DATE: January 23, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Master Agreement for Cooperative Road Improvement Projects with the City of Clovis
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Master Project Agreement establishing general terms and conditions for road improvement projects to be performed cooperatively by the County of Fresno and the City of Clovis.
2. Authorize the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning to sign Specific Project Agreements establishing various terms associated with cooperative projects performed pursuant to the Master Project Agreement, including but not limited to project scope, schedule, and cost sharing, contingent upon approval by County Counsel and the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector.
REPORT
Approval of the first recommended action will authorize the Chairman to sign a Master Project Agreement with the City of Clovis that establishes general terms associated with potential cooperative road improvement projects to be performed by the City of Clovis in cooperation with the County of Fresno. The Master Project Agreement also provides for future Specific Project Agreements, which would supplement the provisions of the Master Project Agreement and provide specific details regarding scope, schedule, cost sharing, and other specifics for individual cooperative projects. This item involves locations in Districts 2, 3 and 5.
Approval of the second recommended action will authorize the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning (Director) to enter into Specific Project Agreements in accordance with the terms of the Master Project Agreement. This would enable the Director to establish project-specific terms regarding the scope, schedule, and cost sharing (if any) as well as any other specific terms associated with the project in question. The action requires that the Director receive the concurrence of County Counsel and of the Auditor-Controller / Treasurer-Tax Collector prior to entering into a Specific Project Agreement.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
If either the first recommended action or the second recommended action is not approved, it will be necessary to develop an agreement for consideration by the Board for each cooperative project.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. In the event that a specific project requires matching funds, such funds would be included in the Public Works and Planning - Roads Org 4510 Adopted Budgets for the fiscal years during which the project was underway.
DISCUSSION:
The County shares several roads with the City of Clovis, and it is anticipated that some of these roads will be improved in the next several years. Typically, joint projects with other agencies have been accomplished pursuant to cooperative agreements developed specifically for the project in question. Since there are a number of cooperative projects that will involve the County and Clovis within the next few years, a Master Agreement has been developed that establishes general terms common to all cooperative projects with Clovis. Specific terms for each project would be established in a Specific Project Agreement. In order to expedite approval of cooperative projects with Clovis, it is recommended that the Board authorize the Director, contingent upon approval by County Counsel and the Auditor-Controller / Treasurer-Tax Collector, to execute Specific Project Agreements that rely on the Master Agreement.
Approval by the Board will authorize the Director to execute Specific Project Agreements that establish the scope of a particular project, the lead agency for the project, its schedule, and, in the event that it is necessary for both Agencies to contribute to paying for the cost of the project, to establish equitable cost sharing for the project that would generally be proportioned based on the actual cost of the improvements within each jurisdiction.
Additionally, the Specific Project Agreements would establish maintenance responsibilities for completed improvements to the extent that such responsibilities were either not defined in the Master Agreement or were different from those general responsibilities established by the Master Agreement. It is the intent that the Director be authorized to establish, by approval of a Specific Project Agreement, parameters associated with all aspects of cooperative projects that are not otherwise expressed in the Master Agreement.
The Master Agreement establishes the concept of a "Lead Agency" and a "Participating Agency" for any particular project. The Master Agreement charges the Lead Agency with developing a project scope and with informing the other agency (the Participating Agency) regarding a project as soon as practicable. The Lead Agency is required to develop project rationale, scope, cost schedule, funding sources and impacts to the Participating Agency’s facilities.
The Lead Agency is required to administer the project, prepare the project design, perform the environmental review process, advertise the project for bids, and administer the construction contract. The design of facilities within the County must meet County standards unless a design exception is prepared by the City and is signed by the Director and the City Engineer.
The Master Agreement requires that projects be reviewed and approved by the Participating Agency at the 30%, 60%, 90% and 100% stages of the design process. It also requires that any changes during construction be approved by the representative for the Agency whose improvements are impacted by the proposed changes.
The Master Agreement requires the Lead Agency to obtain an encroachment permit from the Participating Agency and provides that such permit be issued at no charge if allowed by the provisions of the Participating Agency’s applicable ordinance and the Specific Project Agreement. This provision, like the entire agreement, applies only to cooperative projects constructed pursuant to the Master Agreement and does not apply to projects constructed independently by either agency.
Some projects may require the Participating Agency to pay a share of the project costs proportional to the cost of the work within its jurisdiction. The Master Agreement states that such cost sharing be delineated in a Specific Project Agreement.
The Master Agreement establishes ownership and maintenance responsibilities for completed projects. Ownership and maintenance of any completed improvement will be shared between the parties in accordance with the percentage of the improvement located within each jurisdiction, unless otherwise specified in a Specific Project Agreement; however, street improvements along a City-County boundary that are installed by the City, or by a development within the City, to ultimate alignment and grade in accordance with the City general plan will be owned and maintained by the City regardless of the jurisdictional boundary location.
