TO: ADAM PIRRIE, CITY MANAGER
FROM: BRAD JOHNSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DATE: JUNE 25, 2024
Reviewed by:
City Manager: AP
SUBJECT:
Title
AUTHORIZATION TO AMEND THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH KOA CORPORATION FOR THE PREPARATION OF A LOCAL ROAD SAFETY PLAN (FUNDING SOURCE: PROPOSITION C)
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SUMMARY
In late 2022, City staff contacted engineering firms with the necessary experience in the preparation of Local Road Safety Plans (LRSP), with the purpose of requesting proposals for the preparation of a Claremont-specific LRSP. Staff reviewed proposals and selected KOA Corporation to prepare its LRSP, based on their experience and qualifications.
A LRSP provides the framework for identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing roadway safety improvements on local roads. The plan can be utilized for a number of purposes, including but not limited to meeting eligibility requirements to apply for specific state and federal grant opportunities, assessing current roadway safety conditions, analyzing collision data, and identifying potential safety improvements.
On May 9, 2023, the City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with KOA Corporation for professional engineering services and to appropriate funds for developing an LRSP. At the time, it was anticipated that it would take approximately nine months to complete the preparation of the plan to be ready to apply for grant funding opportunities anticipated to be available in 2024.
While LRSPs are data-driven plans, public input received specific to Claremont’s work in developing the LRSP prompted staff to request additional public outreach efforts be conducted during the preparation of the Claremont plan to ensure that the community had an opportunity to provide feedback with regard to observed safety concerns, including near misses so that these concerns could be considered with the preparation of the plan. The additional outreach efforts require a contract amendment in the amount of $55,839, for a total not to exceed the contract amount of $172,140. This proposed amendment retains the original contingency approved by the City Council in the amount of $10,573.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the professional services agreement with KOA Corporation for the outreach efforts being conducted for the preparation of a Local Road Safety Plan in the amount of $55,839, for a total not-to-exceed contract amount of $172,140.
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ALTERNATIVE TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the recommendation, there is the following alternative:
• Request additional information from staff.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
At its May 9, 2023 meeting, the City Council appropriated $116,301 from the Proposition C Fund to complete the preparation of the Claremont Local Road Safety Plan. This contract amount included a 10 percent contingency of $10,573.
Additional public participation and outreach efforts conducted for the preparation of this plan require an additional appropriation of $55,839 in Proposition C funds, for a total contract amount not to exceed $172,140.
The cost associated with the preparation of this staff report is estimated at $866 and is included in the operating budget of the Community Development Department.
ANALYSIS
An LRSP provides the framework for identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing roadway safety improvements on local roads. An LRSP can be utilized for a number of purposes, including but not limited to meeting eligibility requirements to apply for specific state and federal grant opportunities, assessing current roadway safety conditions, and identifying potential safety improvements. It should be noted that the Claremont LRSP document will also include required compliance provisions necessary to apply for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program, which the City is currently ineligible to apply for now without an approved LRSP. The next opportunity for the SS4A application is due August 29, 2024, to apply for Planning and Demonstration grants. This grant requires a substantially completed LRSP document.
During the preparation of the LRSP development process, staff received feedback from the community with regard to safety concerns and areas where near misses have been observed. The preparation of the LRSP requires the review of available data (including collision data), as well as consideration of reported concerns. Outreach efforts, requiring the expansion of the scope of work, were conducted with the purpose of gathering this additional feedback from the community.
The preparation of the LRSP document considers the four E’s of transportation safety throughout the plan development process: 1) Education, 2) Engineering, 3) Enforcement, and 4) Emergency Response. This process also includes a public outreach component to collect information about specific safety concerns from different stakeholders throughout the City, including all applicable commissions, to be considered in the preparation of the plan. In addition, the preparation of this plan includes the collection and analysis of Citywide traffic collision history to identify any patterns that may need to be addressed and will assist with prioritizing where safety risks are highest.
The original LRSP scope of work included: 1) Obtaining public feedback and input, 2) Identifying “priority areas” to establish plan goals and strategies, 3) Developing innovative, effective, systemic, and spot-location safety countermeasures based on industry standard practice inclusive of the four E’s of transportation safety, 4) Building an implementation plan that prioritizes infrastructure projects to achieve maximum benefit-to-cost ratios, and 5) Delivering a plan that will be a “living document” that can be continually leveraged into competitive grant application opportunities. As staff often receives requests for street improvements that far exceed City budget capabilities, having the LRSP will make the City’s grant applications more competitive.
With that in mind, staff has been monitoring grant funding opportunities that could assist with bridging the financial gap on unfunded projects that meet the LRSP criteria, which are part of the City Council Priorities. Two promising grant funding opportunities are due this summer.
Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program
Staff evaluated the upcoming SS4A Planning and Demonstration grant with the City’s grant consultant and determined that the Indian Hill Boulevard First/Last Mile Specific Plan, which is one of the City Council Priorities, appears to meet the criteria for funding. The grant applicant is due by August 29, 2024, and staff proposes to continue to work with the consultant to have the LRSP substantially completed by the end of July to be able to apply for this grant.
Local Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP)
Staff and the City’s grant consultant evaluated the upcoming HSIP grant, due by September 12, 2024. This grant requires a Benefit/Cost Analysis (BCA). While the BCA required for this cycle has not been announced, historically, Claremont has not been able to apply for this grant due to low BCA scores below the minimum required grant application thresholds. Furthermore, the grant consultant shared that the minimum BCA required for the last cycle’s application was 4, with projects that received funding scoring BCAs higher than 18. As a result, staff will not pursue this grant application unless this year’s requirements are lowered.
It should be noted that the Claremont LRSP Plan will include a prioritized document that will incorporate cost estimation of the proposed improvements based on the prepared benefit-to-cost ratios or BCAs.
Originally, it was estimated that the plan would take approximately nine months to complete. Public feedback prompted staff to incorporate additional public outreach tasks and components, which created the need to enter into a contract amendment in the amount of $55,839 to accommodate the following additional elements outside the original contract scope of work.
• Creation of a project dedicated webpage
• Additional public outreach meetings
• Two public surveys
• Near miss analysis
KOA contracted with a well-known and respected public outreach consulting firm (Leslie Scott Consulting) to conduct these important tasks, along with the KOA team working on the preparation of this plan.
Moving forward, staff continues to work with KOA to complete the Claremont LRSP Plan to ensure it is ready for the submission of the SS4A grant, due by August 29, 2024.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Staff has evaluated the agenda item in relationship to the City’s strategic and visioning documents and finds that it applies to the following City Planning Documents: Council Priorities, Sustainability Plan, General Plan, and the 2022-24 Budget.
CEQA REVIEW
This item is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact the City Clerk’s Office.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
Brad Johnson Maria B. Tipping, P.E.
Community Development Director City Engineer