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APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT WITH ALTA PLANNING & DESIGN FOR THE CITYWIDE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PLAN (PROJECT NO. PW1441/FEDERAL PROJECT NO. ATPLNI-5008(138))
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve a motion authorizing the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Contract with Alta Planning & Design of Sacramento, California, in the amount of $152,781.81, for the Citywide Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Plan (Project No. PW1441/Federal Project No. ATPLNI-5008(138)).
It is further recommended that the motion authorize the City Manager to take appropriate actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this motion.
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Summary
The Active Transportation Program (ATP) is a California grant program created in 2013 by Senate Bill 99 and Assembly Bill 101. For the first cycle of the ATP, there were two separate calls for projects; one at the statewide level, and one at the regional level. There is no matching fund requirement to receive ATP funds.
Public Works’ staff submitted 19 grant applications to the Cycle 1 competitive ATP Statewide call for projects. Four of the applications were selected for funding through the ATP Statewide level, totaling $3,022,000. Council accepted the award and appropriated funding for the approved projects on January 13, 2015.
The Citywide SRTS Plan was one of the four projects. This plan will support local and regional goals for sustainable mobility and growth, and will integrate with other City plans to create a comprehensive City approach to complete streets and active transportation. The plan will be developed in coordination with Stockton, Lincoln, Lodi, and Manteca Unified School Districts, as well as local stakeholders in the community. The goal of the plan will be to provide safer routes to school to encourage students to walk and/or bicycle to/from school.
On April 16, 2015, the City advertised a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Citywide SRTS Plan on the City’s Bid Flash webpage, and via e-mail to the current vendor pool list. It is recommended that Council approve a Professional Services Contract, in the amount of $152,781.81, with Alta Planning & Design of Sacramento, California. It is anticipated that the plan and environmental clearance for this project will be completed by July of 2017.
DISCUSSION
Background
On September 26, 2013, Governor Brown signed legislation creating the ATP in the Department of Transportation (Senate Bill 99, Chapter 359 <http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB99> and Assembly Bill 101, Chapter 354 <http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB101&search_keywords=>). The ATP consolidated existing federal and State transportation programs, including the Transportation Alternatives Program, Bicycle Transportation Account, and State Safe Routes to School, into a single program with a focus to make California a national leader in active transportation. The ATP is administered by the Division of Local Assistance, Office of Active Transportation and Special Programs.
The purpose of ATP is to encourage increased use of active modes of transportation by achieving the following goals:
• Increase the proportion of trips accomplished by biking and walking
• Increase safety and mobility for non-motorized users
• Advance the active transportation efforts of regional agencies to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals
• Enhance public health
• Ensure that disadvantaged communities fully share in the benefits of the program
• Provide a broad spectrum of projects to benefit many types of active transportation users
On May 6, 2014, by Motion No. 2014-05-06-1208, Council authorized the submission of 19 grant applications for funding under ATP Statewide: Cycle 1, and ATP Regional: Cycle 1. Four of the 19 applications were selected for funding through the ATP Statewide, totaling $3,022,000. On January 13, 2015, Council accepted the award and appropriated funds to multiple projects by Resolution No. 2015-01-13-1201. The Citywide SRTS Plan was one of the four approved projects.
The Citywide SRTS Plan was awarded $350,000 in federal ATP funding. Approximately $150,000 was budgeted for consultant services with the remaining amount budgeted for staff expenses. The Citywide SRTS Plan is intended to guide future evaluation, engineering, education, encouragement, and enforcement activities for use by public schools in Stockton. This plan will support local and regional goals for sustainable mobility and growth, and will integrate with other City plans to create a comprehensive City approach to complete streets and active transportation. The plan will be developed in coordination with Stockton, Lincoln, Lodi, and Manteca Unified School Districts, as well as local stakeholders in the community. The goals of the Citywide SRTS Plan are to: establish a community-wide stakeholder SRTS Committee, identify and prioritize needed SRTS infrastructure projects, develop curriculum and outreach materials, create SRTS walking activity maps, create a database of existing modes of transportation, establish a SRTS website, and incorporate the Five E’s (Evaluation, Engineering, Education, Encouragement, and Enforcement) into the SRTS Plan.