The Master Agreement provides that, except as otherwise specified elsewhere in the Master Agreement, or as otherwise specified in a Specific Project Agreement, the County shall be solely responsible for repairing and maintaining all Project road improvements consisting of asphalt concrete pavement and traffic signals lying within the County’s jurisdiction. It also requires that, unless otherwise specified in a Specific Project Agreement, such road improvements in the County’s jurisdiction be maintained by the County at a pavement condition index of at least 60 until such time as the improvements are annexed by the City.
The Master Agreement also provides that the City shall be solely responsible for maintaining improvements within the County that are installed at City’s sole election and which are not normally constructed in connection with County road improvements, including street lights, sidewalks, curb and gutter, median curbs, and landscaping improvements constructed as part of the Project. It further provides that the City also will be responsible for repairing road improvements within the County as a result of any damage caused by underground pipelines and facilities installed as part of any project, including those projects to which the Master Agreement is not otherwise applicable.
All road repairs for which the City is responsible under the Master Agreement shall be attended to by the City within 72 hours or less after receiving notice from County staff, and the City shall pay all reasonable costs incurred by the County in performing any pavement repairs after City’s failure to perform within 72 hours. The repair responsibilities established by the Master Agreement may be modified by a Specific Project Agreement.
The Master Agreement requires that each Agency indemnify, hold harmless and defend the other Agency and each of its officers, officials, employees, agents and volunteers from any and all loss, liability, fines, penalties, forfeitures, costs and damages incurred arising from or related to the negligent or intentional acts or omissions of an Agency or any of its officers, officials, employees, agents or volunteers in the performance of the Master Agreement. In the event of concurrent negligence, the Master Agreement provides that the liability be apportioned under the State of California’s theory of comparative negligence.
The Master Agreement requires each Agency to maintain insurance policies or self-insurance programs to fund their respective liabilities in amount sufficient to cover any responsibilities or potential liabilities thereunder.
The term of the Master Agreement is five years; however, with respect to any projects for which a Specific Project Agreement incorporating the Master Agreement is entered into prior to its expiration, the terms of the Master Agreement shall remain in effect and apply in conjunction with the terms of such Specific Project Agreement until the date of expiration or termination of the Specific Project Agreement.
It is not the intent to limit the applicability of the Master Agreement to specific projects, and the Master Agreement would apply to all cooperative transportation projects performed by the County and the City of Clovis for which a Specific Project Agreement was executed. There are three major projects that are currently planned by Clovis which are anticipated to be performed pursuant to the Master Agreement as supplemented by future Specific Project Agreements. These projects are all funded primarily by Measure C, and are generally described as follows:
• Shaw Avenue - De Wolf to McCall: From DeWolf Avenue to Highland Avenue, the north side of Shaw Avenue is under County jurisdiction as is the entire roadway from Leonard Avenue to McCall Avenue. The project involves reconstruction and widening of Shaw Avenue. A portion of the roadway will be reconstructed to six lanes with a 16-foot wide median, bike lanes, and curb and gutter. Starting at Highland Avenue and proceeding eastward, only two lanes without curb and gutter will be constructed on the north side of Shaw Avenue. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in April 2019.
• Willow - Shepherd to Copper: From Shepard Avenue to Copper Avenue, the east side of Willow Avenue is under County jurisdiction. The project involves reconstruction and expansion of northbound Willow Avenue from Shepherd Avenue to Copper. Depending on a variety of factors, the project may extend all the way to Copper Avenue and include a traffic signal at Willow Avenue and Copper. Alternatively, the project may terminate approximately 0.10 miles south of Copper Avenue. In either case, the project will generally improve Willow Avenue to three northbound lanes with an eight-foot wide parking/bicycle lane. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in April 2019.
• Herndon - Temperance to DeWolf: From Locan Avenue to DeWolf Avenue, Herndon Avenue is under the jurisdiction of the County, and there is a short segment, approximately three hundred feet in length to the west of Locan where only the north side of Herndon Avenue is under County jurisdiction. The project begins at Coventry, which is the entrance to the hospital, and continues to the canal crossing west of DeWolf Avenue. The project will improve Herndon Avenue to a four-lane facility with a median island, curb and gutter, and sidewalk from Coventry to 800 feet west of DeWolf Avenue. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in November 2019.
As indicated, these projects are primarily funded by Measure "C" and the anticipated County contribution, if any, to the cost of the projects is currently unknown. In the event that there is a County contribution to the cost of any of these projects, funding will be provided from the Road Fund and from development fees which have been collected by the County. In the event that a contribution from the Road Fund is necessary, appropriations will be included in the Public Works and Planning - Roads Org 4510 Budgets for the fiscal years during which the project was underway.
On December 12, 2017, your Board approved the concept of a similar master agreement between the City of Fresno and the County. If the Board approves this Master Agreement, the Department anticipates that it will reach out to other cities in the County which share roads with the County in the interest of developing similar Master Agreements. Any additional Master Agreements with other agencies would be brought to the Board for approval.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
The Master Agreement was approved by the City of Clovis on November 13, 2017.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI#6, December 12, 2017
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - City of Clovis Master Agreement
CAO ANALYST:
John Hays