Title
Consider recommending that the Board of Directors of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency approve Amendment No.2 to the agreement for Professional Services with FISHBIO, to extend the term length by three years to June 30, 2028, for Smolt Outmigration Monitoring, Adult Upstream Migration, Index- Reach Survey, Index Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) Tagging, Index Lagoon Monitoring, and on-call services; and authorize the General Manager to execute the amendment.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Finance Committee:
Recommend that the Board of Directors of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency approve Amendment No.2 to the agreement for Professional Services with FISHBIO, to extend the term length by three years to June 30, 2028, for Smolt Outmigration Monitoring, Adult Upstream Migration, Index- Reach Survey, Index PIT Tagging, Index Lagoon Monitoring, and on-call services; and authorize the General Manager to execute the amendment.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
An Agreement for Professional Services with FISHBIO to perform fish monitoring services at various times throughout the year within the Salinas and Gabilan Watersheds, was approved by the Board of Directors on May 20, 2019 and by the Water Resources Agency Board of Supervisors on June 25, 2019, in an amount not to exceed $300,000 (Attachment 1).
Consultant assistance from FISHBIO is needed to support implementation of the Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan, as permitted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in March 2024. FISHBIO also supports monitoring that is required to support maintenance activities at Nacimiento and San Antonio dams.
Amendment No. 1 to extend the term of the contract by three years to June 30, 2025 was approved by the Board of Directors on March 9, 2022 (Attachment 2).
Amendment No. 2 will extend the term of the contract by three years to June 30, 2028, allowing FISHBIO to continue performing fish monitoring services as necessary (Attachment 3). Approximately half of the original agreement amount has been spent for professional services under the agreement as of April 2025.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Services provided by FISHBIO are conducted to maintain compliance with regulations from one or more of the following agencies: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Water Resources Control Board, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
FINANCING:
Funding for this agreement is included in Fund 116 of the Agency’s FY 2024-2025 and proposed FY 2025-2026 budgets. Certain activities may be funded by the Fiscal year 2021 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (Section 6) Non-Traditional Habitat Conservation Planning grant that the Agency received from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, if eligible.
Prepared by: Marinn Browne, Water Resources Biologist (831) 788-3450
Approved by: _________________________________________________
Ara Azhderian, General Manager, (831) 755-4860
Attachments:
1. Agreement for Professional Services
2. Amendment No. 1
3. Amendment No. 2