SLVWD Board Meeting Summary
December 5, 2024
Mark Dolson
Highlights:
Bracken Brae and Forest Springs Contract Award
Bracken Brae and Forest Springs Consolidation Update
Harris Cross-Country Agreement
Next Board meeting will be at 6:30 PM on December 19, 2024
Preliminaries
Director Largay was absent and excused due to a meeting conflict.
There was nothing to report from the just-concluded Closed Session.
There were no changes to the agenda.
There were no public comments.
Unfinished Business
Bracken Brae and Forest Springs Contract Award
Engineering Manager Garrett Roffe introduced this agenda item and the next agenda item, both of which were essentially an update and continuation of the discussion at the previous Board meeting.
For this agenda item, Garrett recommended that the District award a construction contract to Anderson Pacific Engineering for $3,253,580 to replace a substantial section of the District’s existing undersized pipeline in support of the pending consolidations with Bracken Brae and Forest Springs (and perhaps eventually Big Basin) and to provide a new permanent connection to Bracken Brae (which involves a somewhat problematic stream crossing). Anderson Pacific was the low bidder, and they were the contractor most recently on the Alta Via Pipeline Replacement project, along with numerous prior projects, all of which have been completed with good success.
Garrett also advised that the most recent conversation with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) on December 4th resulted in a new requirement that the project task list be expanded to include the recently added Caltrans bridge evaluation (to be performed by Sandis and to be discussed as the next item on the agenda).
The recommended contract award exceeds the remaining DWR grant funding of $2,569,968. In addition to the cost of the construction contract, the project will require Staff time; construction phase support by the Engineer of Record, Sandis; a labor compliance consultant; a special inspection consultant; and potential change orders. Staff estimates the District will contribute $1.4 million of reserves for the construction of the base bid of the project. Staff is continuing to discuss possible additional grant funding with DWR, but the District will be responsible for paying the actual construction costs remaining after the grant funding is exhausted, which could exceed estimated costs.
Directors Fultz, Smolley, and Layng asked various detailed questions to confirm that the contractor would adhere to specified work hours, noise levels, and prevailing wage stipulations; that the schedule seemed reasonable; and that the District would be adequately protected from various issues that might arise over the course of the construction. Director Fultz also voiced a more general concern about the District being saddled with inappropriate road maintenance costs in conjunction with their required repaving.
There were two public comments. Nicole Lauder Berridge of Bracken Brae and Karen Vitale of Forest Springs each voiced their support for this award and their appreciation for the District’s efforts.
Director Smolley moved to approve the award, and Director Layng seconded. The motion passed 4-0.
Bracken Brae and Forest Springs Consolidation Update
As discussed at the previous Board meeting, Garrett recommended that the Board approve an additional services request with Sandis Engineering for $225,000 to address the Caltrans review comments on the load rating of the bridge on Highway 236 with the upgraded pipeline attached. Sandis plans to contract with a well-known subcontracting firm in the structural engineering community. There is also some survey work for an easement on Hazel Brake and some administrative support.
Director Fultz confirmed that the bridge evaluation would also cover the brief period of time during which the bridge would be supporting both the old 4” pipeline and the new 12” pipeline. He also called attention to the need to routinely value easements, even if these will be freely granted.
Director Smolley probed a little more deeply regarding the Sandis choice of subcontractor, and Jeff Setera of Sandis provided a compelling explanation. Director Smolley also urged the team to meet with Caltrans reviewers (i.e., structural engineers) as early in the process as possible to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Lastly, Director Smolley asked at what point in the $220,000 process would Sandis be able to identify a serious problem with the plan and halt the project. Jeff Setera said he though preliminary numbers would come fairly quickly (i.e., before $50,000 has been spent). He also said he thought the bridge would support the load – there would just need to be an early discussion about the potential change in the load rating.
There were two public comments. Nicole Lauder Berridge of Bracken Brae and Karen Vitale of Forest Springs each voiced their support for this award. Nicole also had a detailed question about the Sandis plan.
Director Smolley moved to approve the award, and the motion was seconded. The motion passed 4-0.
New Business
Harris Cross-Country Agreement
Environmental Planner Chris Klier introduced this agenda item. On October 3, 2024, the Board approved a contract with Harris & Associates for environmental review of five discrete projects to replace sections of pipeline damaged in FEMA-declared emergencies. Chris recommended that this contract be amended to account for one additional project that is part of a $370,000 grant from the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) for the fire hardening of two critical water supply lines: Bennett Pipeline and Lompico Pipeline. This grant will fund the design and environmental review for burying these pipelines so as to mitigate future wildfire risk. The grant-funded work must be completed by May 13, 2025, so the District would like to prioritize the environmental review of these two projects. The Bennett Pipeline environmental review is already included in the Harris contract, but the Lompico Pipeline is not. The proposed amendment will allow Harris to complete environmental review on the Lompico Pipeline to enable the work to be performed before grant funds expire.
The total estimated cost for the scope of work in the Professional Services Agreement is $13,431, bringing the total budget for the Harris Cross-Country Pipeline Environmental Review to $72,005.83. The Environmental Contracted Services budget is currently, $197,000, so there are sufficient funds. The District will initially need to pay project costs from District funds but will be reimbursed by the grant for 90% of costs, resulting in a final estimated cost to the District of $1,343.10.
Director Fultz said the previous General Manager had mentioned that burying this pipeline will be extremely difficult. Garrett agreed that it would require a lot of hand digging on steep terrain with trees. For environmental review purposes, burying the pipeline is the worst-case scenario. After the review is complete, the District will solicit bids for burying the pipeline and can then decide. The work will be 90% grant funded.
Director Smolley noted that even though there is an existing emergency intertie, some of these pipelines may have been put in decades ago before easements were required. Hence, it is possible that easements will need to be obtained. This remains to be determined.
Director Smolley moved to approve the agreement, and the motion was seconded. The motion passed 4-0.
Consent Agenda
There was one item on the Consent Agenda:
a. Board Minutes from 11.21.24
Director Fultz pulled this item in order to make two minor corrections. He moved to approve the revised Board Minutes, and the motion was seconded. The motion passed 4-0.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 PM.