REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
November 17, 2016
FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
THROUGH: ROBERT N. ANDERSEN, PE, Assistant Director
Public Works Department, Capital Management Division
RANDY BELL, PE, Capital Projects Manager
Public Works Department, Capital Management Division
BRADLEY R. KERNER, PE, Supervising Professional Engineer
Public Works Department, Capital Management Division
BY: MICHAEL W. HOLLY, PE, Professional Engineer
Public Works Department, Capital Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the Herndon Avenue widening between Polk Avenue and Milburn Avenue (Council District 2)
1. Approve Amendment No. 1 to the Measure "C" Cooperative Agreement for the widening of Herndon Avenue from Polk Avenue to Milburn Avenue (Urban Project K-11) to reallocate previously approved funding between project phases
2. Authorize the Public Works Director or designee to execute the amendment, on behalf of the City
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve Amendment No. 1 to Cooperative Project Agreement to reallocate previously approved funding of the Measure "C" Cooperative Agreement for the widening of Herndon Avenue from Polk Avenue to Milburn Avenue (Urban Project K-11) and authorize the Public Works Director or designee to execute the amendment, on behalf of the City.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Funding for this project has been previously approved by the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) through the Measure “C” Cooperative Agreement in the amount of $250,000 for an Advance Planning Study. The $250,000 was for the preliminary design report to better define the project scope and cost estimate. With the completion of the Advance Planning Study, staff is ready to move to the next phase of the project preparing the construction documents and acquiring right of way. Amendment No. 1 to the Cooperative Project Agreement will increase the allocation for this project by an additional $1,185,000 for Preliminary Engineering and $52,000 for Right-of-Way acquisition for a total of $1,237,000 which is consistent with the Regional Measure "C" Plan. Staff recommends that the Council approve Amendment No. 1 to the Cooperative Project Agreement for the widening of Herndon Avenue from Polk Avenue to Milburn Avenue.
BACKGROUND
Herndon Avenue is designated as a six-lane expressway in the City of Fresno 2035 General Plan. Over the past twenty years, the City has been widening Herndon Avenue from four to six lanes in phases as funds become available through Federal and State grants, Measure “C” and development impact fees. The widening of Herndon Avenue to six lanes from State Route 99 to DeWolf Avenue is also a regional project in the Measure “C” Tier 1 Urban program. With construction scheduled to occur over the next four years to complete the last Herndon Avenue widening projects east of Blythe Avenue, along with the planned construction of Veterans Boulevard beginning 2021, the existing four-lane segment on Herndon Avenue will soon become the bottleneck in the circulation system.
Funding in the amount of $250,000 was made available by the FCTA in the 2012-13 fiscal year for preliminary engineering work related to the widening of the Herndon Avenue/Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) overpass and associated roadway approaches. Funding for the final design and preparation of construction documents is currently programmed for 2016/17 with construction funding programmed for 2018/19.
The $250,000 in Measure “C” Tier 1 funding for preliminary engineering was utilized for topographic survey work, project management and engineering consultant costs for the preparation of an Advance Planning Study for this project. The City is now ready to allocate additional funding to the final design phase and to add a Right of Way phase to facilitate the widening Herndon Avenue to six lanes, including the addition of the planned Class 1 two-way bicycle and pedestrian trail. Amendment No. 1 to the Cooperative Project Agreement will increase the allocation for this project by an additional $1,185,000 for Preliminary Engineering and $52,000 for Right-of-Way acquisition. Approval of Amendment No. 1 will increase the maximum not-to-exceed amount allocated for the project to the cumulative total of $1,487,000. The Amendment will bring the necessary regional Measure "C" Tier 1 Urban funds into the project. This will allow the preliminary engineering and right-of-way phases of the project to become fully funded, providing the City the ability to acquire necessary right-of-way and prepare the construction documents.
Approval of the attached funding Amendment does not constitute Council approval of this individual project funded by Measure "C". Staff will return to Council for the selection of a consultant, adoption of the associated CEQA document, approval of right-of-way acquisition agreement, if needed, requests for appropriations and for award of construction contracts as required for the project.
The Amendment No. 1 to Cooperative Project Agreement has been approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the CEQA guidelines, this item does not qualify as a project and is therefore exempt from the CEQA requirements.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
A local preference was not considered because this item does not include a bid or award of a construction or service contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
Implementation of the staff recommendation will have no impact upon the City’s General Fund. This capital improvement project will be designed and constructed through Measure "C" and local development impact fee funds.
Attachment:
Cooperative Project Agreement