REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
April 9, 2020
FROM: MICHAEL CARBAJAL, Director
Department of Public Utilities
THROUGH: BRIAN S. SPINDOR, PEWA, Assistant Director
Department of Public Utilities
BY: MATTHEW L. BULLIS, Professional Engineer
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning & Engineering
SUBJECT
Title
Approve Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Akel Engineering Group, Inc., in the amount not to exceed $239,950, to develop a Wastewater Collection System Renewal and Replacement Plan (Citywide)
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that City Council approve a Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Akel Engineering Group, Inc., (Akel) in the amount not to exceed $239,950, including a contingency of $20,000, to develop a Wastewater Collection System Renewal and Replacement Plan (Project), and authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to sign all documents on behalf of the City of Fresno (City).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Under the proposed Consultant Services Agreement, Akel will develop a Renewal and Replacement Plan for the City’s Wastewater Collection System. The purpose of the Project is to identify and prioritize renewal and replacement strategies of the City’s aging gravity sewer infrastructure using a risk-based approach in managing sewer assets, which has become the standard in the wastewater industry. Following a competitive process, Akel was selected as the most qualified consultant with the expertise to meet the City’s needs for this Project.
BACKGROUND
The City has a sewer collection service area that covers nearly 114 square miles and serves approximately 542,000 residential customers as well as commercial and industrial accounts through a network of approximately 1,600 miles of pipeline, 24,390 manholes and 15 sewer lift stations. The Fresno/Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility treats over 57-million gallons of wastewater daily. The purpose of the Project is to define a sustainable strategy for managing aging gravity sewer infrastructure using a risk-based approach to managing sewer assets. The Project provides a strategic and actionable path forward to implement continuous improvement in the wastewater collection system, documents condition assessment, renewal business decision logic, results and forecasts.
The Renewal and Replacement Plan develops a risk-based approach to the operations, maintenance, and capital improvement program of sewer pipelines serving the City of Fresno and, in some part, the City of Clovis. The Renewal and Replacement Plan will utilize 20 years of maintenance history, pipeline condition assessment data, industry standard failure rates, and failure consequence information to develop a risk profile of the wastewater collection system. With the risk profile the City of Fresno will direct resources toward assets needing enhanced surveillance, targeted maintenance, or identifying assets for replacement away from assets needing less surveillance, reduced maintenance, or are in good condition; effectively optimizing the operation, maintenance, and replacement of the wastewater collection system. The Renewal and Replacement Plan will also develop a 30-year outlook period for capital replacement that will help the City of Fresno manage rates more closely.
In accordance with Fresno Municipal Code Chapter 4, Article 1, and Administrative Order 6-19, the Department of Public Utilities conducted a competitive process to select a consultant to provide a Wastewater Collection System Renewal and Replacement Plan to meet current needs and future planning. On November 8, 2019, a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was advertised in the Fresno Business Journal and on the City’s online Planet-Bids. The RFQ requested that consultants provide a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) by December 4, 2019. In response to the City’s solicitation, the City received two responses to the SOQ. Akel was selected as the most qualified consultant with the expertise to meet the City’s needs for this Project.
The services required by this agreement will be completed in approximately 395 consecutive calendar days from the authorization to proceed. The contract is for an amount not to exceed $219,950, with a $20,000 contingency, for a total contract amount of $239,950.
A standardized Consultant Service Agreement has been used in accordance with Administrative Order 4-4, and the consultant’s Certificates of Insurance have been approved by the City’s Risk Management Division. Upon approval by the City Council, the agreement will be executed by the Director of Public Utilities.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
The approval of the Agreement is not a “project” for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA guidelines Section 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local Preference was not implemented as Akel, is a local business pursuant to Fresno Municipal Code Section 4-109(b).
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund. This Project is identified in the Fiscal Year 2020 Wastewater Enterprise Fund 40501.
Attachment:
Consultant Services Agreement