Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council
Regular Meeting of January 23, 2024
Title
APPROVAL OF THIRD AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT WITH
WILLDAN ENGINEERING FOR ON-CALL STAFF AUGMENTATION
SERVICES FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
(Building and Code Enforcement Official Guillermo Hobelman and
Community Development Director Carrie Tai)
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Staff recommends City Council:
1. Approve the proposed third amendment to an agreement with Willdan Engineering for staff augmentation services to increase the not-to-exceed amount by $120,000, resulting in a total not-to exceed amount of $295,000 (Attachment 1); and
2. Authorize the Mayor to execute and the City Clerk to attest the attached third amendment subject to approval by the City Attorney.
Body
Executive Summary:
The Community Development Department uses contract building plan review specialists for most plan submittals and has utilized this type of third-party service for several decades. The department currently has one specialist on contract but would like to ensure the ability to maintain timely building plan review of projects. The proposed third amendment to an agreement with Willdan Engineering would increase the not-to-exceed compensation by $120,000 resulting in a total amended contract term of three years and total not-to-exceed amount of $295,000.
Background:
For several decades, the City has contracted with a third-party firm for building plan review services for compliance with the California Building Standards Code. Like many smaller jurisdictions, the City’s Community Development Department staff does not include building plan review engineers, fire life safety experts, and other building plan review specialists that are essential to conduct the breadth of building plan review.
The Community Development Department currently has a building plan review and related services agreement with one firm, Hayer Consultants. The City entered into an agreement on October 28, 2022 with Hayer Consultants to provide building plan review and related services for the Community Development Department with an expiration date of June 30, 2025. The current fiscal year 2023-2024 contract services budget for building plan review services is $200,000.
In early 2022, the Community Development Department experienced vacancies of Building and Safety staff and needed technically proficient staff to review building plans. The City entered into an agreement on July 20, 2022 with Willdan Engineering for $30,000 to provide on-call staff augmentation services for the Community Development Department with an expiration date of June 30, 2025 (Attachment 2). This professional services agreement also allowed the Community Development Department to supplement the available service providers for building plan check services. These additional services helped improve prolonged turnaround times.
At its August 9, 2022 meeting, City Council approved the first amendment to increase the not-to-exceed compensation by $45,000 resulting in a total amended contract term of three years and total not-to-exceed amount of $75,000 (Attachment 3). The proposed first amendment added additional funds to the existing agreement to fill the Department’s staffing needs as recruitments were underway.
At its November 29, 2022 meeting, City Council approved the second amendment to increase the not-to-exceed compensation by $100,000 resulting in a total amended contract term of three years and total not-to-exceed amount of $175,000 (Attachment 4). The second amendment added an approved hourly rate for the position of an Interim Community Development Director to lead the department as the recruitment for a permanent hire was underway.
Discussion:
To successfully serve the residents, businesses, and the development community, the City must ensure that sufficient building plan review services are in place to provide building plan review services within a timely manner. Customarily, many jurisdictions target a maximum 30-day timeframe to provide an initial review of projects by Planning and Building Safety staff. To meet these needs, the Community Development Department identified the need to supplement the available number of building plan review service providers. The availability of multiple building plan review service providers would bring the City in line with current best practices for many public agencies that utilize multiple building plan review service providers.
Willdan Engineering is a well-regarded firm that assists many public agencies in Southern California. The Community Development Department began utilizing Willdan Engineering building plan review services in July of 2022 to supplement the available number of building plan review service providers. Willdan Engineering demonstrated that they have the technical expertise, available staffing, and competitive pricing to continue to assist the City with building plan review services. The service demand for building plan review services is an ongoing need, and at the current rate of plan submittals for review, the remaining funding of approximately $20,000 from the current service agreement with Willdan Engineering would be exhausted within the first quarter of 2024.
Staff requests the proposed third amendment to an agreement with Willdan Engineering to increase the not-to-exceed compensation by $120,000 resulting in a total amended contract term of three years and total not-to-exceed amount of $295,000. At current building plan review volume levels, the requested contract augmentation would allow the department to utilize Willdan Engineering’s building plan review services for the remaining term of the contract, which expires July 2025.
The current Professional Service Agreements will be refreshed through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process in early 2025.
General Plan Consistency:
This report and associated recommendation have been evaluated for their consistency with the City’s General Plan. Relevant Policies are listed below:
Governance Element
Goal 1. A high degree of transparency and integrity in the decision-making process.
Policy:
• 1.1: Strategic planning. Regularly discuss and set priorities at the City Council and management level to prioritize work programs and staffing needs.
Fiscal Impact:
If approved, the proposed third amendment to this agreement would increase the not-to-exceed limit for Willdan Engineering by $120,000 for a revised total of $295,000 for the remainder of the previously approved contract term ending July 2025. Approximately $75,000 of the $120,000 would be expended in FY 2023-24.
Funding to support any expenditures under these agreements would come from the Building Division contract services account, 001-4201-4201, in the Community Development Department in the General Fund. The City recovers costs through building plan review fees, and there would be no additional General Plan expenditures. Sufficient funds are available to cover the estimated FY 2023-24 expenditures. The remainder of the contract would be included in the FY 2024-25 Budget.
Attachments:
1. Proposed Willdan Engineering Third Amendment
2. Agreement with Willdan Engineering
3. Agreement with Willdan Engineering-First Amendment
4. Agreement with Willdan Engineering-Second Amendment
5. Link to October 27, 2020 City Council Meeting
6. Link to August 9, 2022 City Council Meeting
7. Link to November 29, 2022 City Council Meeting
Respectfully Submitted by: Guillermo Hobelman, Building and Code Enforcement Official
Concur: Carrie Tai, Community Development Director
Noted for Fiscal Impact: Viki Copeland, Finance Director
Legal Review: Patrick Donegan, City Attorney
Approved: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager