Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: James C. Porter, Director of Public Works
Subject: Amendment to the Agreement with Towill, Inc.
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an amendment to the On-Call Engineering and Professional Services agreement with Towill, Inc. for surveying services to increase the amount by $500,000 to $1,000,000.
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BACKGROUND:
On October 23, 2018, this Board adopted Resolution No. 076242 (a-v), which authorized agreements with consulting firms for On-Call Engineering and Professional Services for various not-to-exceed amounts ranging from $500,000 to $3,000,000, for a period of three years through October 22, 2021, and included an agreement with Towill, Inc. in the amount of $500,000.
DISCUSSION:
Towill, Inc. (Towill) has been providing interim County Surveyor function and project related surveying services to the Department under the existing Agreement. The work authorized by the Department to date has been for amounts up to approximately the not-to-exceed amount of the Agreement.
The County Surveyor position is in the Department of Public Works and the work includes the review and approval of parcel maps, record of surveys, corner records, lot line adjustments, property mergers, and other work relative to property boundaries. The County Surveyor position is a necessary position with duties defined by State legislation. The County Surveyor position has been vacant since October 2019 and since that time Towill has been serving as the interim County Surveyor and providing staff to support other surveying requests or needs of the Department and other County departments. Towill’s work falls under three general categories which include: administrative functions for Department needs; survey related work for the Department and other County departments such as Planning and Building, Real Property, and Parks; and survey map checking and approval in accordance with State requirements.
The majority of services provided by Towill pursuant to the Agreement have been associated with the County Surveyor responsibilities for survey map review and approval. The Department has been working to fill the position, but this position is not easily filled. The County must continue to perform the County Surveyor functions even under the current circumstances and Towill has been able to provide these services satisfactorily.
Amending the not-to-exceed amount of the Towill Agreement will ensure that the County Surveyor duties and responsibilities are carried out until the County is able to fill the County Surveyor position. The Department has continued to work to fill the position and hopes to fill it prior to expiration of the Agreement with Towill on October 22, 2021. The Amendment will also allow Towill to perform necessary survey related services on an as-need basis to the Department and other County departments.
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the resolution and amendment as to form.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Towill Amendment increases the not-to-exceed amount of the Towill Agreement by $500,000 to $1,000,000.
Funds to pay for the assigned work will be from various funding sources including revenue from map checking fees, General Fund in the amount of $120,000 to supplement the record map services, and other project, department, or special district funding sources. The current map checking fee schedule must be increased to more closely align with the cost of providing the map review and approval services. The Department intends to recommend a revised fee schedule to this Board in the future.