The Tracks at Brea Project (Project) is developing approximately four miles of dual tread bicycle trail and a separate pedestrian path along the abandoned railroad right of way, Orange County flood control channels, and city-owned property. The Project design and construction is primarily funded by grants, and to date the Project has been awarded over $17.5 million in grants for the completion of the trail system. The Project is being developed in six segments as grant funding becomes available, and so far, segments 1, 3 and 5 are completed and are open to the public, segments 2 and 6 are under construction, and construction will start soon on segment 4.
The three largest trail segments (Segments 2, 3 and 4) are located on land once used as railroad rights of way for over 100 years. Soil remediation is required to remove arsenic from the soil as arsenic was used for many years by the railroad companies as a weed suppressant along the tracks. The environmental and geotechnical engineering firm, Ninyo and Moore, has been retained to provide assistance in the required soil assessments, development of remediation plans, and the necessary oversight during construction.
A competitive Request For Proposal (RFP) process was originally conducted and nine firms submitted proposals to provide these services for the Project. After evaluation that included interviews, reference checks, and cost analysis of the proposals, Ninyo and Moore was recommended to the City Council who approved a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) for their services on August 21, 2012. Their work to date has included the preparation of two Remedial Action Plans for soil cleanup, oversight on the construction of Segments 2 and 3, and the development of remediation plans for Segments 2 and 4. They have also negotiated on the City’s behalf with the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA), which is the regulatory agency monitoring soil remediation projects.
Working with OCHCA and the Project architects (David Evans and Associates), Ninyo and Moore identified ways to reduce construction costs of Segments 2 and 4 based on lessons learned from Segment 3. These approaches were incorporated into the construction plans for those segments.
Amendment five covered the environmental oversight work for Segment 2 and the geotech work for Segment 3. Based on the plans and the engineer’s estimate, Ninyo and Moore’s proposal estimated that the environmental work on Segment 2 would be completed in five weeks; however, the construction contractor took 11 weeks to complete the soil remediation work. This resulted in Ninyo and Moore staff attending additional weekly progress meetings, providing field vehicle and equipment for field sampling over a longer period of time, as well as additional analytical costs for analysis of confirmation samples. Therefore, they have provided a separate proposal (attached) which outlines the additional costs to complete this work. The additional work including a 15% contingency on the environmental portion totals $94,216. This is a not to exceed amount and invoices will reflect actual time and materials expended.
As construction to build trail Segment 4 is about to begin, additions to Ninyo and Moore's scope of work are now necessary. Ninyo and Moore has provided a proposal (attached) to provide environmental and geotechnical engineering services and requesting $327,817. This is a not to exceed amount and includes a 15% contingency on the environmental portion of work. The tasks in both proposals will facilitate the Project through construction completion and the final Removal Action Completion report approval from OCHCA for trail segments 2 and 4. The not to exceed total for the two proposals for additional scope of work for The Tracks totals $422,033, thus an amendment to the PSA with Ninyo and Moore in this amount is recommended to complete The Tracks at Brea Trail.
Ninyo and Moore consultants have become very familiar with the Project and have performed extremely well. Their past work for the City has been timely, thorough, and responsive. Staff has also received positive feedback from OCHCA, construction contractors, other consultants, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other cities regarding their work. Their past in-depth experience with the Project will prove to be more cost effective than utilizing a new consultant who will have no knowledge of Brea's soil cleanup needs or the history of this Project, and working relationship with OCHCA. Ninyo and Moore’s understanding and experience with the regulatory processes has been instrumental in moving the Project forward.
The Ninyo and Moore Project Manager on the Project is Prasad Thimmappa, PE, QSD/QSP. He has more than 23 years of experience as an environmental engineer and project manager providing planning, design, and construction quality management and control services for construction projects with contaminated soil and groundwater, as well as remediation projects. His areas of expertise include developing work plans; technical and cost proposals; engineering analyses and feasibility studies; preparing design drawings and construction specifications; construction supervision; compliance monitoring; NPDES permitting for construction; ecological risk assessment and regulatory negotiations. He is highly knowledgeable in the regulatory process of federal, state and local agencies including the EPA, Regional Water Quality Control Board, Department of Toxic Substances Control and County Health Care agencies.
As an experienced firm with environmental and geotechnical expertise, Ninyo and Moore's proposal avoids the additional cost and project delay of bringing a new consulting firm up to speed on the Project. Therefore, for all the above reasons, staff recommends amending Ninyo and Moore's PSA for the necessary work related to Segments 2 and 4 of The Tracks. |
Amendment No. 6 to the PSA with Ninyo and Moore will provide the necessary environmental and geotechnical work for the Segment 2, 3 and 4 of The Tracks at Brea Trail. Therefore, Staff recommends City Council consider approving Amendment No. 6 to the PSA.
The not to exceed amount for environmental and geotechnical services in this amendment, including a 15% contingency on the environmental tasks, is $422,033. This would bring the current $613,344 PSA to $1,035,377. The funding for this amendment is provided by a combination of grants for Segments 2 and 4 including the EPA Brownfields Clean-up ($562,612), Active Transportation Program ($5,061,000), Urban Greening ($815,849), Land and Water Conservation Fund ($417,630), Recreational Trails Program ($1,287,000), and Bicycle Corridor Improvement ($229,317). Thus, there is no impact to the General Fund. |