AgdaPkt 2012-01-23 - Laserfiche WebLink

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6.1. D. - Page 1 To the Honorable Mayor and City Cou nci I From the City Manager January 23, 2012 SUBJECT Amendment Number 1 to Professional Services Agreement with Jones & Stokes Inc. a subsidiary of ICF Consulting Group Inc. for additional environmental services for the 640 �/eterans Boulevard project RECOMMENDATION Approve, by motion, Amendment Number 1 of the Professional Services Agreement with Jones & Stokes/ICF to complete additional environmental work for the 640 Veterans Boulevard project. BAC KG RO U N D On June 7, 2011 the City Council approved a contract with Jones & Stokes/ICF for the preparation of an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the 640 Veterans Boulevard project. The original Agreement was in the amount of $59,846. The 640 �/eterans Boulevard project was not considered controversial because this infill project was consistent with the General Plan and, other than for minor variations, the application conformed to the Zoning Ordinance. Consequently, the scope of the original Agreement contained the standard tasks and corresponding work timelines typically associated with the preparation of ISMND's for such projects. On December 21, 2011, a detailed 24 page comment letter (plus 30 pages of technical exhibits) was submitted that questioned the adequacy of the draft ISMND. The proposed contract amendment with Jones & Stokes/ICF is needed to cover the consultant's cost of responding to the above-referenced comments. ANALYSIS The extent and nature of the comments received were far in excess of the volume anticipated in the original Agreement. As noted earlier, because this project conformed so closely to the General Plan and Zoning Code, no opposition to the project was envisioned. The challenge on environmental grounds means that all objections must be evaluated and responded to individually. It is essential that the consultants be the ones preparing the responses. Finally, it is worth clarifying that the comments do not indicate that the consultants made errors in the preparation of the document.