REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Approving Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement with SCI Consulting Group for the Storm Drain Fee and Rate Study and Related Budget Amendment
Report
BACKGROUND
In 2015, the City completed the Storm Drain Master Plan that identifies over $270 million in storm drain capacity improvement needs plus an annual amount of $2.6 million for ongoing operations and maintenance. In an effort to evaluate and assess additional funding streams to support the storm drain operations and capital improvement needs, Council approved an Agreement with SCI Consulting Group, Inc. (SCI) for the Storm Drain Fee and Rate Study (Rate Study) on February 21, 2017. SCI's scope of work includes review of the City's storm drain system and needs, analyzing various fees and rate structures, performing public outreach survey and opinion research, and preparing a fee report for Council's approval.
DISCUSSION
The Rate Study began in March 2017 and SCI completed a draft Funding Options Report that analyzes and evaluates various funding mechanism alternatives for storm drain infrastructure and makes initial recommendations in September 2017. The Rate Study for storm drain infrastructure was temporarily put on hold due to initial community research relative to the proposed November 2018 Infrastructure Ballot Measure that indicated lack of support. Although the City is currently considering a much broader General Obligation Bond or Property Tax Measure that considers other infrastructure such as fire stations and parks along with the storm drain system, the work performed under this Agreement can be used to supplement any efforts or policy decisions specific to the storm drain system.
The Agreement with SCI will expire on December 31, 2019 and needs to be extended through this proposed amendment to continue efforts on next phases of the Rate Study. These efforts include items related to finalizing the Funding Options Report, considering property related fee opt...
Click here for full text