MEMORANDUM
TO: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
FROM: Lance Norris, Public Works Director
Sue Burke, Stormwater Management Division
SUBJECT: Contract Amendment with Jewell Engineering Consultants, PC for the Stormwater Master Plan
DATE: March 23, 2009
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing the Town Manager to execute the amendment to the contract with Jewell Engineering Consultants, PC in the amount of $315,886.00 for the continued development of the stormwater master plan.
BACKGROUND
In November 2003, the Town Manager presented a status report for the Council-appointed Stormwater Utility Policy Review Committee. This report contained drafts of 1) Stormwater Management Program Mission Statement; 2) Roles and Responsibilities Statement; and 3) list of Stormwater Management Program Priorities.
The first program priority listed was the “development and implementation of a comprehensive Stormwater Management Program Master Plan that supports all of the Program priorities.” During deliberations about the proposed stormwater management utility, the Council was in agreement about the importance of the development of a Stormwater Management Master Plan.
The Town sought a consultant capable of assisting the Town in developing a dynamic, comprehensive and cohesive Master Plan that would identify levels of service and policies necessary to address the Town’s objectives and mandates for comprehensive community-wide stormwater management. The master plan would also specify, prioritize and schedule short-term and long-term actions necessary to achieve the identified objectives and mandated requirements.
A selection panel comprised of five Town staff members representing the Engineering and Planning Departments and two members of the Stormwater Advisory Board reviewed statements of qualification, interviewed consultant teams, and recommended the selection of Jewell Engineering Consultants, PC to the Town Council.
The Town Council approved the consultant selection and authorized the Town Manager to execute the agreement, not to exceed $150,000, in September 2005. That resolution also authorized the Town Manager to execute contract amendments without further action by the Town Council provided the work performed by the consultant was acceptable and budget was available. The contract was executed in April 2006 for $125,000. In November 2007, Amendment 1 was executed in the amount of $213,500.
DISCUSSION
The Stormwater Master Plan was expected to be a multi-year, multi-phase project that would be contingent upon funding availability in succeeding years. The Town anticipated continuing the relationship with the selected consultant for a period of up to five years.
In Spring 2008, staff was asked by the Stormwater Advisory Board if the master planning project schedule could be accelerated. This would reduce the original schedule for the development of the stormwater master plan by one year. Amendment 2 is the result of that request to the consultant.
The consultant’s work continues to be acceptable and funding was included in the current year’s budget. It is anticipated that the overall programmatic master planning and two pilot watershed studies will be completed with this amendment. After completion of this phase, the Town may choose to continue the detailed watershed studies. A very rough cost estimate of studying the remaining watersheds is $500,000. At that point, staff will prepare recommendations, ask for input from the Stormwater Advisory Board, and present a strategy to the Town Council for its consideration.
RECOMMENDATION
That the Town Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing the Town Manager to execute Amendment 2 to the contract with Jewell Engineering Consultants, PC in the amount of $315,886.00 for the continued development of the Stormwater Management Program Master Plan.