The URL can be used to link to this page

SR 12-13-2022 5B City Council Report City Council Meeting: December 13, 2022 Agenda Item: 5.B 1 of 6 To: Mayor and City Council From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Water Resources Subject: Award Request for Proposal and Enter into a Professional Services Agreement with Dudek for the Santa Monica Groundwater Sustainability Plan Implementation Recommended Actions Staff recommends that the City Council: 1. Adopt a finding that the procurement of a consultant to assist the City in implementing the Groundwater Sustainability Plan is not a project within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); or, alternatively, is subject to the commonsense exemption under CEQA Guideline 15061(b)(3). 2. Award RFP #331 for the Santa Monica Groundwater Sustainability Plan Implementation to Dudek, a California-based company, for compliance with the California State Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (Act) for the Santa Monica Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency where the City of Santa Monica is the lead agency. 3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Dudek, in an amount not to exceed $1,256,200 (including a $114,200 contingency) for five years with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval. 4. Authorize the City Manager or designee to negotiate a cost-sharing agreement with the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and other member agencies (City of Beverly Hills, City of Culver City, and Los Angeles County), if applicable, for the $1,256,200 contract. The LADWP may contribute up to 20% of the total project cost as one of five member agencies in the Santa Monica Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Summary The City of Santa Monica’s Department of Public Works - Water Resources Division relies on local groundwater from the Santa Monica Basin to meet 50-60% of its current water supply needs and aims to increase that to over 70% in the future to reduce the City’s reliance on imported water. To comply with the State’s Sustainable Groundwater 5.B Packet Pg. 28 2 of 6 Management Act, the City joined the Santa Monica Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency) with four other members, including the City of Los Angeles, in 2017. The Agency submitted the Santa Monica Basin’s first comprehensive management plan, the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP), to the California Department of Water Resources in January 2022. As the lead entity for the Agency and only municipality currently producing water from the Santa Monica Basin for potable uses, the City would hire a consultant to implement the sustainability projects outlined in the GSP for the next 5 years as mandated by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Staff recommends Dudek as the best qualified firm to provide GSP implementation services (e.g., preparing annual reports, updating groundwater models as needed, facilitating Board Meetings, and management of groundwater sustainability projects) for a total not to exceed amount of $1,256,200 over a five-year period with options to renew as needed. Staff is working with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on a potential 20% cost share agreement as Los Angeles is one of five participating agencies in the Santa Monica Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Regardless of potential cost sharing agreements with other agencies in the Groundwater Sustainability Agency, the Water Resources Division is prepared to move forward with paying 100% of the cost as the City is the only municipal groundwater pumper in the basin currently and cannot risk non- compliance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and implementation of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan. Discussion The Agency comprises five local government agencies with boundaries that are fully or partially overlying the Santa Monica Basin as defined by the California Department of Water Resources. The cities of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Culver City, and the County of Los Angeles entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2017 to cooperatively manage the Santa Monica Basin in a responsible and sustainable manner, which included the preparation of a GSP. The Agency members have designated the City as the lead and coordinating entity since the City is the sole producer of groundwater in the basin for drinking water purposes and the City has 5.B Packet Pg. 29 3 of 6 completed an extensive technical analysis of the Santa Monica Basin during the 2018 Sustainable Water Master Plan Update. The City, as the sole drinking water producer will be responsible for the majority of the costs for the GSP Implementation consultant contract. The City of Los Angeles may contribute 20% of the GSP Implementation cost pending an update to the previously agreed upon MOU. The City of Los Angeles may have future plans to recharge and produce groundwater from the basin in the future as it is currently developing feasibility evaluations for future production of purified water at the Hyperion Treatment Plant. The other agencies currently do not have any plans to recharge or produce groundwater from the Santa Monica Basin. The Santa Monica Basin GSP was submitted prior to the January 31, 2022 deadline and is awaiting final GSP approval from the California Department of Water Resources. However, during this review period, the Agency must begin implementing groundwater sustainability projects (e.g., groundwater recharge wells and monitoring wells to refine the basin wide groundwater model) outlined in the GSP. The City will be responsible for coordinating with the four other member agencies to work with the GSP implementation consultant to advance groundwater sustainability projects. The GSP Implementation scope of work to be led by the consultant includes: • Providing overall technical support for sustainable management of the Santa Monica Basin, • Preparing annual GSP reports for submission to the California Department of Water Resources, • Funding support to pursue grants or other outside funding opportunities to implement groundwater sustainability projects, • Updating the basin wide groundwater model, • Developing project information updates for the Santa Monica Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency website, • Facilitating Board Meetings and stakeholder engagement, and • Project management of GSP implementation items. 