Staff recommends that the City Council approve the Professional Services Contract with Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. for W.O. 22-47: Landfill Slope Stability Improvements, in the amount of $89,000.

The north slope of the Billings Regional Landfill above Jellison Road experienced failures in 2018, causing property damage north of Jellison Road.  The City subsequently had a hazard assessment and alternatives analysis performed, which led to a mitigation project that commenced in July 2020.  The mitigation primarily involved removing the majority of overburden material, regrading to more gradual slopes, and re-vegetating the affected areas.  The project also included armoring the north storm ditch at the bottom of the slope.  The project was completed with final seeding in November 2020.  This project mitigated a portion of the slope instability, due to limited budget and prioritizing the highest risk repair area.  More recently, there has been additional slope movement adjacent to the 2020 project.

The slopes immediately west of the project from 2020 show signs of past sloughing and potential failure.  The Landfill’s primary storm water collection facility is located below these slopes.  Furthermore, the slope east of the main landfill entrance showed signs of sloughing in December 2021, and again in May 2022.  The material that fell east of the landfill entrance did not cause any damage, but there is private property below this slope that could be affected if a larger portion of the slope were to fail.

This project consists of performing professional engineering evaluation, design, and construction contract administration services to mitigate the two slope failure risks depicted above.  The area to mitigate will be maximized to the extent possible given the construction budget available.  The scope of work includes Safety and Project Management, Geotechnical Evaluations and Materials Testing, Mitigation Recommendations, Slope Stability Design, Access Road Design, Bidding Services, and Construction Contract Administration (CA)--including final survey and part-time observation.  A contract amendment will be presented later, after design is complete, the extent of construction is determined, and the construction engineering scope and fee can be better defined.

The City requested proposals for professional engineering services from a prequalified list derived from the established Statement of Qualifications.  Three proposals were received from Pioneer Technical Services, Inc., Tetra Tech, and Stahley Engineering and Associates.  Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. was selected for the project using the proposal process.  The consultant selection was based on Project Team and Availability, Project Approach, and Firm Qualifications and Experience related to the project needs.

City Council may:

• Approve award of a Professional Services Contract to Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.; or,
• Not approve a contract with Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.  If this agreement is not approved, this work will be delayed, which could result in City and/or private property damage if the slopes experience further failure.

The contract is in the amount of $89,000 and is being funded with Solid Waste funds as approved and budgeted in FY23 in the amount of $100,000.  There are adequate funds available for this contract amount.