Approve agreement with MBK Engineers in the amount of $256,750 for the period of December 10, 2024, through December 9, 2027, for project management and grant administration services in support of the Knights Landing Flood Mitigation Project. (No general fund impact) (Lindbo/Liebler)

Approve agreement with MBK Engineers in the amount of $256,750 for the period of December 10, 2024, through December 9, 2027, for project management and grant administration services in support of the Knights Landing Flood Mitigation Project.

Current Request
Staff is requesting that the Board of Supervisors approve a three-year contract with MBK Engineers for a not-to-exceed amount of $256,750 to provide project management and grant administration services in support of the Knights Landing Flood Mitigation Project.  

Project Background
The Knights Landing Flood Mitigation Project proposes to mitigate flood risk and build resiliency into the levees that surround the Knights Landing Basin from flooding from the Sacramento River and the Knights Landing Ridge Cut. The goal of the project is to increase the flood risk reduction capability of the existing levees by strengthening and raising the levees to make them more resilient to higher and more frequent storm events through various mitigation actions aimed at minimizing the potential for the levees to fail from "under" or "through" seepage, poor levee stability, or over topping. This project has received significant investment from the state level as the County received over $15 million from the California Department of Water Resources ("DWR") to fund a feasibility study of project improvements, completion of roughly 60% of the project's overall engineering design, acquisition of construction-related real estate easements, construction of three project elements (the Knights Landing Mid-Valley Sites 9 and 10 Levee Improvements Project and the Knights Landing Drainage Infrastructure Improvements Project), and securing state and federal regulatory and environmental permits. 

In July 2023, the County was awarded another large contribution of funding for the project - approximately $6 million - from the Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA"). The funding is coming from FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program ("HMGP") which provides funding to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments for the purposes of reducing or mitigating disaster losses in their communities. The entire local share of the project is being funded by the Prepare California "Match" Program administered by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services ("Cal OES").  

The remaining components of the project that are jointly funded by FEMA and Cal OES have been divided into two phases. Phase 1 activities include completing 100% designs for all project elements, applying for all necessary environmental and regulatory permits, submitting the project files to FEMA for Environmental and Historical Preservation ("EHP") review, and real estate purchases and approvals. Phase 2 activities involve the construction of all project elements.  The award of the Phase 2 funding, which is approximately $30 million, is contingent upon receiving FEMA's EHP approval. The County has been making progress on completing the necessary Phase 1 activities utilizing the FEMA and Cal OES funding while also leveraging the previously awarded funding from DWR to the greatest extent possible.

Proposed Contract Services
Because the project involves the simultaneous preparation of several project design packages, as well as significant coordination with various state and federal agencies, Community Services staff felt it was necessary to procure the services of a firm with experience managing the development of levee improvement projects.  This need is even greater with recent staffing changes within the Department.  As noted in the "Competitive Bid Process" section below, the County issued a Request for Proposals following FEMA's procurement guidelines. The ensuing contract was awarded to MBK Engineers and includes two tasks: "Phase 1 Project Management" and "Phase 1 Grant Administration."  General descriptions of the services to be provided under these tasks are as follows:

Phase 1 Project Management

It is important to note that the contract only provides authorization for MBK to assist the County through completion of Phase 1. However, the contract contains language that would allow for MBK to provide the same services for Phase 2 subject to further County approval by way of contract amendment.

Services Requested:
Project Management & Grant Administration Services for the Knights Landing Flood Mitigation Project

Evaluation Criteria:

Evaluation Scores: