Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2018 1017 REG CCSA ITEM 10HCITY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA City Council Meeting of 10.17.2018 ACTION Approved staff recommendation BY M. Benson H. Consider Amendment No. 5 to Professional Services Agreement with Sohagi Law Group Authorizing Additional Services Regarding the County of Ventura’s Approval of Wayne J Sand and Gravel Mine Expansion Conditional Use Permit. Staff Recommendation: Authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the professional services agreement with The Sohagi Law Group for an increase of $50,000.00 to the previous not-to-exceed cost of $300,000.00 for a new total not-to- exceed cost of $350,000.00 without prior City Council authorization, subject to final language approval of the City Manager. Item: 10.H. MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT TO: Honorable City Council FROM: David A. Bobardt, Community Development Director DATE: 10/17/2018 Regular Meeting SUBJECT: Consider Amendment No. 5 to Professional Services Agreement with Sohagi Law Group Authorizing Additional Services Regarding the County of Ventura’s Approval of Wayne J Sand and Gravel Mine Expansion Conditional Use Permit BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION On March 13, 2015, the City received a Draft EIR from the County of Ventura for the Wayne J Sand and Gravel Mine Expansion. This facility is located north of Moorpark adjacent to State Route 23 (Grimes Canyon Road). A Modification to the existing Conditional Use Permit would extend the permit from 2013 to 2043, increase the excavation area from 48 to 134 acres, increase production from 270,000 tons to 700,000 tons per year, allow for an average of 240 and maximum of 300 truck trips per day, up from the current allowed 72 average and 100 maximum truck trips per day, and add asphalt and concrete recycling plant to the operation, which had previously been allowed but not built. On April 8, 2015, the City Council approved the retention of The Sohagi Law Group to review this Draft EIR and prepare comments on behalf of the City for a not-to-exceed cost of $50,000, with funding from the City’s General Fund. Comments on the Draft EIR were submitted to the County on April 30, 2015. The total expenses for the review of the Draft EIR were for approximately $34,000, leaving $16,000 in the agreement for additional tasks, including preparation of comments on the Final EIR. On February 17, 2016, the City Council authorized an amendment to the existing Professional Services Agreement for approximately $34,000 for additional services related to review of the Final EIR, and an amendment to the FY 2015-2016 budget to appropriate $50,000 from the General Fund, since no funds have been designated for these services. At this meeting the City Council also authorized the City Manager to appeal the County Planning Commission’s February 11, 2016 certification of the Final Item: 10.H. 380 Honorable City Council 10/17/2018 Regular Meeting Page 2 EIR and approval of the permit expansion. On May 3, 2016, the Board of Supervisors considered the City’s appeal, certified the Final EIR, and approved the permit expansion. Like the County Planning Commission’s action, the Board did not require meaningful mitigation of the impacts of this project on Moorpark, especially with respect to truck traffic impacts. On May 18, 2016, the City Council authorized an amendment to the agreement for expense related to the initiation of litigation and preparation of the Administrative Record, adding $100,000 from the General Fund reserves, and on June 21, 2017, the City Council authorized an additional amendment to the agreement for continued work on litigation for $116,000, to bring the total not-to-exceed amount of the agreement to $300,000. On October 5, 2017, the Los Angeles Superior Court found that the EIR that the County certified in connection with the Wayne J mine expansion permit to be legally deficient for a number of reasons. City staff tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a settlement with Wayne J. in order to get a reduction in allowed truck trips. On September 21, 2018, the court awarded the City a total of $337,364.50 in attorney fees and costs from the County. As of the most recent billing from The Sohagi Law Group, the current $300,000.00 cap on the agreement has been exceeded by approximately $4,000.00. The City Council is now being asked to authorize the execution of an amendment to the agreement with The Sohagi Law Group. At this time staff is recommending amending the current agreement with The Sohagi Law Group by an additional $50,000 to cover the cost of the $4,000 overage and have some resources available to use Sohagis services should the need arise. Additional work on this matter is foreseeable and the current budget has included $50,000 from the general fund that can be used for this amendment. FISCAL IMPACT No fiscal impact. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the professional services agreement with The Sohagi Law Group for an increase of $50,000 to the previous not- to-exceed cost of $300,000 for a new total not-to-exceed cost of $350,000 without prior City Council authorization, subject to final language approval of the City Manager. ATTACHMENT 1. Amendment No. 5 to Professional Services Agreement 381 AMENDMENT NO. 5 TO PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF MOORPARK AND THE SOHAGI LAW GROUP, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION, FOR LEGAL SERVICES RELATING TO AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT This Amendment No. 5 to the Agreement between the City of Moorpark, a municipal corporation (“City”), and The Sohagi Law Group, a Professional Law Corporation, a corporation (“Consultant”) for professional services (“Agreement”), is made and entered into the day of , 2018. RECITALS WHEREAS, on June 16, 2015, the City and Consultant entered into an Agreement to have the Consultant provide professional legal services related to an Environmental Impact Report for a total contract value of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000); and WHEREAS; on March 24, 2016, the City and Consultant amended the Agreement to increase compensation by thirty-four thousand dollars ($34,000) for a total contract value of eighty-four thousand dollars ($84,000) by jointly approving Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement; and WHEREAS; on July 12, 2016, the City and Consultant amended the Agreement to increase compensation by one-hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for a total contract value of one-hundred eighty-four thousand dollars ($184,000) by jointly approving Amendment No. 2 to the Agreement; and WHEREAS; on July 19, 2017, the City and Consultant amended the Agreement to increase compensation by one-hundred sixteen thousand dollars ($116,000) for a total contract value of eighty-four thousand dollars ($300,000) by jointly approving Amendment No. 3 to the Agreement; and WHEREAS; on August 14, 2017, the City and Consultant amended the Agreement by jointly approving Amendment No. 4 to the Agreement, which provided clarifying language on Amendments 1-3; and WHEREAS, the City and Consultant now desire to increase the compensation for services to be performed by Consultant by fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) to a total contract value of three hundred thousand dollars ($350,000.00), and document said agreement to amend by jointly approving this Amendment No. 5 to the Agreement. CC ATTACHMENT 1 382 NOW, THEREFORE, it is mutually agreed by and between the parties to the Agreement as follows: I. Section 2, SCOPE OF WORK, is amended to increase the compensation to Consultant for additional professional legal services by fifty-thousand dollars ($50,000) to be performed by Consultant. Total Compensation shall not exceed the new total not-to-exceed amount of three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000). II. Section 5, PAYMENT, is amended by replacing paragraph 2 of this section in its entirety as follows: “The City agrees to pay Consultant monthly, in accordance with payment rates and terms and the schedule of payment as set forth in Exhibit B, and any attachments or exhibits to Amendments to this Agreement, based upon actual time spent on the above tasks. This amount shall not exceed three- hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000.00) for the total term of the Agreement unless additional payment is approved as provided in this Agreement.” III. Remaining Provisions: Except as revised by this Amendment No. 5, all of the provisions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. In Witness Whereof, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be executed the day and year first above written. CITY OF MOORPARK THE SOHAGI LAW GROUP _______________________________ _______________________________ Troy Brown City Manager Margaret Moore Sohagi Partner Attest: __________________________________ Maureen Benson, City Clerk 383