Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
JUNE 20, 2024
Subject
SUBJECT: REGIONAL RAIL PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL ON-CALL SERVICES BENCH
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to execute Modification No. 3 to the Regional Rail Planning and Environmental On-Call Services Contract Nos. AE56752000 through AE56752005 to exercise the first one-year option term in the amount of $2 million, increasing the not-to-exceed (NTE) cumulative contract amount from $25 million to $27 million and extending the period of performance from August 14, 2024, to August 13, 2025.
Issue
ISSUE
Metro’s Regional Rail Planning and Environmental On-Call Services (PEOCS) contracts expire on August 13, 2024. Staff requests Board approval of the one-year option term to the PEOCS bench contracts to cover future on-call task orders, including those to be issued during the Summer and Fall of 2024, as detailed further in this report. These task orders are in support of the Multimodal Integrated Planning (MIP) division, which includes Regional Rail Planning, under the Countywide Planning and Development department.
Background
BACKGROUND
Metro’s Regional Rail Planning unit, under the Countywide Planning and Development department, is responsible for conceptual planning through environmental clearance for Class 1 regional rail projects related to external railroad operators, such as Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink), Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor (LOSSAN/Amtrak), California High-Speed Rail Authority, Brightline West, High Desert Corridor, BNSF Railway, and Union Pacific Railroad. Metro owns 150 miles of Class 1 railroad right-of-way in Los Angeles County, plus Los Angeles Union Station. Regional Rail planning serves as the building block for the commuter, intercity, freight, and future high-speed rail service expansion within Los Angeles County, using task orders to support the diverse scope of services for strategic planning, project conceptual planning, modeling, feasibility studies, station planning, preliminary engineering, and environmental clearance.
The PEOCS bench was established in April 2019 with the intent to shorten the time needed to issue task orders. Under this on-call program, task orders are issued to pre-selected prime consultants on a rotation basis, which has enabled Vendor / Contract Management (V/CM) to execute task orders in approximately six weeks instead of up to four months with a competitive task order procurement.
The total contract value at the time the bench was established was $10 million for a period of five years with two one year options. In June 2023, the Board approved a $15 million increase to the bench for the issuance of additional task orders to support the Regional Rail Program.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
To date, 12 task orders have been issued totaling $15,707,902. Approximately eight more task orders are anticipated to be issued during the Summer and Fall of 2024, at an estimated value of $8.8 million (Attachment C). This would take the total value of task orders issued to approximately $24.5 million. The additional $2 million to be exercised under the one-year option would provide additional time and funding.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
All planning, feasibility studies, and environmental clearance efforts will be done in accordance with all applicable FRA, CPUC, and SCRRA design and engineering standards, which will maximize Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and safety benefits to the public.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The extension of the PEOCS bench will have no impact on the existing FY24 budget. Funding for FY24 task orders is within the current approved Regional Rail budget for cost center 4611. New task orders in FY25 and FY26 will have an approved funding source before each task order is initiated. The Chief Planning Officer will be responsible for budgeting costs for FY25 and FY26.
Impact to Budget
The funding for each task order will vary based on the specific scope of work for each individual planning study, conceptual design, or environmental clearance effort. The current task order for the PEOCS bench uses primarily Measure R 3% funds dedicated to Regional Rail activities. This fund source is not eligible for Metro bus and rail operations.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The recommendations support Metro’s involvement with commuter, intercity, freight, and high-speed rail services, providing connections for residents, workers, students, and families with a regional public transportation option to access jobs, health care, education, and other economic opportunities across the Greater Los Angeles region. In Los Angeles County the existing Regional Rail planning projects will directly improve the quality of life in the Equity Focus Communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, Sylmar, San Fernando, Mission Hills, Sun Valley, Burbank, Glendale, Los Angeles, Atwater Village, Lincoln Heights, Baldwin Park, Pomona, Pico Rivera, La Mirada, and Santa Fe Springs.
Each prime consultant on the bench made a 24.88% SBE commitment and a 3% DVBE commitment. The current overall SBE and DVBE participation, across all bench primes, is 21.51% SBE and 1.30% DVBE. As indicated in the Diversity & Economic Opportunity Department (DEOD) Summary (Attachment D), two of the firms are scheduled to issue future tasks to SBE/DVBE firms that will meet the DEOD goals. A third firm was recently awarded its first task order and no invoicing has been issued to date.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The recommendations support Metro Regional Rail’s partnership with external class 1 railroad operators to improve service reliability and mobility, provide better network integration and transit connectivity through and within Los Angeles County. The PEOCS bench is consistent with the following strategic plan goals:
• Goal 1.1: Expand the transportation network and increase mobility for all uses;
• Goal 1.2: Improve LA County’s overall transit network and assets;
• Goal 3.3: Genuine public and community engagement to achieve better mobility outcomes for the people of LA County;
• Goal 4.1: Work with partners to build trust and make decisions that support the goals of the Strategic Plan; and
• Goal 5.1: Leverage funding and staff resources to accelerate the achievement of goals and initiatives prioritized in the Strategic Plan.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board could choose not to approve the recommendations. This is not recommended as the existing PEOCS bench expires August 13, 2024. Staff currently have several task orders in development, scheduled to be executed in the Summer and Fall of 2024. Without approval of Recommendation A, to exercise the one-year option of the PEOCS bench, Metro Regional Rail would no longer be able to issue on-call task orders, some of which are for mission-critical 2028 Olympics planning efforts. The one-year option will extend the PEOCS bench until August 13, 2025, and provide additional bench funding authority for future Board or CEO initiatives.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, staff will execute Modification No. 3 to the Regional Rail Planning and Environmental On-Call Services Contract Nos. AE56752000 through AE56752005 to exercise the first one-year option extending the period of performance through August 13, 2025. Staff will work with contractors to ensure they each fulfill their SBE and DVBE commitments. Staff will then report back in twelve months to either request the last one-year extension or begin the procurement to award new contracts for Regional Rail on-call services.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary
Attachment B - Contract Modification/Change Order Log
Attachment C - Future Task Orders
Attachment D - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Jay Fuhrman, Senior Manager, Transportation Planning,
(213) 547-4381
Michael Cano, Executive Officer, Multimodal Integrated Planning, (213) 418-3010
Avital Barnea, Senior Executive Officer, Multimodal Integrated Planning, (213) 547-4317
Carolina Coppolo, Interim Deputy Chief Vendor/Contract Management Officer, (213) 922-4471
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
Ray Sosa, Chief Planning Officer, (213) 547-4274
