BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Approve the Consultant Agreement with Anchor QEA, LLC, to Provide Modeling Services in Support of the Calabazas/San Tomas Aquino Creek-Marsh Connection Project, Project No. A4668A, PlanetBids File No. VW0122, for a Not-to-Exceed Amount of $500,000 (Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Jose) (District 3).
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve the Consultant Agreement (Agreement) with Anchor QEA, LLC, for modeling services in support for the Calabazas/San Tomas Aquino Creek-Marsh Connection Project (Project), for a Not-to-Exceed amount of $500,000.
Body
SUMMARY:
Background
At the April 27, 2021 board meeting, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) Board approved agenda item 6.3 which directed staff to proceed with the Project planning phase after receiving the findings of the feasibility study (Study).
Grant Award
Staff applied for and obtained grants to provide financial support for the Project from the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority (SFBRA) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). At its December 14, 2021 meeting, the Board approved staff’s recommendation to accept the grant funds from SFBRA and CDFW and authorized the Chief Executive Officer to execute applicable grant agreements. Subsequently, SFBRA and Valley Water executed Agreement Number SFB0031-RA026, whereby SFBRA will provide grant funding in the amount of $3,370,000; and CDFW and Valley Water executed Agreement Number Q2196005, whereby CDFW will provide grant funding in the amount of $500,000. The two grants support the Project planning, modeling, and design costs.
Project Element Pond A4
Pond A4, owned by Valley Water, is immediately adjacent to the Project area. Currently, during summer and fall, water in Pond A4 is pumped to the A8 Pond Complex to promote circulation, prevent hyper-salinization, and avoid low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels which would adversely affect the habitat in Pond A4. Current Pond A4 operations would be significantly impacted by implementation of the Project due to the physical, hydraulic, and regulatory interdependencies of Pond A4 and the A8 Pond Complex. Therefore, staff has included Pond A4 in Project modeling support services.
Consultant Agreement with Anchor QEA, LLC
Anchor QEA, LLC (Consultant) will perform modeling services, which will result in selecting a staff-recommended alternative to proceed with the Project. In addition, consultant will perform hydraulic, sediment transport, and marsh establishment modeling of feasible alternatives at the Project area (including Pond A4) in support of the Project Planning Study Report.
Consultant Selection Process
On March 31, 2022, a Request for Proposals (RFP) for modeling services for the Calabazas/San Tomas Aquino Creek-Marsh Connection Project was published on Valley Water’s Procurement Portal, PlanetBids (PB). The RFP notification was sent to 396 firms that were registered in PB, under category codes:91800 - Consulting Services; 91812 - Analytical Studies And Surveys (Consulting); 91843 - Environmental Consulting; 91846 - Feasibility Studies (Consulting); 92600 - Environmental And Ecological Services; 95825 - Conservation/Resource Management Services; 96132 - Environmental Impact Studies; 96143 - Hydrological Services; 96169 - Testing and Monitoring Service; 92672 - Planning and Advisory Services, Environmental; 92561 - Land Development and Planning/Engineering; 92652 - Impact Studies, Environmental; 92696 - Wetland Delineations (Incl. Assessments); 96195 - Modeling Service.
Valley Water received proposals on April 27, 2022, from two firms: Deltares USA and Anchor QEA, LLC.
The evaluation committee (EC), composed of four Valley Water staff with subject matter expertise and two representatives from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), also with subject matter expertise, evaluated the two proposals. The two firms with the highest scoring technical proposals were invited for oral interviews. Virtual oral presentations were held on May 18, 2022.
Based on combined scores for the written proposals and oral presentations, the EC recommended staff proceed with the highest-ranked firm, Anchor QEA, for negotiations. The Consultant demonstrated outstanding scientific knowledge of hydraulic, sediment transport, and tidal marsh restoration modeling, including extensive experience in the South Bay Salt Pond area, which includes the project site. In addition, their client references gave the firm very high marks for the quality and timeliness of their deliverables on similar, previous projects.
Negotiations with Anchor QEA, LLC, have been completed successfully. Staff recommends Board approval of the Consultant Agreement with Anchor QEA, LLC. to provide modeling services for the Calabazas/San Tomas Aquino Creek-Marsh Connection Project, for a not-to-exceed fee of $500,000.
Consultant Agreement and Scope of Services
The recommended Consultant Agreement with Anchor QEA, LLC, provides an initial three-year term and two (2) optional one-year extensions, and a Not-to-Exceed amount of $500,000.
The Consultant will perform modeling services, including prioritization of project metrics, development of modeling analysis scope, hydraulic and sediment transport modeling for up to five feasible alternatives and two refined feasible alternatives (including Pond A4) for comparison purposes, hydrodynamic and/or hydraulic modeling of the staff-recommended analysis to assess post-project flood risk, and marsh establishment modeling for the staff-recommended alternatives to reduce certainties related to long-term project success. The consultant’s work products will support the preparation of the Project Planning Study Report and inform Project design.
A summary of tasks and budget for this Consultant Agreement is presented in Table 1.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT
There are no Environmental Justice impacts associated with this item.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The Calabazas San Tomas Aquino Creek-Marsh Connection Project, Project No. 20444001, is included in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-27 Five-Year Plan and in the FY 2022-23 Adopted Budget. There are adequate funds in the Project’s FY 2022-23 Adopted Budget to encumber the recommended Consultant Agreement total not-to-exceed (NTE) fee of $500,000 and does not change the overall total project cost reflected in the CIP. The Project is funded through the Watershed and Stream Stewardship Fund (Fund 12).
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have the potential to result in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Project Map
Attachment 2: Agreement
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
John Bourgeois, (408) 630-2990