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CC - CONSENT ITEM: Approval of Fifth Amendment to CWE Corporation Professional Services Agreement for Design Services on Washington Boulevard/Costco Stormwater Project PR-001 for an Additional $160,000.
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Meeting Date: April 29, 2024
Contact Person/Dept: Sean Singletary/Public Works - Environmental Programs & Operations Division
Phone Number: (310) 253-6457
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [] No [X]
Public Notification: E-Mail: Meetings and Agendas - City Council (04/24/2024)
Department Approval: Yanni Demitri, Public Works Director/City Engineer (04/10/2023)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council approve a fifth amendment to the existing professional services agreement with CWE Corporation for additional design services for Washington Boulevard Stormwater Diversion Project, PR-001 in an amount not-to-exceed $160,000.
BACKGROUND
On May 30, 2017, City Council approved a professional services agreement for civil design for Washington Boulevard/Costco Stormwater Diversion Project, PR-001 within the Marina del Rey (MdR) watershed. The Marina del Rey watershed is a small sub-watershed located in the larger, Santa Monica Bay watershed. The tributary area served by the MS4 Permit that drains to MdR harbor is approximately 1,409 acres and consists of portions of the cities of Culver City, Los Angeles and unincorporated County of Los Angeles (County). The MdR watershed is subject to three Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs): the Santa Monica Bay Nearshore Debris TMDL; the Marina del Rey Harbor Mother’s Beach and Back Basin Bacteria TMDL; and the Toxic Pollutants in Marina del Rey Harbor TMDL. The final compliance was required by 2021, however the partner agencies have requested an extension from the Regional Water Quality Control Board due to budget challenges for mitigation projects.
To comply with the MS4 Permit, the City Council approved the development and implementation of the Marina del Rey Enhanced Watershed Management Program (EWMP) in 2016. The EWMP reviews the watershed as a whole and proposes Best Management Practices (BMPs) for responsible jurisdictions to complete. Furthermore, construction of larger regional projects that could capture, infiltrate, divert, and/or reuse dry weather urban runoff and storm flows from an 85th percentile storm event or roughly 1.1 inch of rain is also required.
The Public Works Department’s Environmental Programs and Operations Division (PW-EPO) proposed a Diversion System Project (Project) to capture stormwater/urban runoff from approximately 70 acres of drainage area (including Costco). This drainage area is primarily commercial and residential. The City has conducted extensive outreach for this project and adjusted the project plans accordingly each time for traffic concerns. Originally, the City proposed to capture and divert the 85th percentile, 24-hour storm event into large underground storage chambers under Washington Boulevard between Glencoe Avenue and Redwood Avenue with diversion and pre-treatment structures, and pump wells to be located near Costco’s westernmost driveway entrance. However, this level of traffic disruption was problematic for businesses on Washington Boulevard. Additional design iterations were made to shorten the impact on Washington and adding underground storage on Glencoe, as well as changes to the configuration of traffic lanes and entrances to Costco. There will be a portion of treated runoff retained to be re-used for irrigation purposes for the future landscaped medians along Washington Boulevard between Glencoe Avenue and Beethoven Street as part of the Area Improvement Program (AIP) to be constructed as part of this project, as well as potentially for sewer jetting and other maintenance activities to offset potable water use.
After finalizing a design, the project was put out to bid for construction in August 2023. The lowest responsive bid was $21.8 million, which is 90% over project budget. Due to the drastic deficit between the lowest responsive bid and available project funds, the construction contract was not awarded. Staff and the project design engineer worked together with contractors to value engineer the project to lower the construction cost. However, under the current design and in the current construction environment, the cost of shoring and constructing large underground storage chambers was prohibitively high. While considering new design options, staff continued to investigate additional funding, and was awarded the FY2024 Community Project Funding from Representative Ted Lieu’s office.
DISCUSSION
Construction bids for the prior design came in at over $22 million, not including construction management and support. Staff conducted an extensive constructability analysis with contractors to reduce costs; investigated grant and loan options to fill the funding gap (including the Rep. Lieu funding cited in Background section); and analyzed whether not constructing the project at all was an option. This stormwater project is unique to the region as it is the first public-private partnership (between Culver City and Costco) stormwater project. Additionally, it is the only regional project currently proposed in the Marina Del Rey watershed and is an important component of watershed compliance for Culver City and the whole watershed.
An ultraviolet (UV) ray disinfecting design was investigated, which removes the requirement for large subterranean storage chambers. Larger particles are pre-treated with an inline continuous deflection (CDS) system, and the underground UV system provides strong filtration for suspended solids, eliminating contaminants without changing the physical or chemical properties of the water. The estimated construction cost of this treatment method is within the City’s budget for this project. Additionally, treated water will be returned to the storm drain rather than diverted to the sanitary sewer, which would have resulted in treatment fees to be paid to the City of Los Angeles. Traffic impacts are expected to be greatly minimized as only minor construction is proposed on Washington Boulevard with no long-term closures, as well as a shorter construction period (8 months versus 11 months for the prior design).
For these reasons, staff elected to proceed with updating the design to include UV disinfection, which has been used regionally for stormwater projects by public agencies such as City of Santa Monica, City of Malibu, and the County of Los Angeles. Public outreach during the re-design phase will be conducted to update stakeholders on the treatment and schedule. The City’s design consultant, CWE, will prepare updated plans and specifications to reflect this updated design concept to prepare to re-bid for construction by the end of calendar year 2024.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 contains sufficient funds for the additional design services totaling $160,000 to be included in the amendment to the CWE Agreement for the Washington Project in CIP Account No. 434.80000.730100 PR001 (Washington Boulevard Stormwater Diversion).
ATTACHMENTS
None
MOTION
That the City Council:
1. Approve a fifth amendment to existing professional services agreement with CWE Corporation for the Washington Boulevard Stormwater Diversion Project not-to-exceed $160,000;
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.