That the Utility Authority:

A.  Approve to waive formal bid requirements per La Habra Municipal Code, Section 4.20.080 (B), when a service firm has established such a successful past history of work with the City that it is clearly in the public interest not to negotiate with any other source; and

B.  Approve and authorize the Executive Director to execute an agreement with Bucknam and Associates, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $89,975, for specialized water and sewer system engineering construction support, and project management services for Fiscal Year 2021-2022.

Bucknam and Associates, Inc. (Bucknam) has provided qualified, high-quality engineering support to the La Habra Utility Authority (Authority) for the past 13 years.  During this period, Bucknam has provided specialized utility engineering services to facilitate more than $34 million in water and sewer improvement projects in the City of La Habra.  This has provided Bucknam with an in-depth working knowledge of the City's water and sewer infrastructure, and has providing staff with access to extensive experience in the development of capital improvement projects.

Based upon Bucknam's in-depth knowledge of the operation of the City's water and sewer systems, expertise and high-quality work history serving the City, staff recommends waiving the formal bid requirements, per the Municipal Code, and awarding a contract to Bucknam for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 for specialized engineering services in conjunction with the following projects:

The agreement will have no fiscal impact on the City's General Fund. There is sufficient funding within the adopted Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Utility Authority Operating Budgets to fund the $89,975 cost for the professional services agreement.