IMPERIAL COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION  MINUTES FOR JULY 28, 2021

6:00 p.m.

_____________________________________________________________________________________ VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT: 

NON-VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:          Caltrans District 11               Gustavo Dallarda

The following action minutes are listed as they were acted upon by the Imperial County Transportation Commission and as listed on the agenda for the meeting held Wednesday, July 28, 2021, together with staff reports and related documents attached thereto and incorporated therein by reference.

Given public health directives limiting public gatherings due to the threat of COVID-19 and in compliance with the Governor’s Order N-29-20, the meeting will be held telephonically and electronically. 

I.           CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL  

Chair Viegas- Walker called the Commission meeting to order at 6:39 p.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

II.            CLOSED SESSION

A.                  Motion to convene to Closed Session (Amparano/Nava-Froelich) Motion carried

B.                  PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION (Government Code § 54957)     

Title:  ICTC Executive Director

C.                  CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS (Government Code § 54957.6)

Agency Designated Representative: Eric Havens

Unpresented employee: Executive Director

D.                  Announcement of Closed Session Action(s) – at 6:00 p.m. 

The Commission met in closed session regarding conference with labor negotiators under Government Code section 54957.6.  The Commission approved a merit increase of 2% for the Executive Director effective July 1, 2021, but no final action was taken. The final action regarding compensation will occur as part of a 2021 action calendar item regarding an amendment to the employment agreement for the position of executive director.

III.                EMERGENCY ITEMS

               There were none. 

IV.                PUBLIC COMMENTS 

There were no public comments received.

V.         CONSENT CALENDAR

A.                  Approval of the ICTC Commission Draft Minutes:               June 23, 2021

B.                  Receive and File:

1.                   ICTC Management Committee Draft Minutes:     July 14, 2021

2.                   ICTC TAC Minutes:                                                            May 27, 2021

A motion was made by Nava-Froelich and seconded by Amparano to approve the consent calendar as presented, roll call:

                Motion Passed.

VI.        REPORTS

                A.         ICTC Executive Director

                                ⁻    Mr. Baza provided updates from the report on page 19 of the agenda.

⁻ Mr. Baza shared that the FY 2021/2022 Overall Work Program and Budget Document was attached to the Executive Director report. The FY 2021/2022 OWP & Budget Document is also posted on the ICTC website at http://www.imperialctc.org/owpand-budget/. 

⁻ Mr. Baza informed the Commission the Imperial County Transportation Commission received a presentation regarding the U.S. Census Bureau 2021 – Imperial County Data Summit & Community data on July 14, 2021 at the Management Committee meeting. It was announced that many Cities had a double digit increase in response for the Imperial Valley cities, with more than a 4% increase compared to 2010.  Further information of reports that have been produced in partnership with local community partners and funders can be found on https://socialinnovation.ucr.edu/state-inland-empire-series. Copies of Self-Response rates comparison ad Population Estimates are on our ICTC website at:

http://www.imperialctc.org/ictc-news-and-announcements/&/view/event/id/224/. 

                                ⁻        Ms. Mendoza provided updates on the Regional Active Transportation Plan stating

ICTC staff kicked off this project in April 2021 and has conducted two (2) Techincal Advisory Committee meetings with City, County, SCAG, and Caltrans staff to start data gathering and early outreach efforts. The KTUA consultant team and ICTC staff recently hosted a series of outreach u events starting in July to receive input from the community, a series of events are scheduled to be held in August.  A dedicated project page has been developed for the project and can be found at https://ictcatpktuagis.hub.arcgis.com/. ICTC is also encouraging the community to participate in the online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ictcatp

⁻ Ms. Mendoza stated the Imperial County Draft Regional Climate Action Plan is posted on the ICTC website at  http://www.imperialctc.org/regional-climate-action-plan/. A final draft Regional CAP has been presented to some city councils as an information item during the month of June 2021. The final draft Regional CAP was presented to the ICTC Technical Advisory Committee on May 27, 2021, and ICTC Management Committee on June 9, 2021.The plan has also been presented to the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business (COLAB) on June 9, 2021; the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association (IVVGA) on June 16, 2021; the Imperial County Farm Bureau on June 17, 2021. The Regional CAP was presented to the ICTC Commission on June 23, 2021.

