TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Stephanie Katsouleas, Director of Public Works
Shawn Igoe, Utilities Division Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Consider Adopting a Resolution Approving Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement with McGowan Consulting, LLC for $93,043 for Professional Services to assist the City and the Beach Cities Watershed Management Group with Storm Water National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Requirements (Public Works Director Katsouleas).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 19-0113 APPROVING AN AMENDMENT
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a Resolution No. 19-0113 Approving Contract Amendment No. 1 for the following:
a. $48,628 for additional professional services to assist the City with Storm Water National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit requirements implementation; and
b. $44,415 for regional permit storm water permit compliance activities through Beach Cities Watershed Management Group (WMG) Coordination, of which $37,353 will be reimbursed to Manhattan Beach under a Cooperative Agreement with Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.
2. Authorize City Manager to execute the Contract Amendment.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Sufficient funds are available in the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Public Works Department's Storm Drain Maintenance operating budget for these services. The City’s total share of the contract amendment is $55,690; $37,353 will be reimbursed to Manhattan Beach under a Cooperative Agreement with Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.
BACKGROUND:
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program addresses water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants to waters of the United States. The NPDES permit is often referred to as the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit. The MS4 permit identifies conditions, requirements and programs that municipalities must implement or meet to protect regional water resources from adverse impacts associated with pollutants in storm water and urban runoff. The MS4 requirements and programs are authorized under the Federal Clean Water Act and the California Porter-Cologne Act.
On October 1, 2019, staff gave a presentation to City Council showcasing the extensive amount of work that the City performs in order to comply with MS4 permit requirements. That presentation also included historical information about the total cost associated with permit compliance, which is about $1.8 million when considering the efforts of both internal staff resources and external contractors.
Given the technical nature of the MS4 permit and numerous required tasks, the City of Manhattan Beach has proactively utilized professional expertise to assist in meeting and maintaining permit compliance for a number of years. Specifically, the City retained Ms. Kathleen McGowan several years ago due to her extensive NPDES compliance experience, technical knowledge and her ability to leverage resources with several surrounding cities, including Hermosa Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills Estates, and Rolling Hills. Staff has found her work to be exceptionally detailed and thoughtful, while providing compliance assistance for an overall cost savings when compared to other consultant services. Where NPDES compliance requirements are similar in other jurisdictions, she has been able to provide a pricing structure to Manhattan Beach that “shares” applicable elements of permit implementation (i.e., the City saves money from economies of scale). McGowan Consulting, LLC services are part of the $1.8 million annual budget the City spends on storm water compliance activities.
On August 5, 2019, the City executed an Agreement with McGowan Consulting, LLC for $49,899, of which $9,664 was allocated specifically to provide minimal support for Manhattan Beach, and $40,235 was allocated for Beach Cities WMG activities. This Amendment for $93,043 will also cover services through FY 2019-2020 for both the City and the Beach Cities WMG, for a total contract budget of $142,942.
DISCUSSION:
Manhattan Beach MS4 Permit Assistance (Task 1-6)
Tasks 1 through 6 of the Consultant’s proposed fee of $48,628 will assist the City in meeting its individual requirements under the MS4 Permit during the remaining Fiscal Year 2019-2020. Per the contract agreement, a new updated scope of work and budget have been provided as an attachment for this first amendment to the contract.
Beach Cities Watershed Management Coordination (Task 7)
Task 7 of the Consultant’s proposed fee totals $44,415. The Cities of Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, and Los Angeles County Flood Control District (Group) have collectively selected McGowan Consulting, LLC to help the Group with implementation of the Enhanced Watershed Management Program (EWMP) and Coordinated Integrated Management Plan (CIMP), as required by the Permit. The Group unanimously decided that utilizing McGowan Consulting, LLC for coordinating between jurisdictions, staffing for this effort, and providing regulatory and technical assistance, as described in Task 7 of the attached Scope of Work, would be the most cost-effective approach for regional compliance and implementation of the Group EWMP and CIMP.
The Group has asked the City of Manhattan Beach continue acting as the lead agency for this regional work and to include the scope and fees associated with EWMP and CIMP implementation as a subset of our own agreement with McGowan Consulting, LLC. The budget for that work is $84,650, which would be shared by all five jurisdictions. Thus, Manhattan Beach’s portion is $16,500. Task 7 has been approved by the Group and is authorized through the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Group.
The updated scope and budget have been received and reviewed, and staff has determined that they properly extend the services provided in the original scope to meet the needs of the City and the larger watershed group for NPDES compliance assistance. Therefore, staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 1 with McGowan Consultant LLC for $93,043 for additional MS4 Permit compliance services through July 6, 2020, as described above.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
There is no environmental review required for the recommended action.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 19-0113
2. Amendment No. 1 - McGowan Consulting, LLC.
3. Agreement - McGowan Consulting, LLC. (2019)
4. Updated Budget