REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Al Zelinka, City Manager
VIA: Chau Vu, Acting Director of Public Works
PREPARED BY: Chris Tanio, Principal Civil Engineer
Subject:
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Approve and authorize execution of a Cooperative Agreement with the Orange County Flood Control District for the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel Flood Wall Improvements at Warner Avenue, Springdale Street, and Edwards Street Bridges
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Statement of Issue:
Approval of an agreement is requested between the City of Huntington Beach (City) and the Orange County Flood Control District (OCFCD) to clarify roles and responsibilities as they related to the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel Flood Wall Improvements project. OCFCD, as the lead agency submitted a Cooperative Agreement to the City, specifying funding, construction, and maintenance commitments between both agencies.
Financial Impact:
None. OCFCD is responsible for funding 100% of improvements related to the construction of the bridge flood walls in accordance with the contract documents. The City is currently responsible for maintenance and operation of the bridges. When OCFCD completes the project, the City will continue to be responsible for any post-construction maintenance within City right-of-way. Therefore, no additional costs are anticipated.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute “Cooperative Agreement Between Orange County Flood Control District and City of Huntington Beach for Funding, Construction, and Maintenance of the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel (C05) Bridges at Warner Avenue, Springdale Street, and Edwards Street Improvements Project.”
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Alternative Action(s):
Deny approval of the Cooperative Agreement, which would result in stalling the project.
Analysis:
In April 2023, OCFCD completed flood control improvements at the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel (EGGWC). These improvements included widening the channel from Warner Avenue to 1,200 feet downstream of Goldenwest Street to increase the channel capacity and fortify the levees. Improvements at the Warner Avenue, Springdale Street, and Edwards Street bridge crossings were excluded from this work due to additional coordination and technical studies.
As a result, OCFCD identified these bridges do not meet Federal Emergency Management Agency freeboard requirements, which is the minimum clearance between the bridge structure’s lowest elevation and the highest design flood water elevation in the channel. Flood walls are therefore required to meet the minimum freeboard to prevent overtopping of any embankment and provide a safety factor to protect homes. OCFCD has completed the contract documents in order to build these needed improvements.
OCFCD has prepared a Cooperative Agreement for this project, and the agreement specifies the responsibilities for each agency during the construction and post-construction phase. Currently the City is responsible for operation and maintenance of these bridges. During construction, OCFCD will be responsible for all funding, inspections, project management, and all incidentals related to completing construction of this project. Once construction is completed and accepted by the City and OCFCD, the City will reassume responsibility for operation and maintenance.
Construction is expected to start in fall 2023 and anticipated to be complete by summer 2025.
CIAB/Public Works Commission Action:
None required for this action.
Environmental Status:
The project lead is the OCFCD, and they have obtained all environmental approvals prior to the start of the project.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Infrastructure & Parks
Attachment(s):
1. Cooperative Agreement Between Orange County Flood Control District and City of Huntington Beach for Funding, Construction, and Maintenance of the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel (C05) Bridges at Warner Avenue, Springdale Street, and Edwards Street Improvements Project
2. PowerPoint Cooperative Agreement with OCFCD 2023-06-20