ITEM:		CONSENT CALENDAR
8.	CONSIDER EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS AND AUTHORIZATION TO AMEND CONTRACT WITH PUEBLO WATER RESOURCES TO PROVIDE HYDROLOGIC REVIEW FOR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS IN FY 2007-2008
Meeting Date:			June 18, 2007	Budgeted:	Included in 2007-2008 Proposed Budget
From:			David A. Berger, General Manager	Program/ Line Item No.:	2-5-5-C Acct. 4-7855.03-04
Staff Contact:			Henrietta Stern	Cost Estimate:	$25,000
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on June 7, 2007 and recommended approval.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: The Board will consider authorizing staff to enter into an amended contract with Pueblo Water Resources, Inc. (Pueblo) to continue to help District staff implement MPWMD Rules and Regulations governing Water Distribution Systems (WDS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007-2008 (July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008) for a not-to-exceed amount of $25,000. Specifically, Pueblo would, in coordination with the MPWMD Senior Hydrogeologist: (1) review hydrogeologic assessment reports prepared by other consultants as required by the WDS permit application process, (2) conduct assessments of potential adequacy of water supply in certain limited situations, and (3) help write and refine technical procedures documents, including responding to questions from applicant consultants. Tasks (1) and (2) are reimbursable by applicants and would likely comprise 90% of Pueblo’s work in FY 2007-2008. This contract is a line item in the 2007-2008 budget to be considered by the Board on June 18, 2007. The scope of work and rate sheet is shown as Exhibit 8-A. The contract is invoiced on a time and materials, as-needed basis, and all work related to WDS applications is invoiced to the respective applicants.

Retention of Pueblo (which was assigned the contract from Padre Associates in Fall 2006) was approved by the Board in June 2006, and has helped improve the permit review process to date. Pueblo writes a technical review memorandum for the hydrogeologic assessment submitted by the applicant; the Pueblo review is an exhibit and is referred to in the WDS permit decision documents. Pueblo’s work enables the MPWMD Senior Hydrogeologist to perform only a final sign-off review, thereby allowing him to address the WDS application more quickly and to focus time on other responsibilities, such as aquifer storage and recovery and Seaside Basin Watermaster tasks.

RECOMMENDATION: District staff recommends that the Board authorize the General Manager to amend the existing contract with Pueblo to continue its WDS-related tasks. These tasks are separately tracked from other work Pueblo currently performs for the District, and are billed to specific applicants. Pueblo has had an excellent working relationship with the District to date and is very well qualified for the job. If this item is adopted along with the Consent Calendar, staff will execute a contract amendment for a not-to-exceed amount of $25,000 for work in this next fiscal year.

IMPACT TO DISTRICT RESOURCES: The number of WDS applications and Pre-Applications received in 2006 was more than five times the annual total of previous years. The use of Pueblo has helped District staff address a backlog of applications and will help staff meet its customer service timeline goals for WDS permit applicants in FY 2007-2008 without compromising work product quality or adversely affecting other high-priority projects. The technical review memoranda prepared by Pueblo to date have been very helpful to the planning consultant (GSPEC) who assists staff in WDS permit processing. This item is budgeted for $25,000 in FY 2007-2008 as line item 2-5-5-C. A mid-year budget adjustment could be made in Winter 2008, if needed, to adjust the contract amount, based on work volume in July-December 2007.

EXHIBITS

8-A Pueblo Scope of Work and rates for FY 2007-2008

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