|
Title:
|
Approval of an Amendment to the Existing Professional Services Agreement with Barry Kurtz to Support the Traffic Engineering Section of the Public Works Department.
|
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
.Meeting Date: 10/08/12 Item Number: C-4
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Approval of an Amendment to the Existing
Professional Services Agreement with Barry Kurtz to Support the Traffic
Engineering Section of the Public Works Department
Contact Person/Dept.:
Mate Gaspar/Public Works
Phone Number:
(310) 253-5602
Fiscal Impact: Yes [x] No [] General Fund: Yes [x] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [x] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Agenda and Meetings – City Council (10/04/12); (E-Mail)
Barry Kurtz (10/03/12)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (09/28/12)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (10/04/12)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (10/04/12)
City Manager Approval:
John M. Nachbar (10/04/12)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve an amendment to the existing
professional services agreement with Barry Kurtz by an aggregate not-to-exceed
amount of $47,000 to provide part-time support to the Traffic Engineering Section of
the Public Works Department.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
On October 8, 2011, the City Council approved amending the existing professional
services agreements with Max Paetzold and Barry Kurtz in an aggregate not-to-
exceed amount of $92,000 to provide traffic engineering support to development,
regional transportation projects, and local traffic engineering matters. This spending
authority has been exhausted.
On July 1, 2012, Max Paetzold became a part-time traffic engineer manager city
employee in order to be in compliance with rules on Cal
PERS retirees working as consultants for the City. Mr. Paetzold continues to
provide support to the traffic engineering and traffic signal maintenance staff on local
neighborhood traffic concerns and system operations in addition to the citywide
traffic control system.
Based on the workload of the Traffic Engineering Section, staff continues to
recommend continuing the arrangement of utilizing a consultant to oversee traffic
issues related to development and regional projects. This frees up the Traffic
Engineering Manager to focus on local neighborhood traffic concerns. Otherwise,
the workload will be too burdensome for one person and the ability of the Traffic City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Engineering section to be responsive to neighborhood concerns and Community
Development Department requests would be severely diminished.
An example of current and proposed development projects that are being reviewed
by Mr. Kurtz:
• The Triangle Project
• Parcel B Development
• 12403 Washington Bl. – Westside Market Hall
• 5450 Sepulveda Bl.- Specialty Retail Center
• 12201 Washington Place – Wildwood School
• 8810 Washington Bl. – The Platform Project
• 8509 Higuera Street – The Willows Community School
• 8770 Washington Bl. – Legado
• Projects in the City of Los Angeles adjacent to Culver City
In addition, Mr. Kurtz periodically attends City Council and Planning Commission
meetings for traffic and transportation issues related to development projects. Also,
he reviews transportation planning projects as they affect Culver City such as the
City of Los Angeles Westside Mobility Plan. Lastly, since Mr. Kurtz, as a registered
traffic engineer, can oversee the work of the full-time Traffic Engineering Manager
and thus helps protect the City from any potential litigation due to traffic engineering
issues.
Barry Kurtz is a retired Los Angeles County Department of Public Works traffic
engineer that has over 44 years of experience in the field of traffic engineering and
with many of those years spent in the review of development projects. To continue to
support this effort, staff is recommending that the City Council approve an
amendment to the existing professional services agreement in the aggregate not-to-
exceed amount of $92,000 to support the traffic engineering section on development
projects on an as needed basis. Mr. Kurtz has an hourly rate of $90.
Culver City Municipal Code § 3.07.085 provides an exception to the formal bid
requirements for professional services provided that the contract is based upon
competitive quotations whenever practical. Due to Mr. Kurtz’ long-standing history,
experience and knowledge regarding specific Culver City projects, the City Manager
has determined that obtaining competitive quotations in this case is not practical.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
The cost of the contract is budgeted in the Engineering Division’s operating budget
under traffic engineering services, 10160150.612800.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
MOTIONS:
That the City Council:
1) Approve an amendment to the existing professional services agreement with
Barry Kurtz to provide part-time support for the Traffic Engineering section on
public and private development projects, with an aggregate not-to-exceed
amount of $47,000; and;
2) Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and
3) Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.