REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
September 23, 2025
FROM
LUTHER SNOKE, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with the Monte Vista Water District for the Powerline Undergrounding Project
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No.1 to Contract No. 24-566 with the Monte Vista Water District, for the Powerline Undergrounding Project, modifying the deadline for obligating project costs by 424 days, from December 31, 2024 to February 28, 2026, for American Rescue Plan Act funding for eligible projects in accordance with the Board of Supervisors’ approved Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Spending Plan, with no change to the cost of $521,000, or the term of May 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026.
(Presenter: Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The County received a direct allocation of $423.5 million under the American Rescue Plan Act - Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (ARPA fund) to bolster the County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact. The Board of Supervisors (Board) approved an expenditure plan for the use of these funds, known as the County Local Fiscal Recovery Spending Plan (Spending Plan), on June 8, 2021 (Item No. 121), and amended the plan on August 24, 2021 (Item No. 21). The Fourth District Board Office has recommended executing Amendment No. 1 to Contract 24-566. This item will have no budgetary impact.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law and established the $350 billion Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to distribute resources to state and local governments throughout the nation.
The County established an ARPA Team who reviews all potential projects to determine eligibility for ARPA funding and if the project and use is in accordance with the Board approved Spending Plan. When projects are deemed eligible, the ARPA Team works with subrecipients to determine subrecipient compliance with ARPA guidelines, and subsequently initiates the contract process.
On March 1, 2022 (Item No. 32), the Board authorized the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to execute the Board-approved standard ARPA contract template with subrecipients and directed that ARPA contracts executed by the CEO be brought back to the Board for ratification within 30 days of contract execution. Monthly reporting has been provided to the Board detailing the status of ARPA contracts.
On June 25, 2024 (Item No. 51), the Board ratified the CEO’s exercise of the authority in executing Contract No. 24-566 on May 30, 2024, with the Monte Vista Water District (District). The contract was for the Powerline Undergrounding Project (Powerline Project) in the not-to-exceed amount of $521,000, for the contract term of May 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026.
The District provides retail and wholesale water to over 135,000 customers within a 30-square-mile service area that includes Montclair, Chino Hills, Chino, and surrounding unincorporated areas. The Powerline Project involves managing and coordinating the removal of the Southern California Edison powerline and telecommunications infrastructure on the property situated at 10575 Central Avenue Montclair. Additionally, the project involves the construction and installation of 318 linear feet of underground lines to replace the existing overhead infrastructure.
As part of the ARPA Team’s regularly scheduled subrecipient monitoring process, it was discovered that the District has encountered significant delays in the design procurement process, as vendor procurement was not completed by the initial deadline. Accordingly, the District is requesting an extension of the obligation deadline from December 31, 2024, to February 28, 2026, to complete all necessary design procurement-related activities. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Julie Surber, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on August 26, 2025; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on August 26, 2025; Risk Management (Gregory Ustaszewski, Staff Analyst II, 386-9039) on August 27, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Joon Cho, Chief Administrative Analyst, 387-5402) on August 29, 2025.