Approve the plans and technical provisions for the Huff's Corner Levee Maintenance Project; authorize the Director of General Services to award a contract for construction services to Nordic Industires, Inc.; approve the construction contract with Nordic Industires, Inc. in the amount of $831,100; authorize the Director of Community Services to approve change orders consistent with applicable limits of the Public Contract Code; and authorize a construction contingency budget of 10% of the contract's value. (No general fund impact) (Lindbo/Sabatini)

Staff is recommending that the Board of Supervisors award and approve a construction contract with Nordic Industries for the Huff's Corner Levee Maintenance Project ("Project"). The Project is a component of the Huff's Corner Levee Raise & Channel Reconfiguration Phase II Project, which is funded by a Funding Agreement between the California Department of Water Resources ("DWR") and the County.

The purpose of the Project is to raise the existing Huff's Corner Levee (an approximate 0.3-mile stretch) back to its original design profile. This reach of levee has been identified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as being "freeboard deficient" and falling below the Design Water Surface Elevation.  The Project's general sequence of work is as follows:

1. Preparing haul routes.
2. Site preparation, include clearing, grubbing, stripping fill areas, and vegetation removal (including trees and stumps) within the project area.
3. Excavating areas of cut, and prepare surface for fill levee placement.
4. Removal and disposal of in-situ materials.
5. Compaction and preparation of sub-grade to receive fill, including levee embankment fill and levee crown surfacing (aggregate base).
6. Placement of fill, including levee embankment fill and aggregate gate.
7. Placement of fill for associated appurtenant features, including levee ramps.
8. Respreading of stockpiled strippings along/over levee slopes.
9. Seeding and planting.
10. Site clean-up and restoration.

The subject construction agreement with Nordic Industries has been included as Attachment C.

Background
The section of Cache Creek known as "Huff's Corner" is a small reach on the right bank extending approximately 2,700 feet upstream from Interstate 5. The levee was initially constructed by the USACE in 1960, and Yolo County has been the local maintaining agency since its construction. Only the eastern 1,500 feet of this levee is within the State Plan of Flood Control.  

In October 2012, Yolo County, through the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, initiated the process of forming a Maintenance Area for the maintenance of the levee. The Maintenance Area was not formed because the initial cost of completing the deferred maintenance required for the formation of a Maintenance Area was prohibitive to the County and local landowners. 

In early 2018, the County sought engineering recommendations to determine what would be required to complete the deferred maintenance to restart the Maintenance Area formation process.  In addition to the deferred maintenance, two major project improvements were identified: (1) a raise of the entire reach of the levee to restore it to its original design height, and (2) implementation of a "reconfiguration" project within the Lower Cache Creek channel to control erosional forces against the levee and remove excess sedimentation. These two improvements were combined to create the Huff's Corner Levee Raise & Channel Reconfiguration Project.

In April 2024, the County and DWR entered into a Project Partnership Agreement to fund "Phase II" of the project, which will finish the project by constructing the levee raise project component on the SPFC section of Huff's Corner identified in the attached plans and technical provisions, in addition to repairing the in-channel reconfiguration project that was damaged by 2022-2023 winter flows and implementation of an off-site mitigation project.

Environmental Review
An Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation and Monitoring Reporting Plan ("CEQA Document") was prepared for the Huff's Corner Levee Raise & Channel Reconfiguration Project, of which the Project is a component. The CEQA Document was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on June 7, 2022 (BOS Minute Order No. 22-65).  A Notice of Determination was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder and State Clearinghouse in compliance with Section 21152 of the Public Resources Code on June 7, 2022 (recorded as County document no. 57-06072022-076).  A State Clearinghouse Number of 2021050214 was attributed to the overall project.

The County issued a formal solicitation (reference no. GSDIFBKK2414) on May 22, 2024, seeking a contractor to provide construction services.  A mandatory job walk was held on May 29, 2024, and 10 vendors attended.  A total of 2 vendors timely submitted bids, which were opened on June 27, 2024.  A summary of the bids received can be found below: