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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7 Contract Amendment GEI[I CONSENT To: Board of Directors From: Steven Poncelet Date. February 01, 2017 Subject: Consideration to Amend the Contract for Professional Services with GEI Consultants 1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD The amended contract for GEI Consultants is for an amount over $15,000 and requires Board approval. 2. HISTORY The District, along with the other Local SGMA Agencies (Northstar Community Services District, Placer County Water Agency, Town of Truckee, Nevada County, and Placer County), has been investigating how best to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA). The Local SGMA Agencies, due to the unnecessary costs and regulatory burdens of forming a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) and completing a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP), decided to pursue and Alternative Submittal and the District has taken the lead on this regulatory compliance effort. The District's Board, at the August 3, 2016 Board meeting, awarded a contract to GEI Consultants to provide the technical support required for the Alternative Submittal to certify that the Martis Valley Groundwater Basin (MVGB) has operated within its sustainable yield for a period of at least 10-years. The professional services agreement was for a total amount of $28,800 with a 15% change order allowance for a total amount not to exceed $32,000, The scope of work was based on the information provided by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) at the time that the the contract was awarded. As communicated previously, DWR did not release the SGMA regulations until mid-2016 and Alternative Submittal was due by January 1, 2017. This gave the Local SGMA Agencies a short six -months to evaluate the regulations, collaboratively agree on a compliance path, create the legal structure for this effort, hire a consultant, and have six public agencies take formal action to execute the plan. This complex effort was further complicated by DWR introduction of the concept of 'functional equivalence' for Alternative Submittal's which, essentially, said that they needed to cover everything required in a GSP; despite the fact that the SGMA law itself only requires for an Alternative Submittal a report certifying 10-years of sustainable operation. The Local SGMA Agencies, and our consultant, did everything possible to address DWR's requirements within the time and resources available. 3. NEW INFORMATION The SGA Alternative Submittal was uploaded to the DWR on-line portal on December 22, 2016 and included the supporting report prepared by GEI Consultants. During the course of preparing the Alternative Submittal, two new scope items were identified. The first was for GEI to support a second meeting in Truckee to present the preliminary scientific finding to the Local SGMA Agencies and to provide the Local SGMA Agency's staff and board/council and opportunity to hear from the experts first hand and address any questions and concerns. This was a minor request and the scope well understood. The second change in scope, which was very significant, was the introduction by DWR of a Alternative Elements Guide on December 2, 2016; less than a month before the Alternative Submittal deadline. This new requirement was DWR's attempt to formalize 'functional equivalence' by laying out every single element of a GSP on a massive spreadsheet and requiring that an Alternative Submittal review each item and either site the document (section and page numbers) which covers this element or provide an explanation of why it was not included. Completion of this new requirement required significant effort by GEI Consultants along with dozens of staff hours. Given the very short time line and the large costs and regulatory burdens associated with not meeting the Alternative Submittal deadline, staff requested that GEI complete this work and submit a change order. As per the terms of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Local SGMA Agencies, the three local water agencies have agreed to share this additional costs. Future expenditures, should DWR conditionally approve or approve the Alternative Submittal, will be shared equally amongst the Local SGMA Agencies. 4. FISCAL IMPACT The professional services agreement for GEI Consultants was for a total amount not to exceed $32,000. The GEI Consultants change order request is for $7,400 for a final total contract amount of $36,200. The District's portion, as per the Local SGMA Agency MOA, would be $8,734. Sufficient funds exist within the FY17 Water Utility budget for this expense. 5. RECOMMENDATION Amend the contract with GEI Consultants for a new total contract amount not to exceed $36,200. 1111ex lb7� Steven Poncelet Public Information & Conservation Manager Michael D. Holley General Manager