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Home My WebLink AboutRes2007-040Sponsored by: Yoder CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA RESOLUTION 2007-040 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, AUTHORIZING CHANGE ORDER #6 TO THE CONTRACT WITH WM. J. NELSON AND ASSOCIATES FOR ENGINEERING AND CONSULTING SERVICES ON THE JAPANESE CREEK LEVEE, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS WHEREAS, following the 1995 flood of Resurrection River and Japanese Creek, FEMA sponsored a multi -agency task force to develop a comprehensive flood mitigation plan for flood risks associated with the waterways on the north end of Seward, with said task force comprised of representatives from the City of Seward, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Division of Emergency Services, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Alaska Railroad Corporation, FEMA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Resource Conservation Service, and the Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs; and WHEREAS, this FEMA task force released a final report in 1998, identifying five projects which, when implemented together, would protect Seward from future flooding in this area, with the construction of Japanese Creek levee being one of the critical components of a successful flood mitigation plan; and WHEREAS, William J. Nelson and Associates ("Nelson") has been the engineer on Seward's levee project since 1999, and facilitated the successful completion of Phase I of the levee project which flows from north to south along Japanese Creek, intersecting along the western boundary of Dimond Boulevard. The contract with Nelson has been modified five times to add environmental assessment services, to account for re -engineering required as a result of multiple changes to the proposed alignment, to amend the project Environmental Assessment, to participate in ongoing negotiations with numerous permitting agencies and stakeholders in the project, and other material matters involved in project design and implementation; and WHEREAS, Nelson completed 100% engineering documents on the alignment that was approved by the Seward City Council in October, 2004; and WHEREAS, since 2004, the city administration has continued to negotiate with affected state and federal agencies to seek agreement on the specific alignment, and believes that the most recent alignment proposal will be approved for permitting; and WHEREAS, the new alignment proposes to re -align Japanese Creek, eliminate three large arch culverts, floodgates, and headwalls, and will eliminate the need for gabion walls, resulting in an overall estimated cost reduction of $1.4 million, bringing the construction cost down from the `ow previously estimated $3.6 million to approximately $2.2 million; and CITY OF SEWARD RESOLUTION 2007-040 WHEREAS, Nelson is prepared to complete engineering based on the new 2007 proposed alignment and to direct the preparation of a new limited -scope Environmental Assessment resulting from the re -alignment of Japanese Creek, and complete the permitting process. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, that: Section 1. The City Manager is hereby authorized to approve contract change order number 6 as attached hereto, with William J. Nelson and Associates to reflect an increase of $50,000, including a contingency of $6,257, to cover additional engineering and consulting costs associated with the 2007 proposed alignment. Section 2. The amount of $50,000.00 is hereby appropriated from the NRCS Flood Mitigation Project grant account no. 666-6660-3050 to the contracted services account no. 666-6660- 5390. Section 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption. PASSED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of Seward, Alaska, this 23rd day of April, 2007. THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA Vanta Shafer, Mayor AYES: Dunham, Valdatta, Thomas, Bardarson, Amberg, Shafer NOES: None ABSENT: Schafer ABSTAIN: None ATTEST: > s0,o/11lISlott e or 5" ��'� e'os 0 Je Lewis �.` Vow, •O,p0Frq Ci Clerk, M ® SEAL • s (City Seal) a eeee�� O F �A► `�+a Council Agenda Statement Meeting Date: April 23, 2007 From: Marvin Yoder, Interim City Manager Agenda Item: Change Order No. 6 to William J. Nelson & Associates Contract BACKGROUND & JUSTIFICATION: Following the 1995 flood of Resurrection River and Japanese Creek, FEMA sponsored a multi -agency task force to develop a flood mitigation plan to reduce flood risks in Seward. The flood mitigation task force released a final report in 1998, identifying construction of a levee along north and west Forest Acres, as the most significant mitigation effort. Bill Nelson of William J. Nelson and Associates has been the engineer on the levee projects since 1999. His contract with the City has been modified five times to add environmental assessment ("EA") services, permit acquisition, public information workshops, agency negotiations, and re - engineering and staking as a result of multiple changes to the proposed alignment. Mr. Nelson has more longevity on this project than any other single individual, and his knowledge and expertise relative to the project is invaluable to the City's successful completion of this project. Mr. Nelson completed the 100% engineering documents on the Seward City Council's October 2004 alignment, and facilitated permit application revisions and an addendum to the environmental assessment. However, certain agencies continue to be concerned with wetland impacts from the project. After numerous attempts to negotiate a compromise, an agreement was made between the administration, NRCS (federal sponsor), and DNR, regarding the alignment. This compromise agreement requires Council approval before the agencies will agree to move forward. The compromise will re-route Japanese Creek entirely to the north of the levee into one of its historic channels, and will shift a portion of the levee South along Poplar Street. This new alignment is reflected in the original EA, but the re-routing of the Creek requires a new limited -scope EA. The benefit to the City of this compromise is that it allows for re-routing the Creek, which was originally rejected by the agencies, and it eliminates the need for very costly flood gates, headwalls, culverts, and gabion walls, reducing the estimated project cost by $1.4 million. The drawback to the City is that we must agree to purchase a number of lots directly south of the proposed levee, and preserve these lots in conservation easements to protect the wetlands. Mr. Nelson's ongoing assistance is needed to engineer the Creek re-route, to re -submit a new limited - scope EA that addresses only the re-routing of the creek, and to finalize permit applications based on this newest alignment. Mr. Nelson estimates the cost of these services to be $43,743, and with a contingency of $6,257, we request an appropriation of $50,000 to complete this work. CONSISTENCY CHECKLIST Where applicable, this agenda statement is consistent with the Seward City Code, Charter, Comprehensive Plans, Land Use Plans, Strategic Plan and City Council Rules of Procedures. CITY OF SEWARD RESOLUTION 2007-040 PAGE 2 OF 2 FISCAL NOTE The City has $1,729,783.70 remaining in grant funds from the National Resource Conservation Service to pay the remaining costs of the levee project. Total costs are estimated at $2.65 million, including construction costs and property acquisition costs (not covered by grants). The City has requested both state and federal funds to complete this project, but has not been awarded additional funding. Approved by Finance: RECOMMENDATION City Council authorize change order no. 6 to the contract with William J. Nelson and Associates, and appropriate funds in the amount of $50,000. / - - L / � L