Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 14, 2016
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: WEST SANTA ANA BRANCH TRANSIT CORRIDOR
ACTION: AWARD PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to:
A. AWARD AND EXECUTE a four-year firm fixed price Contract No. AE5999300 to Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc., inclusive of all options, in the amount of up to $12,189,477 to complete the environmental clearance study for the West Santa Ana Branch (WSAB) Transit Corridor.
B. APPROVE contract modification authority specific to Contract No. AE5999300 in the amount of $1,828,422 (15%) due to the complexity of the environmental clearance study;
C. AWARD AND EXECUTE a four-year firm fixed price Contract No. PS2492300 to Arellano Associates, LLC, inclusive of all options, in the amount of up to $861,067 to perform the environmental clearance study community outreach for the WSAB Transit Corridor; and
D. APPROVE entering into a four-year Funding Agreement (FA) with the Gateway Cities Council of Governments (COG), to be led by the Eco-Rapid Transit Joint Powers Authority (JPA) for WSAB Transit Corridor Third Party Administration to work with the 13 cities along the corridor for participation in the environmental clearance study, in an amount not-to-exceed $700,000.
Issue
ISSUE
In February 2013, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) approved the WSAB Alternative Analysis (AA) Study for the 40-mile corridor from the City of Santa Ana in Orange County to Los Angeles Union Station (LAUS). The approved SCAG AA Study eliminated from further consideration Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Streetcar and low-speed MagLev, leaving Light Rail Transit (LRT) as the recommended mode. In September 2015, the Metro Board received the WSAB Transit Corridor Technical Refinement Study that focused on five specific challenges identified by the SCAG AA. The Los Angeles County portion of the WSAB Transit Corridor extends 20 miles from the City of Artesia to the LAUS. Attachment B shows the corridor’s Study Area map. The WSAB Transit Corridor is ready to enter into the environmental clearance phase. Currently, the WSAB Transit Corridor is anticipated to be LRT.
The base contract for both the environmental clearance study and community outreach contracts is to complete the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. These contracts also include two scenarios and options: Scenario 1, if Measure M passes on November 8th, Metro will seek FTA approval to complete the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements concurrently with the EIR. Under Scenario 1, there are two options. Option 1 is to complete the Draft EIS concurrently with the Draft EIR with Option 2 being the completion of the Final EIR/EIS. The contract amount for this scenario for the environmental clearance study is $10,621,708 and the contract for community outreach is $646,035.24. If Measure M does not pass, Metro may pursue completing the NEPA as an option after completion of CEQA (Scenario 2). Under Scenario 2, there are three options. Option 1 is to complete the Final EIR. Option 2 is to complete the Draft EIS. Option 3 is to complete the Final EIS. The difference between Scenario 1 and 2 is that the CEQA and NEPA process can be done either concurrently or sequentially depending on the outcome of the Measure M. Board approval of the environmental clearance study and community outreach contracts is needed in order to proceed.
In February 2016, the Board directed that a budget (not to exceed $18 million) be allocated for the purpose of pursuing Sustainable Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) predevelopment and planning activities for the WSAB Transit Corridor. Staff is also requesting authorization to execute the not to exceed $700,000 FA with the Gateway Cities COG for Third Party Administration work. This $700,000 is part of the not to exceed $18 million directed by the Board as the work on the environmental study will be affiliated with the predevelopment and planning activities for the WSAB Sustainable TOC corridor.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Background
The WSAB Transit Corridor is one of the 12 Measure R Transit Corridor projects with $240 million earmarked for the project. The project is contained in Metro’s 2009 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) for a total of $649 million, including Measure R dollars earmarked for the project, Proposition C 25% and savings from the I-5 South Construction Project (Measure R 20%). The Measure M Expenditure Plan being considered by voters on November 8th includes the project with a start date of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.
The WSAB Transit Corridor stretches approximately 20 miles from the City of Artesia to LAUS, which uses eight miles of Metro-owned abandoned Pacific Electric Rail right-of-way (ROW) from the Los Angeles/Orange County border north to the City of Paramount. It extends 12 miles north of the City of Paramount to LAUS via a combination of local streets and privately owned rail ROW. Of these 12 miles, the route from the City of Huntington Park to LAUS is not yet determined and will be further evaluated in the environmental study (approximately six miles).
Environmental Study and Community Outreach Contracts
The environmental study consultant will conduct the required technical analysis to environmentally clear the WSAB Transit Corridor, including the selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). Community outreach activities will be conducted through a separate, but parallel contract. The outreach consultant will facilitate and implement the Community Participation Program required for the environmental clearance. Outreach will take into account the diverse communities within the study area, with outreach efforts conducted bilingually in both English and Spanish.
Third Party Administration
The Third Party Administration FA will reimburse the Gateway Cities COG, Eco-Rapid Transit JPA and 13 participating corridor cities for their staff to review deliverables and participate in the environmental clearance study.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
These actions will not have any impact on the safety of our customers and/or employees.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The FY 2016-17 budget includes $1,000,000 in Cost Center 4370, Project 460201 (WSAB Transit Corridor). Since these are multi-year contracts, the Cost Center Manager and Chief Planning Officer will be responsible for budgeting in future years.
Impact to Budget
The funding for this project is from Measure R 35%. As these funds are earmarked for the WSAB Transit Corridor project, they are not eligible for Metro bus and rail capital and operating expenditures.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board could consider deferring initiation of the environmental phase until after the outcome of the November 8th election on Measure M is known or completing the environmental clearance study and outreach activities using in-house resources. Neither of these options is recommended as there are insufficient in-house resources to conduct a study of this magnitude. In addition, the recommended contractors have the technical expertise and qualifications to complete this work within the negotiated price.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, staff will execute the contracts with Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc. and Arellano Associates, LLC and initiate work. In addition, staff will execute the FA with the Gateway Cities COG for the Third Party Administration work.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A-1 - Procurement Summary AE5999300
Attachment A-2 - Procurement Summary PS2492300
Attachment B - West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor Study Area Map
Attachment C-1 - DEOD Summary for A-1
Attachment C-2 - DEOD Summary for A-2
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Teresa Wong, Senior Manager, (213) 922-2854
Fanny Pan, Senior Director, (213) 922-3070
David Mieger, Executive Officer, (213) 922-3050
Renee Berlin, Senior Executive Officer, (213) 922-3035
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Therese McMillan, Chief Planning Officer, (213) 922-7077
Debra Avila, Chief Vendor/Contract Management, (213) 418-3051