To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: ANDREW WINJE, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
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APPROVE A FIFTH AMENDMENT TO THE AGREEMENT WITH GEOSYNTEC CONSULTANTS, INC. FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A FEASIBILITY STUDY AND GRANT APPLICATION FOR A JOINT HERONDO WATERSHED GREEN STREET PROJECT TO BE COORDINATED WITH THE CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH, FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $60,000, AND A NEW TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT OF $1,554,027
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On November 17, 2020, the City Council approved a consulting services agreement with Geosyntec Consultants Inc., (Geosyntec) on behalf of the Beach Cities Watershed Group (Group) to update the Group’s Enhanced Watershed Management Plan (EWMP). Since that time, four amendments have been approved by Council. The amendments added engineering services for the Glen Anderson Park Infiltration Project and Fulton Playfield Infiltration Projects, review of environmental documentation for those projects, and the completion of a settlement offer associated with Seaside Lagoon NPDES matters. Approving the proposed fifth amendment, would allow for the preparation of a feasibility study and grant application for a new Distributed Green Streets Project within the Herondo Watershed (in addition to the planned project at Fulton Park) with the primary goal of capturing and infiltrating stormwater flows, thereby improving the water quality of the Santa Monica Bay and meeting compliance commitments in the updated Watershed Management Plan (WMP).
The feasibility study and grant application for the Distributed Green Street Project would be in partnership with the City of Hermosa Beach. The end result would include the submission of an application to the Safe Clean Water (SCW) Program’s competitive grant program by July 31, 2026. Geosyntec’s deliverables would also be used to apply for other grant funds, such as California’s Proposition 4. The City’s cost for the fifth amendment is $50,000, with a $10,000 contingency for a total amount of $60,000, increasing the total not to exceed amount for the contract to $1,554,027. Hermosa Beach is executing a separate agreement with Geosyntec for their share of the work effort at the same price.
BACKGROUND
On November 18, 2012, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (Board) adopted the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit for discharges from the municipal separate storm sewer system within the coastal watersheds of Los Angeles County. The City of Redondo Beach, in collaboration with the Cities of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Torrance, along with the Los Angeles County Flood Control District developed an EWMP to comply with the permit requirements. The City Council approved the original EWMP on June 16, 2015 and the Group obtained Board approval of the EWMP on April 18, 2016. The NPDES Permit required that the permittees submit an updated EWMP with an updated reasonable assurance analysis by June 30, 2021. Redondo Beach acted as the lead agency for updating WMP and contracting with Geosyntec for the work, on behalf of all partners, and the plans where successfully submitted to the Board in June 2021.
The updated WMP identifies strategies and best management practices, that when implemented individually by jurisdictions, or collectively at a watershed scale, will address water quality concerns. The updated WMP includes a project completion date of March 2029 for the Redondo Beach Herondo Distributed Infiltration Project. Since the City of Hermosa Beach has the same project requirement, it would be advantageous for the City to partner with them to submit a joint application for grant funding. A combined, regional approach would not only strengthen our proposal but also make the project more attractive to potential funding agencies. Approval of the proposed fifth amendment would allow the City to develop a project to meet this requirement and apply for grant funding to construct the project.
Geosyntec would conduct a project feasibility study to meet the recently passed Safe Clean Water (SCW) Program requirements for funding stormwater capture projects. A feasibility study would be submitted through the SCW Program project portal by the July 31, 2026 deadline. Preliminary design and engineering analysis would be conducted for the project for the feasibility of on-site stormwater infiltration. Geosyntec would provide support for project applications following submission, such as presentations to the SCW Committees. In addition, Geosyntec would support the City with other applications or support for additional grant funding opportunities as available (e.g., Prop 4 Stormwater Grants).
The scope of work included in the fifth amendment includes conducting an evaluation to determine the feasibility of implementing infiltration drywells (and potentially other infiltration BMPs) withing the Herondo Watershed, as outlined in the updated WMP. This may include utilizing desktop Geographic Information System analysis to identify areas favorable for drywell implementation, siting of drywells to meet volume capture requirements, modeling of the proposed drywells, performing a hydrology and hydraulics study, conceptual site layouts and preliminary designs. In addition, the scope of work includes assessing nearby utilities and other potential siting conflicts, assessing land ownership, performing underground service alerts, conducting civil surveying to create a base map, creating an engineering cost estimate, and preparing a grant application. The project would help the City meet the targeted water quality reductions as outlined in the updated WMP.
COORDINATION
The amendment has been prepared and approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office. The feasibility study and grant application for the new Distributed Green Street Project has been coordinated in partnership with the City of Hermosa Beach.
FISCAL IMPACT
The cost of the fifth amendment is $60,000. Funding for the amendment is available in the CIP Budget, through locally allocated Safe Clean Water Act monies. Hermosa Beach is executing a separate agreement with Geosyntec for their pro-rata share of the work effort.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
• Agmt - Fifth Amendment to the Agreement with Geosyntec
• Agmt - Fourth Amendment to the Agreement with Geosyntec, December 3, 2024
• Agmt - Third Amendment to the Agreement with Geosyntec, May 7, 2024
• Agmt - Second Amendment to the Agreement with Geosyntec, April 18, 2023
• Agmt - First Amendment to the Agreement with Geosyntec, May 3, 2022
• Agmt - Original Agreement with Geosyntec, November 17, 2020