Discussion and possible action on any and all matters regarding Order No. 2022-08. An Order of the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Luis, Arizona, authorizing the entering into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) for uniform license agreements permitting five specific crossings over BOR lands in the City of San Luis consolidated under BOR Contract No. 20-07-34-L2003.  (Kay Marion Macuil, City Attorney)

The United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma Area Office (BOR) identified five (5) crossings over BOR canals or rights of way within the City of San Luis. To build four (4) of these crossings, the City of San Luis entered into license agreements through the Yuma County Water Users Association (YCWUA) and a fifth (5th) license (for Highway 95), the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) transferred to the city.  (The five (5) licenses are attached).

The first attachment is the order and contract before the City Council. The contract standardizes and consolidates the five (5) license agreements into one (the BOR Contract). The Contract is for 25 years with a renewal for another 25 years with 180 days notice. The following explains how the BOR Contract retains the city's current obligations to BOR and how it varies.

First, the BOR Contract preserves basically the same obligations that currently exist under the five (5) separate license agreements:  

• The five (5) crossings are licenses to cross the canals of YCWUA, which exist on BOR land, but neither the City nor ADOT has any permanent interests in the land of the United States. 
• For the five (5) crossings, the BOR Contract gives license to cross the YCWUA- constructed canals and clarifies that the YCWUA has the right to be on the United States' property.
• The BOR or the YCWUA can cancel the five (5) licenses with 30 days' notice.
• If the BOR or the YCWUA cancels the licenses, the city or ADOT has 180 days to remove the crossing and restore the property to its original condition.
• The city or ADOT (and not BOR nor YCWUA) have the duties to:
  • maintain the crossings,
  • inspect the crossings, and 
  • indemnify and hold BOR and YCWUA harmless.

Second, the following provisions in the BOR Contract vary from the licenses we have now in these ways:

• It clarifies that the standard of maintenance of the crossings to be those standards of the National Highway Administration Standards. We would have the present duty to inspect and maintain to those standards.
• It approves the licenses being now the responsibility of the city. (There is a current legal cloud regarding the ADOT license, and the BOR Contract removes that cloud). 

The City Attorney's Office has reviewed the documents. The attorneys determined that this new arrangement, as a practical matter, has not changed the liability the city has with the current license agreements. The BOR Contract sets out the terms that allow the city to have crossings over the canals for the convenience of the public. Therefore, staff recommends approval.