5.B Packet Pg. 30 4 of 6 Environmental Assessment The procurement of a consultant to assist the City in implementing the Groundwater Sustainability Plan is not a project within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)(Public Resources Code section 21000 et seq.) because the procurement will not cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment; or, alternatively, the procurement is subject to the common sense exemption under CEQA Guideline 15061(b)(3), in that it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the procurement of a consultant to assist the City in implementing the Groundwater Sustainability Plan will have any significant effect on the environment. Past Council Actions Meeting Date Description 05/09/2017 (Attachment A) MOU for the Formation of the Santa Monica Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency 07/23/2019 (Attachment B) First Modification to the MOU to allow cost sharing and Selection of Dudek for the Preparation of a Santa Monica Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency GSP 12/7/2021 (Attachment C) Approval of Final Santa Monica Basin GSP Vendor Selection Bidder Recommendation Best Bidder Dudek Evaluation Criteria (include all that apply) Training/credentials/experience, competence/skill, capacity/ability to perform services promptly, sufficiency of financial/other resources, character/reputation, ability to provide future services as needed and price. Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190 Bid Data Date Posted Posted On Advertise In (City Charter & SMMC) Vendors Downloaded Date Publicly Opened 9/23/2022 City's Online Bidding Site Santa Monica Daily Press 22 10/24/2022 Best Bidder Justification RFPs Received Dudek Worley dba Advisian 5.B Packet Pg. 31 5 of 6 Based on the criteria in SMMC 2.24.190, staff recommends Dudek as the best qualified firm. Dudek has the most direct technical experience with preparing GSPs including the GSP prepared for the Santa Monica Basin, a cohesive team that has worked together in a similar capacity for several other agencies in California, and the most comprehensive understanding of the project and proposed timeline that would ensure the project is completed on time and the City, along with the Agency, achieves full regulatory compliance with the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Financial Impacts and Budget Actions Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the Water Fund to award a Professional Services Agreement with Dudek to provide GSP Implementation services. Staff will continue to work with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in updating the cost share agreement for the City of Los Angeles to contribute 20% ($251,240) of the total project cost, as one of five participating agencies in the Santa Monica Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Regardless of potential cost sharing agreements with other agencies in the Groundwater Sustainability Agency, the Water Resources Division is prepared to move forward with paying 100% of the cost as the City is the only municipal groundwater pumper in the basin currently and cannot risk non-compliance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and implementation of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan. Future years funding will be requested during the CIP Budget Process and is contingent on Council approval. Agreement Request FY 2022-23 Request Amount Future Years Amount CIP Account # Total Contract Amount $313,663.82 $0.00 C5006140.689000 $313,663.82 $150,000.00 $792,536.18 C5008580.689000 $942,536.18 $463,663.82 $792,536.18 Total $1,256,200.00 5.B Packet Pg. 32 6 of 6 Prepared By: Sunny Wang, Water Resources Manager Approved Forwarded to Council Attachments: A. Attachment A - May 9, 2017 Staff Report B. Attachment B - July 23, 2019 Staff Report C. Attachment C - December 7, 2021 Staff Report D. Oaks Initiative (Dudek) 5.B Packet Pg. 33 CITY OF SANTA MONICA OAKS INITIATIVE DISCLOSURE FORM In order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Oaks Initiative, the City compiles and maintains certain information. That information includes the name of any person or persons who is seeking a “public benefit.” If the “public benefit” is sought by an entity, rather than an individual person, the information includes the name of every person who is: (a) trustee, (b) director, (c) partner, (d) officer, or has (e) more than a ten percent interest in the entity. Public benefits include: 1. Personal services contracts in excess of $25,000 over any 12-month period; 2. Sale of material, equipment or supplies to the City in excess of $25,000 over a 12- month period; 3. Purchase, sale or lease of real property to or from the City in excess of $25,000 over a 12- month period; 4. Non-competitive franchise awards with gross revenue of $50,000 or more in any 12-month period; 5. Land use variance, special use permit, or other exception to an established land use plan, where the decision has a value in excess of $25,000; 6. Tax “abatement, exception, or benefit” of a value in excess of $5,000 in any 12- month period; or 7. Payment of “cash or specie” of a net value to the recipient of $10,000 in any 12- month period. Name(s) of persons or entities receiving public benefit: Name(s) of trustees, directors, partners, and officers: Name(s) of persons with more than a 10% equity, participation, or revenue interest: Prepared by: ____________________________Title: __________________________ Signature: ______________________________________ Date: ________________ Email: ____________________________________ Phone: ____________________ FOR CITY USE ONLY: Bid/PO/Contract # ____________________________ Permit # ___________________________ -RH0RQDFR$,&3%RE2KOXQG3((ULF:LOVRQ6DUDK/R]DQR$,&3 -LOO:HLQEHUJHU3K'3*7RP/DUNLQ2XWVLGH'LUHFWRU%RE.HOOHKHU2XWVLGH'LUHFWRU 0HJ/DVVDUDW2XWVLGH'LUHFWRU -RVHSK0RQDFR 3UHVLGHQW&(2 __________________________________________________________ MPRQDFR#GXGHNFRP Dudek None 5.B.d Packet Pg. 34 Attachment: Oaks Initiative (Dudek) (5326 : Award GSP Implementation RFP)