In February 2015, the City received authorization from Caltrans to proceed with this project. Due to the ATP schedule for project delivery and allocation of funds in federal fiscal year 2014-15, a consultant contract must be awarded by July 31, 2015, in order to move forward with the project and avoid the potential loss of funding.
Present Situation
On April 16, 2015, the RFP for professional services for the Citywide SRTS Plan was advertised on the City’s Bid Flash webpage. All relevant consulting firms on the City’s consultant vendor pool list and consultants recommended by the California SRTS Technical Assistance Resource Center were also notified.
The deadline to submit proposals was May 11, 2015. One proposal was received from the following firm:
• Alta Planning & Design (Sacramento)
A Selection Committee comprised of representatives from Public Works, Stockton Unified School District, and San Joaquin County Public Health Services reviewed the submitted proposal based on a number of weighted factors, such as: relevant project experience, project staff expertise, project work plan and management approach, and ability to meet schedule and budget commitments. After review of the proposal and an interview with Alta Planning & Design, the Selection Committee was in agreement that Alta Planning & Design demonstrated the necessary knowledge, experience, and staff resources to develop the Citywide SRTS Plan.
Staff surveyed other firms that were made aware of the RFP to determine why they did not submit a proposal. The firms surveyed provided the following reasons: they had competing project priorities, the project was not within their geographical area, they could not take on more work, they had a conflict of interest due to being involved with ATP application review and scoring at the Statewide level, or the project was not of interest.
Alta Planning & Design’s fee proposal for this project is $152,781.81, which is in accordance with the project estimate and is considered to be reasonable.
The Caltrans Local Assistance Procedures Manual requires that a Public Interest Finding (PIF) be approved by the Caltrans District Local Assistance Engineer prior to award when only one proposal is received. Caltrans has reviewed the circumstances of this case, and on June 2, 2015, Caltrans approved the required PIF (Attachment A).
Since the project is funded with federal transportation dollars, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program rules apply. DBE rules require that the consultant either meet a calculated project specific DBE participation goal, or undertake and document good faith efforts to do so. Failure to meet the goal or make adequate good faith efforts are grounds for rejecting a consultant’s proposal. By definition, a DBE is a socially and economically disadvantaged small business owned by a woman or by a specified ethnic group that has been properly certified by Caltrans. These groups include:
• African American
• Asian Pacific American
• Native American
• Women
• Hispanic American
• Subcontinent Asian American
The calculated DBE goal for the Citywide SRTS Plan is 20 percent. The goal was calculated by examining the breakdown of the types of work to be performed, and the availability of certified DBE companies in our market area to perform the work. Alta Planning & Design has proposed a 33 percent DBE participation goal, which exceeds the DBE goal for this project.
Staff recommends Council approve a motion authorizing the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Contract with Alta Planning & Design, in amount of $152,781.81, for the Citywide SRTS Plan (Attachment B). It is anticipated that the plan will be completed by July 2017.
Financial Summary
This project is 100 percent grant funded with federal ATP funds. There is no requirement for City funds to be provided. The grant funding has already been accepted and appropriated by City Council on January 13, 2015, to the ATP Safe Routes to School Plan (PW1441). The California Transportation Commission approved the allocation of funds on January 22, 2015. There is sufficient funding of $350,000 in the ATP - Safe Routes to School Plan project (PW1441, 308-3020-540) to award the Professional Services Contract in the amount of $152,781.81 to Alta Planning & Design.
The City Manager is authorized to execute a Professional Services Contract with Alta Planning & Design, and to undertake any other financial actions that are necessary and appropriate to carry out the purpose and intent of the motion. Remaining account funds will be used for contingencies, change orders, and staff costs.
There is no impact to the City’s General Fund or to any other unrestricted fund as a result of taking the recommended action.
Attachment A - Caltrans Public Interest Finding
Attachment B - Professional Services Contract with Alta Planning & Design