⁻ Mr. Baza stated ICTC staff is currently completing the Caltrans award review process with multiple Caltrans’ departments. The ICTC Board adopted the agreement with Psomas on September 26, 2018. Environmental phase has been completed. Design is underway and Right of Way Acquisition is underway is Summer 2021.

⁻ Mr. Baza announced this would be his last year with the Imperial County Transportation Commission as for he is retiring. 

B.                  Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) 

-          SCAG held the SCAG TOOLBOX TUESDAY; Cal Adapts Local Climate Change Snapshot Tool on Tuesday July 27, 2021. The Local Climate Change Snapshot Tool can be used by local jurisdictions to develop climate change and resilience plans, projects, and programs. This training will provide an in-depth demonstration of the tool and its indicators, showcasing different features. More information can be found on at https://scag.ca.gov/toolbox-tuesday-online-training-materials. 

-          SCAGs Go Human Traffic Safety Peer Exchange is open to register for a free virtual series designed to bring together practitioners from the six county region to explore topics like equity, reimaging community safety, and community engagement.

C.                  California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)- District 11  

-          Ms. Dallarda provided updates from the report on page 89 of the agenda o Mr. Dallarda stated the Clean California

o   Major construction activities for the SR-86 Widening Project are cleared to start in August. Preparatory work for relocation of electrical service points along West Imperial Ave has begun. This includes trenching and installation of conduct.

o   Caltrans District 11

D.                  Commission Member Reports  - There were none.  

VII.       ACTION CALENDER

A. Calexico East Port of Entry Bridge Expansion Project – Construction Management/Resident Engineering Contract Award

Mr. Aguirre informed the committee the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the

Imperial County Transportation Commission Committee (ICTC) with a 2018 Better

Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant in the amount of $20 million for the Calexico East Port of Entry Bridge Expansion project.

The procurement process consisted of a single phased Request for Proposals (RFP) approach. The RFP was released April 5, 2021, four (4) firms responded to the RFP. An evaluation team comprised from representatives from Caltrans, General Services Administration (GSA), Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and ICTC participated in the evaluation of the proposals. The Evaluation team unanimously ranked Jacobs as the highest-ranking firm. ICTC proceeded to request a formal cost estimate to complete the required services. Jacobs submitted the proposed cost of $2,956,457.81.

Jacobs has extensive experience working with similar type bridge improvement projects. The Jacobs team is well qualified and will be able to assist ICTC with the various management/resident engineering tasks. Jacobs will utilize the services of a DBE located in the Imperial Valley area to assist with various required services. 

Funding for the construction management/resident engineering services was identified and approved in the ICTC FY 2021-22 OWP and budget. The funding source will be a combination of the awarded federal (BUILD), TCEP, and local funds.

It was requested that the ICTC Management Committee forward this item to the Commission for review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.                   Approve the award of the Agreement for the Calexico East Port of Entry Bridge                                   Expansion Project – Construction Management/Resident Engineering Services to                                     Jacobs in the amount of $2,956,457.81.

2.                   Authorize the Chairperson to sign the agreement.

A motion was made by Plancarte and seconded by Goodsell to approve the consent calendar as presented, roll call:

Motion Passed.

B. Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC) Architectural and Engineering Services – Change Order – Contract Amendment #2

Mr. Aguirre announced ICTC awarded the contract to Psomas, to assist with the development of the project improvement plans, specifications, contract documents and some environmental documentation required to complete the preliminary engineering for the Calexico ITC Project. 

The initial agreement was approved by the commission in the amount of $557,884.63. A change order was previously approved in the amount of $63,437.00 to complete numerous required environmental studies. The proposed changed order submitted by Psomas is $62,288.48. ICTC reviewed the proposed scope and fee and found the proposed cost to be reasonable. The total revised contract would be $683,610.11. The proposed change order – contract amendment fee has been budged in the ICTC FY 21-22 Budget.

1.       Approve the contract amendment to the Architectural and Engineering Consultant Agreement for the Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center with Psomas in the amount of $62,288.48 modifying the total contract value to $683,610.11.

2.       Authorize the Chairperson to sign the contract amendment.

A motion was made by Plancarte and seconded by Nava-Froelich to approve the consent calendar as presented, roll call:

                Motion Passed.

VIII.      NEXT MEETING DATE AND PLACE

A. ICTC will go dark in August. The next meeting will be on September 29, 2021, due to a conflict on September 22, 2021, with the League of California Cities Annual Conference. 

IX.        ADJOURNMENT

                A.         Meeting Adjourned at 7:28 p.m.