Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Nicholas J. Calderon, Parks Director
Subject: Measure K: Third Amendment to the Agreement with Auten Resource Consulting for additional professional services required to prepare the Pescadero Creek County Park Climate and Habitat Resiliency Plan
RECOMMENDATION:
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Measure K: Adopt a resolution authorizing:
A) The President of the Board of Supervisors to execute a Third Amendment to the Agreement with Auten Resource Consulting for professional services required to prepare the Pescadero Creek County Park Climate and Habitat Resiliency Plan increasing the Agreement’s amount by $57,700 for a new total not-to-exceed amount of $257,273.14, and extending the term of the Agreement to September 30, 2023; and
B) The Parks Director, or the Parks Director’s designee, to execute further amendments to the Agreement to modify the County’s maximum fiscal obligation by no more than $25,000 (in aggregate), and/or to modify the Agreement’s terms and/or services, so long as the modified term(s) and/or services is/are within the current or revised fiscal provisions.
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BACKGROUND:
Pescadero Creek County Park (“Park”), a 5,943-acre open space park that is located in the Pescadero Creek Watershed, supports habitat for rare, threatened, and/or endangered species as well as provides almost 20 miles of trails for hikers, equestrians, and bicyclists. In 2020, approximately 2,800 acres in the Park - predominantly second-growth redwood forest - were burned during the CZU Lightning Complex Fire.
The San Mateo County Parks Department (“Department”) has contracted with Auten Resource Consulting (“ARC”) for the delivery of professional forestry services related to projects in and around the Park. The scope of services includes an assessment of forest conditions following the CZU Lightning Complex Fire so the Department could better understand how to support the recovery of native species, habitats in the landscape, and associated ecosystems, and the preparation of a Climate and Habitat Resiliency Plan to guide (i) the continued study of forest and habitat restoration and climate resiliency at the Park and (ii) provide the Department with an actionable plan for forest restoration.
Formed in 2019, ARC is a team of foresters led by Registered Professional Forester #2734 Steve Auten. ARC utilizes modern forestry techniques to achieve landowner goals focused on tree and vegetation treatments that promote forest health, climate adaptability, and fire resiliency. ARC specializes in Forest Health Grants, the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) Project Specific Analysis (PSA), permitting strategies, Archaeological Survey Reports, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), contract and project specification development, contractor permit compliance, agency consultations, and maintaining a thorough understanding of the sensitive resources and associated protection measures across the Santa Cruz Mountains.
DISCUSSION:
On October 4, 2020, the Department executed an agreement (the “Agreement”) with ARC to provide professional forestry services and consultation of forestry management services at the Park. The Agreement enabled ARC to advise the Department’s Natural Resource Management Division following the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, had an initial term of October 4, 2020, through March 31, 2021, and was for an amount not-to-exceed $51,348.
On March 31, 2021, the parties entered into the First Amendment to the Agreement, which expanded the Agreement’s scope of services to include a forest assessment so the Department could better understand how to support the recovery of native species, habitats in the landscape, and associated ecosystems; increased the Agreement’s not-to-exceed amount by $46,658.14, for a new total contract amount of $98,006.14; and extended the term of the Agreement an additional seven (7) months to October 31, 2021.
On October 15, 2021, the Department and ARC discussed the preparation of a Climate and Habitat Resiliency Plan (“Plan”) for the purpose of: continuing to study forest and habitat restoration and climate resiliency at the Park, expanding upon the initial assessment and restoration recommendations provided to the Department through prior work completed under the Agreement, and creating an actionable plan and guidance document to assist the Department in implementing proposed forest restoration techniques. On October 29, 2021, the Department and ARC executed the Second Amendment to the Agreement: to revise the Agreement’s scope of services to include preparations of the Plan; to increase the Agreement’s not-to-exceed amount by $101,567, for a new total contract amount of $199,573.14; and to extend the term of the Agreement an additional fourteen (14) months to December 31, 2022.
Through its ongoing work with ARC, the Parks Department identified additional tasks required to complete the Plan, including consultation with regulatory agencies, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Further work identified for the project includes drafting and strategizing on appropriate impact avoidance and mitigation measures for protected species in the Park, attending additional technical advisory committee meetings scheduled for 2022, and providing permitting support, including preparation and submittal of permits for the implementation of projects that are included in the Plan.
The Department therefore desires to enter into a Third Amendment to the Agreement: to revise the scope of services to include additional services for the Plan as mentioned above; to increase the maximum compensation payable to ARC by $57,700, for a new total not-to-exceed amount of $257,273.14; and to extend the term of the Agreement an additional nine (9) months to September 30, 2023; all other terms of the Agreement remain unchanged.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The amendment will authorize an additional $57,700 in Measure K funding. Sufficient Measure K appropriations for the amendment are included in the Department’s FY 2021-22 Adopted Budget and will be included in all future budgets. There is no Net County Cost associated with this recommendation.