TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Jarad Hildenbrand, City Manager
FROM: Christopher Cash, Public Works Director
1. Subject
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Agreement with UltraSystems Environmental, Inc. for environmental and survey services for the Riverdale Avenue Complete Street Improvement Project and authorize continuation of unspent grant balance and required match for Riverdale Avenue Complete Streets project
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2. Summary
Agreement with UltraSystems Environmental, Inc. for environmental consulting and survey services for the Riverdale Avenue Complete Street Improvement Project (SP-4308). The grant and match funds for this project were originally approved with the Fiscal Year 2025 CIP budget and the available balances will be appropriated to the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
1. Approve the agreement with UltraSystems Environmental, Inc. in the amount of $89,540 for environmental and survey services; and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the agreement on behalf of the City.
2. Authorize the continuation of the project budget in the amount of $426,000 to:
263-5101-87102-255039-20 Riverdale Avenue Complete Streets
3. Authorize the continuation of the project budget in the amount $2,560,720.33 to:
550-5101-87102-255039-20 Riverdale Avenue Complete Streets
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4. Fiscal Impact
The expense for this agreement is $89,540 and will be funded through Measure M-Traffic Improvement (263) and Reimbursable Capital Accounts (550) respectively:
263-5101-87102-255039-20 Riverdale Avenue Complete Streets $10,763
550-5101-87102-255039-20 Riverdale Avenue Complete Streets $78,777
5. Strategic Plan Goals
Goal 5: Improve Infrastructure, Mobility, and Technology.
6. Discussion and Background
The Riverdale Avenue Complete Street Improvement Project extends from Glassell Street to the Orange City limits and will rehabilitate the existing pavement and reconfigure Riverdale Avenue with the installation of bike and pedestrian facilities, traffic calming strategies, and curb space management.
The City received grant funding from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) for the preliminary engineering and construction phase through the Orange County Complete Streets Program (OCCSP). Because OCCSP is federally funded, the project is subject to Caltrans Local Assistance Procedures Manual (LAPM) guidelines.
City staff advertised the Request for Proposal (RFP) to the public for four weeks, beginning on April 30,2026. The RFP requested consultant services for the preparation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation with all necessary supportive technical studies, as well as providing field survey services for the final design. At the close of the solicitation period, the City received one well-qualified proposal from UltraSystems Environmental, Inc.
While the Caltrans LAPM typically requires a minimum of three evaluated proposals to establish effective competition, the guidelines also permit local agencies to proceed with a single proposal under a non-competitive (sole-source) determination. To remain compliant, staff has submitted the required Cost-Effectiveness / Public Interest Finding (Exhibit 12-F) to Caltrans documenting the justification for moving forward.
Staff recommends moving forward with the single proposal to avoid a two to three-month delay and ensure critical federal grant funding deadline. Re-advertising the RFP risks the grant deadline with no assurance of a better response pool.
After a thorough evaluation of the proposal, it is the definitive consensus of City staff that UltraSystems Environmental, Inc. is responsive and highly qualified to performing the tasks requested in the RFP.
In addition to their technical expertise, UltraSystems submitted a highly competitive, firm fixed-price cost proposal of $89,540. Staff has reviewed the cost breakdown and confirmed that their labor rates are competitive and align with regional public works standards. Additionally, their pricing structure appropriately omits unallowable markups, ensuring full fiscal compliance with Caltrans regulations.
To maintain the grant schedule and prompt advancement of the project into the final design phase, staff recommends awarding the environmental and survey services contract to UltraSystems Environmental, Inc.
7. ATTACHMENTS
• Consultant Services Agreement with UltraSystems Environmental, Inc.