BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☒ No ☐
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT:
Title
Approve the Agreement No. A4959A with FISHBIO for the Mitigation and Monitoring Implementation for Fisheries for the Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project, Project No. 26174052, PlanetBids File No. VW0312, for a Total Not-To-Exceed Fee of $999,839 (Morgan Hill, District 1).
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve the Agreement No. A4959A with FISHBIO for the Mitigation and Monitoring Implementation for Fisheries for the Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project, Project No. 26174052, PlanetBids File No. VW0312, for a Total Not-To-Exceed Fee of $999,839.
Body
SUMMARY:
Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) is engaging a consultant to conduct a three-year juvenile rearing program in Uvas and Llagas Creeks. This fish monitoring program fulfills the mitigation obligations in the regulatory approved Mitigation and Monitoring Plan with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for potential impacts incurred to South Central California Coast Steelhead (SCCCS) for construction of the Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project (Project). The objective of the monitoring program is to pit tag as many SCCCS as are encountered during electrofishing surveys and monitor the movement of the steelhead via two fixed antennae stations. In addition to tagging steelhead, the biologists would be expected to document the densities, size, distribution, and habitat usage of juvenile steelhead. The annual monitoring will occur in Llagas Creek from Watsonville Road to the base of Chesbro dam, approximately 3.31 miles. In the Uvas watershed, the monitoring limits will consist of one-mile of electrofishing in Little Arthur Creek, one mile of electrofishing in Bodfish Creek and one-mile electrofishing on the mainstem of Uvas Creek upstream of Miller Avenue. Valley Water will provide RFID pit tags, readers, implanters, and fixed station antennas. The selected consultant would be responsible for working with the manufacturer of the equipment to ensure antennas are properly set up, operated and maintained for the duration of the three-year study period.
Consultant Selection Process
Prior to publishing the RFP, staff conducted outreach to 502 firms that were registered under the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (NIGP) Category Codes; under category code 91800 - Consulting Services, 91843 - Environmental Consulting, 92600 - Environmental And Ecological Services, 95897 - Wildlife/Fish Management Services (Including Endangered Species And Wildlife Census), 96169 - Testing and Monitoring Service, 91872 - Lakes, Rivers, and Other Waterway Management Consulting Services, 92540 - Fisheries; Fish Ladders - Engineering, and 10020 - Environmental Impact Studies & Counseling Service, category, which is the eight targeted categories within Valley Water’s Procurement Portal, PlanetBids (PB) prior to publishing the RFP. Staff also issued advertisements in the SJ Post and SBEINC.com prior to publishing the RFP.
On July 19, 2023, staff published a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Mitigation and Monitoring Implementation for Fisheries for the Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Program by sending it to 502 firms that were registered under NIPG Category Codes. On August 1, 2023, a pre-proposal meeting was held via Zoom with 14 attendees.
A total of four (4) proposals were received on August 31, 2023, from the following consultant firms: AECOM Technical Services, Inc., ECORP Consulting, Inc., Environmental Science Associates, and FISHBIO. Of the total of 502 firms informed of the solicitation, 28 firms confirmed to be prospective bidders in the Valley Water Procurement Portal.
An Evaluation Committee (EC) consisting of three panelists from Valley Water and one external panelist from the National Marine Fisheries Service with subject matter expertise evaluated and ranked the written proposals. Based on the overall technical evaluations and final selection, the EC determined that FISHBIO demonstrated the best overall experience concerning, approach to, and understanding of the scope of services. Therefore, FISHBIO, was selected to move forward into contract negotiations.
Valley Water staff has negotiated the Agreement with the Consultant and approval is recommended. The not-to-exceed fee of the Agreement is $999,839 and the four-year term would expire on or around February 2028.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
There are no Environmental Justice impacts associated with this item.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project, Project No. 26174052, is included in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Fiscal Years (FY) 2024-28 Five-Year Plan and in the FY 2023-24 Adopted Budget. There are sufficient funds in the Project’s FY 2023-24 budget for the Agreement not-to-exceed fee of $999,839. The Project is funded through the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Fund (Fund 26).
CEQA:
The Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project’s EIR was certified on June 10, 2014, by Valley Water’s Board. The US Army Corp of Engineers, San Francisco District, announced the final EIS for the Project on December 7, 2018. The National Marine Fisheries Service provided comment and input to the EIS, which included all requisite monitoring for mitigation. The EIR also includes the Project’s monitoring requirements.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A: Gov. Code § 84308
Attachment 1: Agreement
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Bhavani Yerrapotu, 408-630-2735