TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Ramzi Awwad, Public works Director
Jeff Page, Utilities Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Approving a Six-Month Agreement with Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. for Environmental Professional Services Pertaining to the City’s Stormwater System at a Cost Not-to-Exceed $59,800 and Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Contract (Budgeted) (Public Works Director Awwad).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 26-0093
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 26-0093 approving a six-month agreement with Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. (Geosyntec) for environmental professional services pertaining to the City’s stormwater system at a cost not-to-exceed $59,800 through March 31, 2027, and authorizing the City Manager to execute the contract.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Funds in the amount of $59,800 are currently budgeted within the Storm Drain Fund Public Works Department budget for the proposed six-month agreement for environmental professional services.
BACKGROUND:
Under the Federal Clean Water Act and California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the Los Angeles regional stormwater system permit establishes requirements municipalities must implement to reduce pollutants in stormwater and urban runoff. These requirements include water quality monitoring and reporting, public outreach, commercial and construction program oversight, municipal maintenance practices, illicit discharge responses, and implementation of projects and programs needed to meet water quality requirements for the Santa Monica Bay and the Dominguez Channel. The Los Angeles County Safe, Clean Water Program (Measure W), provides funding for stormwater projects and activities pursuant to stormwater system permit compliance.
Manhattan Beach meets its part of the regional stormwater permit obligations through two complementary efforts. First, the City participates with the cities of Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District in the Beach Cities Watershed Management Group (Beach Cities Group). Through this regional partnership, the agencies jointly implement the Beach Cities Watershed Management Program and Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Program (CIMP); which includes receiving-water and storm drain monitoring, data reporting, watershed progress reporting, and coordination with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Geosyntec currently performs this shared work under a separate Beach Cities agreement administered by Manhattan Beach on behalf of the participating agencies.
Second, the City independently manages and documents the stormwater system permit requirements that apply specifically to Manhattan Beach. This includes preparing the City’s annual compliance report, administering the City’s Measure W funding, maintaining required program records, meeting City staff training requirements, implementing stormwater capital projects, and carrying out other City-specific compliance activities. These services have been provided by McGowan Consulting, LLC (McGowan) in the recent past.
On June 3, 2025, the City Council approved a five-year agreement with McGowan Consulting for the City-specific services, which was scheduled to conclude in 2030. However, Principal Consultant Kathleen McGowan recently retired, and for that reason, the agreement was terminated August 31, 2026, approximately one year into its term.
DISCUSSION:
The early termination of the McGowan agreement creates a need to replace the City-specific stormwater system permit compliance services with minimal disruption. Due to Geosyntec’s familiarity with the City through their work on the Beach Cities Group and their hiring of McGowan’s Project Manager/Senior Scientist, staff requested a six-month proposal from Geosyntec to provide City-specific stormwater system permit compliance services through March 31, 2027. This six-month term will maintain continuity while staff conducts a competitive request for proposals for longer-term stormwater system permit compliance support services. This approach allows the City to meet near-term regulatory deadlines while evaluating the market and helping ensure future services provide the best value to the City.
Under the proposed agreement, Geosyntec will provide the City-specific services previously performed by McGowan, including:
• Preparing the City’s annual stormwater system permit compliance report and supporting the new statewide stormwater cost-reporting requirements;
• Preparing required Measure W annual planning and expenditure reports for the approximately $410,000 the City receives each year;
• Supporting public outreach, commercial facility construction, land development, municipal maintenance, and illicit discharge programs required by the stormwater system compliance permit;
• Providing required stormwater training to City staff and applicable contractors;
• Tracking regulatory changes and representing the City in permit-related coordination and stakeholder meetings; and
• Assisting with stormwater capital project planning and pursuit of outside grant funding.
These services are separate from, but coordinated with, the Beach Cities Group work. The Beach Cities Group agreement addresses shared watershed monitoring, reporting, and regional coordination, while this proposed agreement addresses Manhattan Beach’s individual permit implementation and reporting responsibilities. Together, the two efforts provide the technical support needed for the City to maintain its compliance with the regional stormwater system permit.
Staff reviewed publicly available consultant rate schedules for similar stormwater compliance services. Because firms use different staff classifications, staffing approaches, and levels of expertise, direct comparisons between individual hourly rates are limited. However, the overall cost not-to-exceed $59,800 for a six-month term is reasonable when compared to recent costs for similar services over a similar timeframe. Given the need to maintain continuity of services, Geosyntec’s familiarity with the City’s stormwater programs, and the limited six-month term, staff considers the proposed agreement reasonable as an interim measure. During the agreement term, staff will conduct a competitive request for proposals using a common scope of services to more fully evaluate qualifications, staffing, and cost for longer-term support.
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 26-0093 approving a six-month agreement with Geosyntec in an amount not-to-exceed $59,800 for City-specific stormwater system permit compliance services through March 31, 2027, and authorizing the City Manager to execute the contract.
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. 26-0093
2. Agreement - Geosyntec Consultants, Inc.