TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to amend Feasibility Cost Share Agreement No. 34155 with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, for the East San Pedro Bay Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study; and, increase the City contributions by $560,500, for a revised total agreement amount not to exceed $2,860,500. (Districts 2,3)
DISCUSSION
The East San Pedro Bay Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study (Study) was launched in 2005 at the request of the City Council. A reconnaissance study was conducted to determine next steps and assess federal interest in the reconfiguration of the Long Beach breakwater. The reconnaissance study was completed in 2009 and identified alternatives to improve the local ecosystem.
On June 22, 2010, the City Council approved a Feasibility Cost Share Agreement (FCSA) between the City of Long Beach (City) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps). The goal of the FCSA is to determine viable options for ecosystem restoration and recreation improvements, while protecting existing infrastructure, navigation channels, and maritime capacity. In January 2016, the FCSA was amended to align with the Army Corps’ new model of delivering feasibility studies, and to allow the City to accelerate its share and provide additional contributed funds.
Over the course of the Study, additional alternatives and modeling efforts outside the original scope of the Study have been conducted. Throughout the Study, the City has requested inclusion of two local plans within the preliminary array of alternatives. These plans include modifications to the Long Beach breakwater, required additional coordination, data collection, and analysis to determine impacts to operations and navigation. Including these additional components in the Study are critical for advancing the City’s interests to review alternatives that address breakwater configuration. The City has long had an interest in studying these alternatives to answer community questions on the viability of a reconfiguration and the impact it would have on water quality, circulation, infrastructure, and improved habitat restoration. Without the City prioritizing these local alternatives and identifying funding within the existing Study budget, those alternatives would not have been included in the Study that will be soon released to the public for their review and comments.
On August 14, 2019, the tentatively selected plan milestone was achieved when the Army Corps reached concurrence on the planning process and the array of alternatives to be presented in the draft Integrated Feasibility Report (IFR). The draft IFR, which includes the Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Report, will be released for public review and comment on November 22, 2019, with two public meetings to follow in December 2019.
To ensure the Study stays on schedule and funding needs are met, an amendment to the FCSA is necessary to reflect the additional study costs and extended schedule due to additional coordination, data collection, and analysis efforts. Additionally, amending the FCSA allows for the public comment period to move forward, and provides the Army Corps to reach a plan to move forward by summer 2020.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Amy R. Webber on October 21, 2019 and by Budget Analysis Officer Julissa José-Murray on October 23, 2019.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on November 12, 2019, to ensure the amendment is in place expeditiously to achieve the agency decision milestone by summer 2020.
FISCAL IMPACT
The requested action will increase the current contract authority by $560,500, for a revised contract not to exceed $2,860,500. Sufficient appropriation to support the increased contract authority is budgeted in the Tidelands Operating Fund Group in the Public Works Department. This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties and is consistent with existing City Council priorities. There is no local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
CRAIG A. BECK
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
APPROVED:
THOMAS B. MODICA
ACTING CITY MANAGER