Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a First Amendment to the Agreement with Coastland Civil Engineering for the Services of the Interim City Engineer, in an Amount Not to Exceed $75,000 for an Aggregate Amount Not to Exceed $149,500. (Public Works 310)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Alameda’s (City) City Engineer position became vacant in December 2020. Staff entered into an agreement with Coastland Civil Engineering (Coastland) to provide City Engineer and general municipal engineering services while recruitment for the permanent hire takes place in the amount of $74,500. Although that recruitment is well underway, Coastland’s support is required through the end of this fiscal year. A contract amendment is necessary to increase the existing contract budget by $75,000 for a total not to exceed amount of $149,500. Funds previously appropriated to the Engineering Services and Public Works Administration operating budgets can support this contractual obligation.
BACKGROUND
The City Engineer position was first vacant in August 2013. The recruitment for the permanent hire took longer than expected, which demanded a larger contractual support obligation and competitive solicitation. On April 10, 2015, staff issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an on-call contract for a City Engineer and general municipal engineering services. After a rigorous selection process, staff recommended, and the City Council awarded, a contract to Coastland to provide engineering services to support wastewater, drainage, land development, permit review, public facilities, and transportation projects. Coastland successfully supported the Public Works Department through March 2016 when a permanent City Engineer was hired. In December 2020, the City Engineer position became vacant again. Staff turned to Coastland for support once again. On December 15, 2020, staff entered into an agreement with Coastland for Russ Thompson, Principal Engineer (PE), to serve as Interim City Engineer. Russ has over 10 years of experience as a Public Works Director in different cities and over 35 years of experience in civil engineering. For the past few months, Russ has worked under the supervision of the Public Works Director and has coordinated closely with other City departments and developers, as needed, on engineering matters.
DISCUSSION
Assuming a successful recruitment process, selection of the new, permanent, Deputy Public Works Director/City Engineer is expected in May 2021. The City therefore requires Coastland’s support for the day-to-day engineering services including land development processing, overseeing public works projects (both design and construction), addressing engineering matters raised by the public, reviewing master plans, administering state and federal funded projects, approval of encroachment permits, and a myriad of other engineering-related activities. Staff expects the need for the same level of service until the permanent hire is on board and then a reduced level of service during a transition period.
Coastland has served as contract City Engineer for 10 northern California cities, including current roles for the cities of Emeryville and Piedmont. Staff contacted these two references and received positive feedback about the quality and timeliness of their work. This confirms the experiences the City had with Coastland in 2015.
ALTERNATIVES
• Authorize execution of this first amendment, as recommended by staff.
• Authorize execution of this first amendment with a different level of service.
• Do not authorize execution of this first amendment.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The funds for this contract are budgeted in the Engineering Services and Public Works Administration (Programs 4210310 and 4205310). There is no impact to the General Fund.
|
Contract |
Approval Date |
Authorized Amount |
Expended to Date |
|
Original Contract |
12/15/2020 |
$75,000 |
$64,723 |
|
1st Amendment |
Proposed |
74,500 |
|
|
Total |
|
$149,500 |
$64,723 |
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action does not affect the Municipal Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Any particular project that Coastland is involved with will go through separate environmental review.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager to execute a First Amendment to the Agreement with Coastland Civil Engineering for city engineering services, in an amount not to exceed $75,000 for an aggregate amount not to exceed $149,500.
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager recommends approval of an amount not to exceed $75,000 for an aggregate amount not to exceed $149,500.
Respectfully submitted,
Erin Smith, Public Works Director
By,
Erin Smith, Public Works Director
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Annie To, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Agreement
2. First Amendment
cc: Eric Levitt, City Manager