DATE: December 17, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: First Amendment to Fresno County Council of Governments Overall Work Program Master Agreement
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the First Amendment to Agreement No. 17-138 with the Fresno County Council of Governments for the Overall Work Program to extend the term of the existing Master Agreement by seven years from December 31, 2024, to December 31, 2031 (estimated revenue to County of $148,000 per year).
REPORT
The Fresno County Council of Governments (FCOG) is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for Fresno County (County). The County receives reimbursement from FCOG for various activities associated with regional planning efforts. Such reimbursement is provided pursuant to a Master Agreement and an Overall Work Program (OWP). An OWP is adopted by the FCOG Board on an annual basis. The current OWP Master Agreement was approved in 2017 and expires December 31, 2024.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended action is not approved, the agreement will expire, and the County will not be eligible to be reimbursed for any services in subsequent OWPs.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The master agreement itself does not contain any specific activities or amounts, as they are approved annually as each OWP is approved by FCOG and may change over time. The master agreement allows for the County to be eligible to receive reimbursement for any activities it may perform if included in subsequent OWPs. The amount actually claimed varies based on the amount of time spent on these activities. The average annual amount reimbursed over the last for four fiscal years was $148,000. Estimated revenues and expenditures for the OWP are included in the Roads Org 4510 annual budget.
DISCUSSION:
FCOG is an association of local governments and is the regional planning agency for Fresno County and its cities. FCOG was informally established in 1967 by the County and its incorporated cities and was formalized in 1969 through a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA). FCOG performs regional planning emphasizing transportation and provides technical services to its members.
Most recently in 2017, and prior to that in 1985, FCOG and the County entered into OWP Master Agreements that established general terms and conditions pursuant to which the County would provide consulting services to FCOG in accordance with the 1969 JPA. FCOG adopts an OWP each fiscal year which identifies regional planning activities to be performed by FCOG and by its member agencies during the upcoming fiscal year. Prior to establishment of an OWP Master Agreement in 1985, FCOG and the County would also adopt a new memorandum of understanding each year to establish terms associated with services provided to FCOG by the County.
Annual OWP identifies Work Elements (WE’s) which are contract tasks or activities necessary to carry out various long-range regional transportation planning programs. The OWP Master Agreement does not specifically describe these tasks but rather, it establishes general terms and conditions associated with the County’s performance and associated reimbursement.
The activities to be performed by the County pursuant to the 2024-25 OWP and the associated reimbursement to be provided to the County were identified as follows:
WE 112 - Regional Traffic Monitoring $147,500
WE 310 - Intergovernmental Coordination $45,616
WE 112 (Regional Traffic Monitoring) provides funding for County staff or consultants to perform traffic, including bike and pedestrian counts for various roads in the County. This traffic count data is provided to FCOG for use in their countywide traffic modeling and as a basis for information forwarded to federal and state agencies.
WE 310 (Intergovernmental Coordination) provides funding for participation by County staff in a variety of regional transportation planning activities and programs to execute the FCOG OWP objectives.
Prior to 2018, the Department took an annual informational item to the Board of Supervisors to endorse the OWP. However, this endorsement is not legally required, and no similar item is routinely taken by any other member agency. Therefore, in an effort to increase efficiency and reduce redundancy, this annual item has not been taken before the Board since May 16, 2017. The two members of the Board of Supervisors who sit on the FCOG Board have an opportunity to approve or disapprove the OWP annually.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
FCOG staff prepared the First Amendment, and it was approved by the FCOG Board on November 22, 2024.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #48, May 16, 2017
BAI #44, April 25, 2017
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - First Amendment to Agreement 17-138
CAO ANALYST:
Salvador Espino