The City Council on Nov. 12 unanimously approved an agreement with Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., to work on the San Gabriel River Trash Mitigation Feasibility Study.
The cost: A maximum of $349,933.
This was a Consent Calendar item. Consent items are voted on collectively unless a council member pulls one for further discussion. Nothing was pulled from last week’s Consent Calendar.
According to the Nov. 12 staff report, Orange County provided $525,000 in grant money to start the San Gabriel River Trash Mitigation Initiative with a feasibility study.
“This phase would require specialized external resources with unique expertise including coordination of key stakeholder engagement, background in area flood control facilities, technical research and data collection, alternatives analyses, and development of a final report with recommendations,” according to the staff report by Public Works Director Iris Lee.
“On July 17, 2024, staff issued a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for professional services to prepare the San Gabriel River Trash Mitigation Feasibility Study (“Project”),” Lee wrote.
The city got four proposals, according to Lee. Panelists from Seal Beach, Long Beach, Los Angeles and Orange counties and Silsby Strategic Advisors looked at the four proposals.
“The two (2) highest ranked proposing teams were invited for an interview on October 10, 2024,” Lee wrote.
The panel selected Stantec.
“Costs associated with the Agreement will be expensed from the San Gabriel River Trash Mitigation Initiative account, CIP SD2501, that was funded by the County of Orange’s grant appropriation. Funding has been included in the FY 2024-25 Budget. Any unspent funds will be returned to the original funding source,” Lee wrote.
Council amends contract with Stantec
The Seal Beach City Council on Monday, Nov. 12, unanimously approved an amendment to the contract between the city and Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. The contract was for Stantec to work on the Environmental Impact report for the Seal Beach General Plan and Zoning Code updates.
This amendment was not related to another contract between Seal Beach and Stantec to work on the river trash project. (See page 3 for information about that agreement.)
This was a Consent Calendar item. Consent items are voted on collectively unless a council member pulls one for further discussion. Nothing was pulled from last week’s Consent Calendar.
Cost
The cost: A maximum of $459,254, plus a contingency figure of $19,613.
“Approval of this amendment would increase City costs by $67,000,” according to the staff report.
The amendment extends the contract to expire on Sept. 30, 2025.
Background
“On March 27, 2023, the Seal Beach City Council approved a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. to provide environmental consulting services for the preparation of a Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the City’s General Plan and Zoning Code Updates Project,” according to the staff report prepared by Management Analyst Megan Coats.
“However, the complexity and scope of the project have been evolving due to changes requested by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to reach substantial compliance for the Housing Element, requiring additional work be performed,” Coats wrote.
The Housing Element is a state-mandated section of the city’s General Plan which must be updated at regular intervals.
“The proposed PSA amendment would augment the project scope to support the necessary changes, additional meetings, additional project review, and technical study augmentations. The Amendment would add an additional $67,000 for a total project budget of $459,254 with a contingency amount of $19,613. In addition, the Amendment would extend the contract expiration date by six (6) months, to September 30, 2025, though both staff and Stantec intend to complete the project by Spring 2025,” Coats wrote.
“This contract would continue to be paid for through revenues collected during the building permit process for General Plan related work. Adequate funding is available through the FY 2024-25 Adopted City Budget,” Coats wrote.
