Title
a. Receive a report on the 2019 Winter Storm Projects;
b. Support retroactively approving seven (7) 2019 Winter Storm Emergency Response Repair Projects; adding the projects to the County Capital Projects List; and consider funding the projects using unprogrammed Highway Users Tax Account and Senate Bill 1 (SB1) revenues in the Road Fund 002, Appropriation Unit RMA012;
c. Support retroactively approving four (4) 2019 Winter Storm Repair Projects - In Progress; adding the projects to the County Capital Project List; and consider funding them in Fiscal Year 2019-20 with unprogrammed SB1 revenues in the Road Fund 002, Appropriation Unit RMA012.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Capital Improvement Committee:
a. Receive a report on the 2019 Winter Storm Projects;
b. Support retroactively approving seven (7) 2019 Winter Storm Emergency Response Repair Projects; adding the projects to the County Capital Projects List; and consider funding the projects using unprogrammed Highway Users Tax Account (HUTA) and Senate Bill 1 (SB1) revenues in the Road Fund 002, Appropriation Unit RMA012;
c. Support retroactively approving four (4) 2019 Winter Storm Repair Projects - In Progress; adding the projects to the County Capital Project List; and consider funding them in Fiscal Year 2019-20 with unprogrammed SB1 revenues in the Road Fund 002, Appropriation Unit RMA012.
SUMMARY:
2019 Winter Storms generated 21 projects totaling an estimated $4,452,000 in repair/restoration costs. The Capital Improvement Committee is asked to receive a report on the 2019 Winter Storm Projects; support recommending to the Board of Supervisors to retroactively approve seven (7) emergency response and repair projects using unprogrammed Highway Users Tax Account (HUTA) and SB1 revenues in the Road Fund 002; and support recommending to the Board to retroactively approve four (4) 2019 Winter Storm Projects using unprogrammed SB1 revenues in the Road Fund 002.
DISCUSSION:
Due to widespread damage and flooding caused by storm systems during February 2019, both the State and federal agencies declared disaster incidents (three in total) for several affected California counties, including Monterey County. The first incident, referred to as California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA)-2019-02, was declared as a result of three Governor proclamations to secure funding to help local jurisdictions respond to and recover from the Mid-February 2019 Storms. The State incident period covers from February 13 through February 15, 2019. For the same incident period, the President also declared a major federal disaster referred to as Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA)-4431-DR-CA. On May 17, 2019, the President declared a second major federal disaster creating an emergency incident for the period from February 24 through March 1, 2019, referred to as FEMA-4434-DR-CA. The County qualified for CDAA funding from the CDAA-2019-02 disaster incident and public assistance from FEMA for the FEMA-4434-DR-CA disaster event.
RMA staff presented a list of 15 projects that were identified to date from the 2019 Winter Storms at the April 22, 2019 Budget Committee Meeting. As of July 2019, the Resource Management Agency (RMA) has identified a total of 21 emergency response and repair projects at various locations throughout the County with an estimated cost at $4,452,000. Of the 21 projects, nine (9) projects, totaling $1,905,000 in estimated repair costs, qualify for CDAA funding under the CDAA-2019-02 disaster incident, and five (5) projects, totaling $335,000 in estimated repair costs, qualify for FEMA funding under the FEMA-4434-DR-CA disaster incident. An additional seven (7) projects, totaling $2,212,000 in estimated repair costs, are not eligible for State or federal assistance as the damages occurred outside of the declared incident periods. Staff continues to work with California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) staff and participated in Applicant Briefing Meetings for both state and federal disaster events. Please see Attachment A for the list of projects.
During the February storms, RMA engaged in emergency storm response, performing storm patrols throughout the County and debris removal at locations that posed an immediate threat to public health and safety. Costs were incurred for these project activities and emergency protective measures. While staff has kept the storm-damaged roads in drivable condition, some sites, such as San Benancio Road, Palo Colorado from Highway 1 to MP 2.0, and Coast Road, experienced increased damage of concern. On June 17, 2019, staff informed the Board of the necessity to engage on the San Benancio Road location using Road Funds; this repair work was completed in July 2019. After closely monitoring the deteriorating condition of the roadway, staff initiated repair work on Palo Colorado from Highway 1 to Milepost (MP) 2.0 and Coast Road to maintain the integrity and safety of the roadway. These three projects are not eligible for federal or State disaster assistance as the damages occurred outside the covered incident periods. Total estimated repair costs for the seven (7) projects (i.e., the 2019 Winter Storm Emergency Response Repair Projects) is $1,325,000.
