REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
April 23, 2024
FROM
NOEL CASTILLO, Director, Department of Public Works
SUBJECT
TitleContract with Lilburn Corporation to Provide Environmental, Mining, and Permitting Services for the Essex Overhead Quarry Project
Amendment to Contract with Lilburn Corporation to Provide Environmental, Mining, and Permitting Services for the Essex Overhead Quarry Project
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 21-360 with Lilburn Corporation for continued environmental, mining, and permitting support services for the Essex Overhead Quarry Project, to update the County’s contract representatives and extend the term of the contract by five years, for a total contract period of May 31, 2021 through May 31, 2029, with no change to the contract total of $250,000.
(Presenter: Noel Castillo, Director, 387-7906)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not require Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The contract cost for environmental, mining and permitting services for the Essex Quarry is $250,000 and will be funded with Gas Tax revenue. The Essex Overhead Quarry will provide local material for road maintenance in this remote area of the county and reduce handling and material costs. The quarry will not be staffed and there are minimal costs associated with maintaining the property. Sufficient appropriation and revenue are included in the Department of Public Works (Department) 2023-24 Road Operations budget (6650002000 63H14839) and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On May 18, 2021 (Item No. 57), the Board of Supervisors awarded Contract No. 21-360 to Lilburn Corporation in the amount of $250,000, with a contract term of May 31, 2021 through May 31, 2024, to allow appropriate environmental and mining analysis and public disclosure of the potential environmental impacts of planed quarrying of materials, stockpiling and soils disposal for the National Trails Highway (NTH) within San Bernardino County, which is commonly known as U.S. Highway 66 or Route 66.
The Essex Overhead Quarry was utilized historically in 1931 for the construction of U.S. Highway 66. The quarry site is an approximately 38-acre portion of Assessor's Parcel Numbers (APN) 0655-151-01 and 0655-162-01 located at the southwest corner of the intersection of CA Highway 66/NTH and the Essex Overpass Railroad Tracks, approximately 1.3 miles northeast of Essex in the Mojave Desert.
In the desert areas that encompass Essex, Amboy, Danby, and Cadiz, summer monsoons occur annually, and often wash away material from many County-maintained roads and road shoulders, as well as around abutments and wing walls of the bridges throughout this area. Much of the property in this area is either private property or owned by the Bureau of Land Management. Locating fill material to repair washouts and re-open roads is challenging and can be expensive. Expeditiously re-opening roads is important for commerce, motorists, and landowners. The ability to provide mineral material, facilitate a stockpiling and soils management area for use in conjunction with the long-term maintenance of NTH, as well as have material-generating sources at strategic locations for regional public improvement projects will decrease costs of importing large quantities of sand and gravel, expedite the re-opening of roads, save fuel, and reduce emissions. This will help achieve the County goals of improving the efficiency of County government operations and reducing hauling and material costs significantly.
Approval of this item will extend the contract for five years and update the County’s contract representatives, with no other changes, and is necessary in order to complete the required environmental clearance as well as regulatory and mining permitting.
PROCUREMENT
On October 23, 2020, Request for Proposals (RFP) No. PWG121-LANDD-4002 for environmental, mining, and permitting services was released through the County Electronic Procurement Network (e-Pro). The competitive RFP was open to all vendors who were registered with the County in e-Pro with a deadline of December 3, 2020. As the result of that competitive selection process and subsequent contract negotiations, Lilburn Corporation was selected to perform the services.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Aaron Gest, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 20, 2024; Purchasing (Jason Cloninger, Lead Buyer, 387-8258) on March 13, 2024; Finance (Jessica Trillo, Administrative Analyst, 387-4222) on April 4, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on April 8, 2024.