Title
Consider approving and authorizing the Monterey County Water Resources Agency General Manager to sign an agreement with Wallace Group to prepare an Engineer’s Report and provide assistance with holding a Proposition 218 special assessment election for deferred maintenance at Nacimiento and San Antonio Reservoirs for the term November 5, 2019 to June 30, 2022 in the amount of $300,000; and authorize the General Manager to execute up to two (2) Amendments to this Agreement that do not exceed ten percent (10%) ($30,000) of the original agreement and do not significantly alter the scope of services.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve and authorizing the Monterey County Water Resources Agency General Manager to sign an agreement with Wallace Group to prepare an Engineer’s Report and provide assistance with holding a Proposition 218 special assessment election for deferred maintenance at Nacimiento and San Antonio Reservoirs for the term November 5, 2019 to June 30, 2022 in the amount of $300,000; and
b. Authorize the General Manager to execute up to two (2) Amendments to this Agreement that do not exceed ten percent (10%) ($30,000) of the original agreement and do not significantly alter the scope of services.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
On April 26, 2019, the Water Resources Agency Board of Directors held a special workshop and the Interim General Manager Shauna Lorance presented an overview of 40 projects and 21 programs that were identified as either unfunded and/or underfunded. The aggregate total cost of these projects and programs summed approximately $85 million. At the same workshop, Les Girard and Kelly Donlon from the County Counsel’s Office presented an overview of possible funding mechanisms the Agency could pursue to fund the projects and programs. At the workshop, attendants were broken into groups and were asked to address four questions related to how the Agency should fund these projects/programs.
On September 19, 2019, a follow-up workshop was held via a joint meeting between the Water Resources Agency Board of Supervisors and the Water Resources Agency Board of Directors Staff brought back the recommendations from the April 26, 2019 workshop and further examined the costs of the projects/programs to a revised total of approximately $145 million. During this workshop, Agency staff and a consultant provided an overview of the steps taken since the April workshop, in addition to providing a revised list of funding alternatives. At the end of the presentation, participants were asked to answer three questions related to how the Agency should fund these projects/programs. The consensus was that the Agency should focus on funding deferred maintenance at the San Antonio and Nacimiento Reservoirs due to deadlines set by the Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD) to repair or replace the spillway at San Antonio, and conduct a Proposition 218 special assessment election to obtain funding for this work.
On October 21, 2019, staff brought to the Board of Directors a presentation with the recommendations expressed by participants at the September 19, 2019 workshop. To move forward, the Agency needs to hire a consultant to assist with conducting the Proposition 218 election and associated activities. Staff recommends that Wallace Group be hired to assist with these tasks. The Wallace Group currently has another agreement with the Agency to assist staff with project cost estimation and workshop facilitation. The service dates for the new agreement with Wallace Group will be from November 5, 2019 to June 30, 2022 and the agreement will be for an amount not to exceed $300,000.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
This item was presented and supported by the Water Resources Agency Board of Directors on October 21, 2019.
FINANCING:
Costs associated with this project, including consultant and staff time will be funded out of Fund 116. These costs were not included in the FY 2019-20 Agency’s budget and will require a budget amendment to increase appropriations in Fund 116.
Prepared by: Fabricio Chombo, Finance Manager II, (831) 755-4860
Approved by: _____________________________________________
Brent Buche, General Manager, (831) 755-4860
Attachments:
1. Wallace Group Agreement
2. Executed MCWRA Board Order