DATE: May 12, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Agreements with Consultants for On-Call Environmental Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Authorize the Director of Public Works and Planning to execute eleven on-call agreements for environmental consulting services, subject to the review and approval by County Counsel as to legal form and the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector as to accounting form, each effective upon execution by the County through the fifth anniversary of the execution date, and an aggregate total not to exceed $5,000,000 for all agreements (4/5 vote).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will authorize the Director of Public Works and Planning (Director) to execute on-call agreements with eleven firms to provide various environmental consulting services. The term of each Agreement is five years. The maximum dollar amount of all agreements is an aggregate total of $5,000,000. The impacts of this item are countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended action, the Department will have to prepare individualized separate agreements for each project, causing significant delays in the design process and delivery of planned public works projects. If delivery deadlines are not met, the County will be at risk of losing Federal funding for infrastructure projects.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County cost associated with the recommended action. The total combined maximum amount of the Agreements is $5,000,000 over the five-year term. The consultants will be compensated at agreed hourly rates for services performed as set forth in each agreement. As these services are provided, costs will be reimbursed from appropriate sources for the various approved public works projects. Allocations for budgeted projects are included in the Public Works and Planning - Roads Org 4510 as well as various Capital Projects Orgs FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget.
DISCUSSION:
Approval of the recommended action will allow the Department to retain consultants for various environmental services which may include, but are not limited to: land use and transportation planning, such as community and regional plans, truck routes, road safety, climate adaptation, the preparation of various biological, archaeological and hazardous waste studies for compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation as well as land use application processing. These services will assist County in complying with Federal and State environmental laws, regulations and guidelines as necessary for road reconstruction and widening, bridge replacement, bridge rehabilitation, bike paths, trails, traffic signal, traffic calming, groundwater well design, potable water treatment and distribution systems, as well as the construction of public buildings and private infrastructure, such as housing, commercial, and solar farms. The agreements also allow for work to be performed by consultant staff on-site through staff augmentation provisions in the agreement as needed. In accordance with Section 13 of the County Charter, contract approval for services currently performed by employees requires four affirmative votes of the Board of Supervisors.
The majority of the work anticipated to be done under the contract is believed to be exempt from the provisions of Assembly Bill (AB) 339, which exempts contracts for planning services related to the planning, design, administration, oversight, review, or delivery of public works, residential, commercial, or industrial buildings, or other infrastructure projects subject to adopted uniform codes or standards. The Department will consult with County Counsel to ensure all work is exempt, and in the event that it is not, the Department will work with Human Resources to ensure compliance with any noticing requirements to applicable employee organizations.
It is generally more efficient to administer general on-call service agreements than to solicit individual proposals, select consultants and administer separate agreements for each project.
Contracting with the recommended consultants will facilitate a timelier, cost effective and dependable delivery of projects, while allowing the Department the option of using firms with relevant experience and particular expertise on a project-specific level. Task orders will be issued for each project, and assignments will be based upon firm qualifications, experience and performance with similar work, firm availability, and reasonable negotiated not-to-exceed cost for the specific project’s anticipated services.
A formal Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was issued on September 29, 2025, in accordance with Chapter 10: Consultant Selection of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Local Assistance Procedures Manual. The Department received proposals from 18 consulting firms by the deadline of October 24, 2025.
A selection committee comprised of representatives from the Department reviewed and evaluated the proposals based upon approved criteria included in the RFQ. A short list of candidates was created. Seven firms were not recommended for further consideration and were notified. Seven firms were selected based upon their past performance working on County public works projects. Four other firms were interviewed, and those firms were selected based upon their qualifications and experience.
FIRM NAME SPECIALTY
American Tree Medics Arborist
Applied Earthworks Archaeology / Historical Architecture
Area West Environmental, Inc. Full Service *
Dewberry Engineers, Inc. Full Service *
ECorp Consulting, Inc. Full Service *
GPA Consulting Full Service *
HELIX Environmental Planning Full Service *
Kleinfelder Environmental Site Assessments
Live Oak Associates, Inc. Biological Services
Rincon Consultants, Inc. Development Service
SWCA Environmental Consultants Full Service *
*Archaeology/Historical Architecture/Biology/Landscape Architecture
Full-service firms provide services in multiple fields of expertise, whereas three of the recommended firms provide services in a specific field of expertise. The aggregate total of the agreements is $5,000,000, from which each firm will draw funds as they are awarded task orders. The term of each agreement is five years.
The draft agreement template is substantially identical to the agreement that will be sent to the consultants for approval. Inapplicable sections will be removed for those firms that were not approved to perform services federally funded and/or staff augmentation services. The terms of the agreement will be advantageous to both the County and consultant. Due to the diversity in the size of the consulting firms, the liability insurance limits are slightly less than the recommended limits listed in the County’s standard model contract provisions; therefore, Risk Management has been advised of and has approved the revised lowered limits included in the contract. This will ensure that smaller sized firms are not effectively eliminated from contracting with the County due to the expense necessary to carry large amounts of liability insurance coverage for work on smaller projects.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
The Caltrans Office of Architectural and Engineering Oversight dictates some of the terms of the agreements for firms eligible to provide services that are Federally funded and will review agreements that are utilized for Federally funded work.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Attachment A - Request for Qualifications
Attachment B - Draft Agreement
CAO ANALYST:
Maria Valencia