DATE: October 8, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Edward Hill, Chief Operating Officer/Interim Director of Internal Services/Chief Information Officer
SUBJECT: Amendment to American Rescue Plan Act - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve proposed Amendment to the County of Fresno’s American Rescue Plan Act-State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA-SLFRF) expenditure plan, which will revise the approved scope of work for Internal Services Department’s Program No. 3 for Communication Improvements for Public Services Facilities to purchase and install a radio tower and associated equipment only for the Reedley Public Works and Planning, Road Maintenance and Operation Yard facility, instead of both Reedley and Tranquillity facilities, due to higher than anticipated construction costs, with no change in the total funding commitment of $1,500,000.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended action, which will revise the previously approved scope of work for the Internal Services Department, Information Technology Division’s (ISD-IT) Program No. 3 for Communication Improvements for Public Services Facilities to purchase and install a radio tower and associated equipment at only the Reedley Public Works and Planning, Road Maintenance and Operation facility due to higher than anticipated construction costs, instead of both Reedley and Tranquillity. This item pertains to a location in District 4, however the benefits are countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended action, the scope of work for the ISD’s Program No. 3 will remain the same, which would not accurately describe the Department’s process to complete Program No. 3.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The anticipated construction cost for the project is $2,455,517, which includes $2,326,683 from the low bid and an additional $128,834 from the Director’s allowance for change orders. The program is partially funded with $1,500,000 in ARPA-SLFRF, which will be reimbursed from the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector (ACTTC) Org. 1033 - Disaster Claiming, Fund 0026, Subclass 91021. Costs in excess of the $1,500,000 ARPA-SLFRF will be funded by ISD-IT Org 8905. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the FY 2024-25 Adopted Budget for ISD-IT Org. 8905.
DISCUSSION:
On May 3, 2022, your Board approved the Department to use ARPA-SLFRF for six qualifying programs. The item before you today will amend the scope of Program No. 3, titled Communication Improvements for Public Services Facilities, with no modification to the allotted amount of $1,500,000, which program is designated under the Treasury’s eligible category 1.7 Public Health, Other COVID-19 Public Health Expenses: Capital Investment to Public Facilities that respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The original scope of Program No. 3 indicated plans for ISD-IT to use ARPA-SLFRF to purchase and install radio towers and associated equipment at a site in Reedley and one in Tranquillity. Each radio tower would be constructed to an approximate height of 250-feet and designed to enhance communication coverage in the rural areas of the County for public safety and first responders such as Sheriff, Fire, Department of Public Health, and Public Works. The intended two new radio towers would be key capital investments that expand the County’s wireless communication and improve voice and data communication signals for first responders’ mobile devices.
On December 21, 2022, ISD-IT started work with the Department of Public Works and Planning, Design Division (PWP) to generate a formal scope of work and bid package for both the Reedley and Tranquillity facilities. During the design of both projects, staff determined that the preliminary construction costs would exceed the original estimates. ISD-IT opted to prioritize the design and build for the Reedley location first, as ISD is currently operating from a temporary, portable tower after being displaced from a tower it had previously utilized in the Reedley area. There is currently a permanent radio tower in Tranquillity, but it is at maximum weight capacity; future plans for the Tranquillity location include upgrading the tower to accommodate more microwaves, which will improve coverage in the area, and will be funded by future Radio rate revenues. As there is currently only a temporary solution for the Reedley location, the Department prioritized the Reedley project, and the scope of work and bid package for only the Reedley project was finalized and approved on May 23, 2024.
On June 18, 2024, PWP released the bid, and it closed on July 25, 2024, with three bids received. On September 24, 2024, your Board approved awarding Katch Environmental, Inc. dba Katch General (Katch General) for the design, preparation, and construction of a 250-foot above-grade microwave tower and its corresponding equipment and equipment shed, for a potential total of $2,455,517, which includes an allowance for change orders in the amount of $128,834 over the total $2,326,683 proposed. Funds in excess of the $1,500,000 ARPA-SLFRF will be funded by ISD-IT Org 8905.
Due to the cost associated with completing just one tower project, ISD-IT is requesting to amend the original scope for Program No. 3 to remove the Tranquillity project, and instead to purchase and install a radio tower and associated equipment only at the Reedley Public Works and Planning Road Maintenance and Operation Yard.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #42, September 24, 2024
BAI #38, May 3, 2022
CAO ANALYST:
Ahla Yang