REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
February 9, 2021
FROM
BRENDON BIGGS, Director, Department of Public Works - Transportation
SUBJECT
Title
Cooperative Work Agreement with California Department of Transportation to Extend the Deadline for Expenditure of Project Funds
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve submission of a Cooperative Work Agreement to the California Department of Transportation to extend the deadline for expenditure of project funds from June 30, 2021 to June 30, 2023, for the following projects:
a. Needles Highway from "N" Street to the Nevada State Line preliminary engineering project in the Needles area.
b. National Trails Highway at Dola Ditch bridge replacement project in the Amboy area.
c. National Trails Highway at Lanzit Ditch bridge replacement project in the Amboy area.
d. Garnet Street over Mill Creek bridge replacement project in the Redlands area.
e. Glen Helen Parkway over Cajon Wash bridge replacement project in the Devore area.
f. Needles Highway from "N" Street to 600 feet north of Balboa Place construction project in the City of Needles.
g. Adena Ditch bridge replacement project located near the community of Essex.
h. Needles Highway from 600 feet north of Balboa Place to 500 feet south of Park Road construction project in the City of Needles.
2. Authorize the Director of Public Works to submit future Cooperative Work Agreements to the California Department of Transportation.
(Presenter: Brendon Biggs, Director, 387-7906)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The Department of Public Works (Department) is funded by Gas Tax revenue, fee revenue, and other state and local funding. The requested actions are administrative in nature with minimal financial impact, and will allow the Department to continue with the projects listed in Recommendation No. 1. Sufficient appropriation and revenue are included in the Department’s 2020-21 Road Operations budget (6650002000 14HF0010, 6650002000 12HF0025, 6650002000 12HF0026, 665000000 12HF0024; 650002000 11H14646, 6650002000 34H14873, 6650002000 12H14853, and 6650002000 14H14874).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Federal funds allocated to local agencies come with a reversion date on the project’s Finance Letter issued by California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Funds not expended by the stated reversion date will revert to Caltrans for reallocation to other projects unless a Cooperative Work Agreement (CWA) is submitted by the local agency and approved by Caltrans and the Department of Finance pursuant to California Government Code section 16304.3 which allows up to a two-year, non-renewable extension.
Although the Caltrans CWA is called an agreement, it is not an agreement in the usual sense in that it does not contain agreement language and clauses. The CWA is a spreadsheet project summary table, indicating project descriptions, project scope and location, the amount of used and unused allocated funds, and a date on which the allocation expires. The CWA provides an area for a local agency to provide justification for a time extension. The CWA is then submitted to Caltrans, who makes a determination whether to grant the time extension based on the justification. Because the CWA does not contain agreement language and clauses, the Department is requesting authorization for the Director to submit future CWAs.
As requested by Caltrans, an initial unsigned draft CWA, attached to this Board Agenda Item as Attachment A, was submitted to Caltrans on January 15, 2021, in compliance with Caltrans’ deadline. Upon approval by the Board of Supervisors, this CWA will be formally submitted to Caltrans. The Department may need to make minor revisions to the CWA to address any comments from Caltrans, if any, to obtain final approval by Caltrans.
Details of expiring funding amounts and justifications for the requested time extensions are listed in Attachment A.
The recommended actions align with the County and Chief Executive Officer’s goals to operate in a fiscally-responsible and business-like manner and by working with other agencies by protecting previously allocated funding to be utilized for the projects listed in Recommendation No. 1.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on January 14, 2021; Finance (Jessica Trillo, Administrative Analyst, 387-4222) on January 20, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on January 24, 2021.