ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

 

3.

CONSIDER EXPENDITURE OF BUDGETED FUNDS TO AMEND CONTRACT WITH GOLDEN STATE PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING TO ASSIST WITH PROCESSING OF WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM APPLICATIONS

 

Meeting Date:

April 14, 2008

Budgeted: 

Yes

 

From:

Darby Fuerst,

Program/ 

2-5-5-A and 2-5-5-D

 

General Manager

Line Item No.:

 

 

 

Prepared By:

Henrietta Stern

Cost Estimate: 

$30,000

 

General Counsel Approval:  N/A

Committee Recommendation:  The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on April 14, 2008 and recommended __________.

CEQA Compliance:  N/A

 

SUMMARY:   The Board will consider authorizing the General Manager to amend an existing contract with Golden State Planning and Environmental Consulting (GSPEC) to add $30,000 to the current contract limit of $25,000 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007-2008 (July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008) to help District staff carry out MPWMD Rules and Regulations governing Water Distribution Systems (WDS).  Accordingly, the new contract limit would be $55,000; no other changes are proposed.  This $30,000 would go toward permit processing and would be fully reimbursable by the WDS applicants.    These funds are needed to address the high volume of WDS applications and Pre-Applications received to date (currently about 60 projects) plus anticipated projects through June 30, 2008 (at least 10 more projects).  The current contract does not include adequate funds to process these permits.

 

RECOMMENDATION:  Staff recommends that the Board authorize the General Manager to amend the current District professional services contract with GSPEC for a not-to-exceed amount of $55,000 for FY 2007-2008, an increase of $30,000 (reimbursable).  The Administrative Committee reviewed this item at its April 14, 2008 meeting and recommended ________.   If this item is adopted along with the Consent Calendar, staff will execute a contract amendment with GSPEC for the remainder of FY 2007-2008. 

 

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:  At its June 18, 2007 meeting, the Board approved a contract with GSPEC for a not-to-exceed amount of $25,000 -- $20,000 for permit processing assistance (Program 2-5-5-A) and $5,000 for Implementation Guidelines (Program 2-5-5-D).  An excerpt (without its exhibits) from the July 2007 GSPEC contract amendment is provided as Exhibit 3-A, which reflects this apportionment of the $25,000 total limit. The primary task is to assist with permit review and processing, which is 100% reimbursable to MPWMD by the applicant. The second task is to help District staff revise the Implementation Guidelines for the WDS permit process, with emphasis on the most user-friendly process to the degree feasible.   If approved, this new contract amendment would only change the $20,000 amount for reimbursable permit processing to $50,000, and have a new total of $55,000.  This amount is a maximum; only actual hours of service are billed.  Invoiced hours submitted by consultants for each applicant are reimbursed by the applicant before the applicant receives the signed WDS permit.

 

IMPACT TO DISTRICT RESOURCES: The number of WDS applications and Pre-Applications received in FY 2007-2008 to date has been more than 10 times the annual total of previous years (2006 and earlier), and a significant backlog existed when GSPEC was retained in late December 2006.  Due to the high volume of applicants during the past six months, with more anticipated through June 2008, inadequate funds remain for permit processing anticipated through the end of June 2008.    Thus, an infusion of up to $30,000 (100% reimbursable) was approved by the Board as part of the mid-year budget adjustment in February 2008. 

 

GSPEC’s work is directed by the MPWMD Project Manager in consultation with the Planning & Engineering (P&E) Manager and Senior Hydrogeologist, and is budgeted to the P&E Division.  GSPEC’s work is also coordinated with the hydrogeologic reviews performed by Pueblo Water Resources (Program 2-5-5-C), which is part of the Water Resources Division budget.

 

EXHIBIT

3-A      Excerpt of GSPEC Contract Amendment executed July 27, 2007

 

 

 

 

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