Consideration and Approval of Contract:  First Amendment to Contract for Services with TB Real Property Consultants, LLC for property acquisitions necessary for the Rio de Flag Flood Control Capital Project in an amount not to exceed $99,500.

1. Approve First Amendment to Contract for Services in an amount not to exceed $99,500 for property acquisitions necessary for the Rio de Flag Flood Control Capital Project; and
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute the necessary documents.

The City entered into a Contract for Services on October 2, 2023 with TB Real Property Consultants, LLC to help acquire property interests necessary for the  Rio de Flag Flood Control Capital Project. The Contractor workload has increased as a result of changes in the Project design. As part of the First Amendment, the Contract amount will increase from from a not-to-exceed $49,500 to a not-to-exceed $99,500. The scope of work will be expanded to include acquisition of property interests from BNSF Railway Company.  Finally, the contract hourly rate is being corrected. Contractor is helping the City to deliver the property rights needed for the project.

The Contract will be funded by the Rio de Flag Flood Control Stormwater Capital Improvements FY 2023-24 account budget of $1,246,856. Account (206-08-385-3236-0).

Priority Based Budget Key Community Priorities and Objectives

There have been several Council decisions related to acquisition of real estate necessary for the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project:

• October 6, 1998, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1983 authorizing the acquisition of real property for flood control and to provide the opportunity for future development along the Rio de Flag and the Clay Avenue Wash.
• August 4, 2009, the City Council adopted an Ordinance No. 2009-22 amending Ordinance No. 1983 to add parcels of real property for flood control and redevelopment within the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project.
• February 18, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution 2020-05 No. authorizing the acquisition of real property interests necessary for the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project.
• May 19, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2020-24 authorizing the acquisition of real property interests necessary for the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project.

1. Approve First Amendment (recommended)
2. Do not approve First Amendment

If the First Amendment is not approved, City will need to retain another contractor to assist with real estate acquisition services, delay the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project and use existing City employees to complete the work, or hire another City real estate manager/assistant to complete the work. The City recently sought to hire another employee to assist with real estate however none was hired as a result of this process. Due to numerous pending Capital Improvement Project real estate acquisition demands, City staff not able to handle the volume of work on its own while attempting to meet planned construction schedules. This contractor has considerable experience and skills and has been of great assistance to the City.

• October 6, 1998 - the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1983 authorizing the acquisition of real property for flood control and to provide the opportunity for future development along the Rio de Flag and the Clay Avenue Wash alignments.
• In 2000 the project was authorized by the Federal Water Resources Development Act. 
• August 13, 2004 - USACE and the City entered into a Project Cooperation Agreement for construction of the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project and, per Articles III and IV, the City shall acquire real property necessary for the project.
• 2005 the design of the main stem began.
• 2009-2013 components of the design were constructed for Clay Avenue Wash Detention Basin, Thorpe Road Bridge and Butler Tunnel.
• August 4, 2009 - the City Council adopted an Ordinance No. 2009-22 amending Ordinance No. 1983 to add parcels of real property for flood control and redevelopment within the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project.
• In the federal fiscal year of 2019, USACE received funding to complete the project plans.
• January 2019 - City Council approved a Stormwater Fee increase to fund drainage and flood control projects, including the Rio de Flag.  
• March 19, 2019 - City Council awarded a professional services contract with Beta Public Relations, LLC on, for a Public Outreach Campaign.  
• June 11, 2019 - staff provided a project update to City Council and received direction to proceed.
• October 15, 2019 - staff provided a project update to City Council and received direction from the Council to proceed with the project.
• February 10, 2020 - USACE programmed $52,000,000 in their work plan for the federal fiscal year 2020 for the construction of the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project.
• February 18, 2020 - Council approved Resolution 2020-05 for property acquisition along the Upper Reach and Lower Reach project areas.  (Due to design changes the Upper Reach acquisitions will need to be updated in the future)(Attached is a list of the acquisitions approved in February).
• May 19, 2020 - Council approved Resolution 2020-24 for property interests necessary for the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project, A Public Use, Providing for Delegation of Authority, Condemnation Authority, Prior approval of Purchases.

Remove the 100-year floodplain from the City of Flagstaff downtown area, Southside, and the NAU campus.  This will protect the community from flood-related damages in the event of a 100-year flood. 

City staff has held numerous public outreach events to update the community on the status of the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project. Public meetings and Council updates will continue throughout the completion of design and construction.  The presentations, associated material and the minutes of these ongoing Council updates will be posted to the project's dedicated website at: 

https://www.flagstaff.az.gov/4189/Rio-De-Flag-Flood-Control