To avoid exacerbated damages to County roadways and traffic disruptions, staff proceeded with immediate repairs for four additional projects: Robinson Canyon MP 5.0 ($650,000); Cachagua Road (1.5 miles from Carmel Valley Road) ($250,000); Boronda Road near Calle Del Adobe ($7,000); and Tassajara Road ($280,000). Total estimated costs for the four repair projects (i.e., the 2019 Winter Storm Repair Projects - In Progress) is $1,187,000.
The total estimated funding needs for the recommended 2019 Winter Storm priority projects is $2,512,000, of which $727,500 is potentially reimbursable through State and/or Federal disaster assistance funding, leaving $1,784,500 as County cost. Funding for these urgent, limited repairs is proposed to come from Highway User Tax Account (HUTA) and Senate Bill 1 (SB1) revenue in the Road Fund.
In addition to the recommended priority projects, ten (10) other locations on the 2019 Winter Storm Project List (see Attachment A) need immediate repair due to the high-speed, high-volume nature of the roads and major impact to the public should conditions of these managed locations become unsafe.
Staff recommends that the Capital Improvement Committee receives this report and supports retroactively approving the seven projects in progress and adding them to the County Capital Projects List designating HUTA and SB1 revenues from the Road Fund to finance them. Staff also recommends that the committee supports retroactively approving four new storm-damage projects to the County Capital Project List and consider unprogrammed SB1 revenues to finance them. RMA staff will be returning to the committee at a later date for discussion on projects and funding.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
RMA staff continues to coordinate with the County Office of Emergency Services and County Administrative Office to accurately track and categorize the 2019 Winter Storm Damage Projects.
FINANCING:
As a result of the 2019 Winter Storms, 21 storm-damage projects have been identified with repair cost estimates totaling $4,452,000. If all the projects are approved for disaster recovery funding, RMA estimates potential reimbursements from FEMA and the State at $251,250 and $1,401,563, respectively. This would leave an estimated County contribution for repairs at $2,799,188.
At this time, staff is only recommending proceeding with projects involving $2,512,000 in direct County costs, consisting of $1,325,000 for the seven emergency projects completed and $1,187,000 for the four recommended priority projects in progress.
Staff recommends retroactively approving seven (7) emergency response and repair projects (i.e., the 2019 Winter Storm Emergency Response Repair Projects), using HUTA Revenue in the Road Fund as the funding source for four (4) emergency response projects: one (1) Storm Patrols, one (1) Emergency Protective Measures, and two (2) Debris Removal Projects. Additionally, RMA recommends the use of SB1 revenue in the Road Fund for three (3) emergency road repair projects. The total estimated cost for the projects underway is $1,325,000, with $517,500 in potential reimbursements from State and/or federal disaster assistance. As of July 2019, $604,336 had been incurred as response cost for the 2019 Winter Storms for these seven (7) projects.
Staff also recommends retroactively approving four (4) critical road repair projects (i.e., the 2019 Winter Storm Repair Projects - In Progress). The estimated cost of these four (4) projects is $1,187,000, with $210,000 in potential reimbursement from the State. The proposed funding source for these four projects is SB1 revenues in the Road Fund.
Funding requests from FEMA and CalOES for the 14 projects eligible for disaster assistance are still in the early stages of the process, and staff will continue to provide updates on their status.
Prepared by: Randy Ishii, M.S., P.E., RMA Chief of Public Works, (831) 784-5647
Reviewed by: Shawne E. Ellerbee, RMA Deputy Director of Administrative Services
Approved by: Carl P. Holm, AICP, Resource Management Agency Director
Attachment:
Attachment A: 2019 Winter Storm Project List