanes, curb, gutter, and pedestrian trail gaps within the project limits to eliminate a traffic bottleneck on Nees Avenue. The proposed amendment will transfer excess funds from the Right-of-Way phase to the Construction phase and allow the City to be reimbursed for the full cost of the construction.
The Draft Amendment has been approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This agreement is to re-allocate funds between two phases of the same project and an environmental assessment is not required. This is a funding mechanism only.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Not Applicable
FISCAL IMPACT
This capital project is designed and constructed with Federal Surface Transportation Funds along with matching funds including Measure “C” Tier 1 funds and developer impact fees.
Attachment:
Fourth Amendment to the Cooperative Agreement