TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Ted Semaan, Interim Public Works Director
Jeff Page, Utilities Manager
Anna Luke-Jones, Solid Waste Administrator
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Approving Amendment No. 1 to the HF&H Consultants, LLC On-Call Assistance Agreement, Increasing the Agreement by $20,000 for a Total Cost Not-to-Exceed $94,900.
(Budgeted) (Interim Public Works Semaan).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 25-0098
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 25-0098, approving Amendment No. 1 to the HF&H Consultants, LLC On-Call Assistance Agreement, increasing the agreement by $20,000 for a total cost not-to-exceed $94,900.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The additional $20,000 is available in the Public Works budget to fully fund the Professional Services Agreement for on-call assistance from HF&H Consultants, LLC.
BACKGROUND:
The City utilizes HF&H Consultants, LLC, for on-call, as-needed assistance regarding the solid waste industry, inquiries about the franchise agreement with Waste Management (WM), assistance and/or review of annual WM rate adjustments, and other City Council requested analyses.
DISCUSSION:
The City initially entered into a three-year agreement with HF&H on June 4, 2024, for on-call, as-needed assistance in a not-to-exceed amount of $74,900. The contract would be utilized for assistance with the Proposition 218 document review and with WM’s Meet & Confer requests regarding diversion realignment.
Since the approval of the initial agreement, HF&H’s services were used to assist with the Proposition 218 rate calculations. HF&H also participated in meetings with City staff and WM, attended Council meetings, and performed analyses related to the Meet and Confer series over diversion realignment and rate reduction, WM’s one-time special rate increase request, etc. Due to the extensive and complex negotiations with WM regarding their one-time special increase and their Meet and Confer request for diversion realignment, including City Council requested analysis at the March 4, 2025 meeting, the contract funds are nearly expended.
City staff will continue to utilize HF&H Consultants, LLC for as-needed assistance with the review of annual rate adjustments. The remainder of the funds will be available for on-call assistance, including any Council-initiated analysis. Accordingly, staff recommends that City Council adopt Resolution No. 25-0098 approving Amendment No. 1 to the On-Call Assistance Agreement with HF&H Consultants, LLC, which would authorize these additional funds and continue to supplement staff resources with HF&H’s expertise.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has approved the agreement as to form.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 25-0098
2. Amendment No. 1 - HF&H Consultants, LLC.
3. Agreement - HF&H Consultants, LLC