DEPARTMENT: Center City Development and Operations
DEPARTMENT HEAD: John Jacks
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT: Environmental Consultant Services for the City’s Brownfield Redevelopment Program
SUMMARY:
The Center City Development and Operations (CCDO) Department requests authorization to enter into a one-year on-call professional services agreement, with a one (1) year extension option, with EnSafe Inc., Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt, Consulting Engineers, Inc (dba SCS Engineers), and Terracon Consultants, Inc. to provide environmental consultant services for the City’s Brownfield Redevelopment Program.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
A brownfield is a property whose expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the possibility of environmental contamination. These sites are usually abandoned, vacant, or underutilized properties. Examples can include abandoned gas stations, dry cleaning facilities, junkyards, old car dealerships, abandoned factories, and other potentially contaminated properties. As brownfield sites remain abandoned and unmarketable, they increase inner city blight, decrease property values, hurt local economies, and can threaten the environment, community, and human health. Brownfield sites present unique development challenges that require a creative and multifaceted approach to address. As such, the City of San Antonio is able to address these issues through the Brownfield Redevelopment Program as a tool for redevelopment of these complex sites. Currently, the program conducts site assessments for private property owners at little to no charge and will be seeking grant funds for cleanup in coming years, once a need is demonstrated.
The City has been involved in brownfield assessment and redevelopment efforts over the past two decades through various programs and funding sources including grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded in 1999, 2004, and 2015 to assess potential brownfield sites in San Antonio. The most recent activities include the following:
• 2011-2012: City Council allocated funding in the FY2012 Budget to the Center City Development Office (CCDO) for a Senior Planner position and directed staff to create a Brownfields Program for the City of San Antonio. At the time, San Antonio was the largest city in the United States without a Brownfields Program. CCDO hired a Senior Planner in March 2012 to develop the City’s Brownfields Program, to guide assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites for redevelopment, and to secure grant funding.
• 2013-2014: Council allocated $300,000 from the General Fund through the Inner City Incentive Fund for environmental site assessments and other brownfields activities - $200,000 from fiscal year 2013 and $100,000 from fiscal year 2014. This provided an initial investment in the early growth of the Brownfields Program while staff continued to apply for grants as a sustainable source of program funding.
• 2014: The Federal Center for Disease Control Brownfield Initiative awarded the City of San Antonio a $150,000 grant administered by the Metropolitan Health District with support from CCDO. $100,000 of the grant was used to conduct outreach and planning efforts in eight inner-city neighborhoods. The remaining $50,000 was used to conduct environmental site assessments on six inner-city properties.
• 2015: The EPA awarded the City of San Antonio a Community-Wide Brownfield Assessment Grant of $400,000 over 3 years to conduct environmental site assessments on properties with potential contamination from hazardous materials and/or petroleum. Funds were made available on October 1, 2015 and the grant term lasts through September 30, 2018.
• 2016: City Council approved the Brownfield Redevelopment Policy and Program Guidelines in April 2016, which outline the City's commitment to identify, assess, clean-up, and redevelop brownfield sites. Additionally, $100,000 was allocated from the General Fund through the Inner City Incentive Fund.
• 2017-2018: An additional $200,000 was allocated from the General Fund through the Inner City Incentive Fund across FY2017 and FY2018 for the program.
Program Accomplishments to Date
• Identification of and outreach to 400 potential brownfield property owners
• 39 sites assisted
• $3 million in added ad valorem tax value
• $107 million in planned private investment
• 570 planned housing units
ISSUE:
To date, the work of the environmental assessments for the program has been through existing on-call environmental services contracts with the Transportation and Capital Improvement (TCI) Department’s Environmental Management Division (EMD). TCI’s EMD provides environmental services for all city-owned properties and bond projects in addition to supporting the Brownfield Redevelopment Program administered by CCDO. TCI’s EMD’s work load has increased significantly since voters passed the largest bond issue in San Antonio’s history in May. As a result, TCI staff and the existing contracts no longer have the capacity to achieve the policy goals of the program.
In order to continue the momentum of the program, streamline the program’s processes, decrease the workload for TCI’s EMD, and decrease the time it takes to conduct environmental site assessments per project, CCDO issued a Request for Qualifications on June 20 soliciting responses for environmental services to conduct environmental site assessments, perform independent third-party review of environmental reports, assist with preparation of future grant proposals, and assist with program strategy and development. This would allow the program staff to manage the contracts directly, decrease the timeline per project, increase the program’s effectiveness and impact, and better meet the needs of the real estate community to make the program successful.
This contract will be awarded in compliance with the Small Business Economic Development Advocacy (SBEDA) Program, which requires contracts be reviewed by a Goal Setting Committee to establish a requirement and/or incentive unique to the particular contract in an effort to maximize the amount of small, minority, and women-owned business participation on the contract. The Goal Setting Committee applied the Small and Minority/ Women-Owned Business Enterprise Prime Contract Program with twenty (20) evaluation preference points.
The evaluation committee met August 31, 2017, to evaluate the 9 responsive proposals received. After scores were finalized by the selection committee and the Small Business Economic Development Advocacy (SBEDA) points were applied, 3 companies were recommended for award: EnSafe Inc., Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt, Consulting Engineers, Inc (dba SCS Engineers), and Terracon Consultants, Inc. The evaluation of each proposal response was based on a total of 100 points: 55 points for experience, background, qualifications and 25 points allotted for proposed plan. Additionally, 20 preference points were allotted for the SBEDA Program, Small Business Enterprise Prime Contract Program Affirmative Procurement Initiative, and the Minority/Women Business Enterprise Contract Program Affirmative Procurement Initiative.
This ordinance authorizes the execution of a services contract with EnSafe Inc., Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt, Consulting Engineers, Inc dba SCS Engineers and Terracon Consultants, Inc. to perform Phase I, Phase II and Phase III environmental assessments and remediation planning at various sites throughout San Antonio’s inner city for a period of one (1) year with one
(1) one year administrative renewal option. The total amount per contract is not to exceed $300,000.00. The initial term of the agreement shall be upon Council approval through September 30, 2018. The contract and this ordinance also provides for an optional one-year renewal.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should this services contract not be approved, CCDO will need to identify another vendor for these services which would result in delaying Phase I, Phase II and Phase III environmental assessments and remediation planning at various sites throughout San Antonio’s inner city. It would also risk future EPA grant awards if the City is unable to spend grant funds by the end of the grant term.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Each of these agreements shall have a value not to exceed $300,000.00 per contract. Funding sources include the US EPA Community-Wide Assessment Grants and the Inner City Incentive Fund as approved in the City’s Annual Operating Budget. The City makes no minimum guarantee pertaining to the volume of work that may be expected from each consultant.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the on-call professional services contract with EnSafe Inc., Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt, Consulting Engineers, Inc (dba SCS Engineers), and Terracon Consultants, Inc. to perform environmental assessments and remediation planning in connection with the City’s Brownfield Redevelopment Program. This contract is procured by means of the Request for Qualifications. The required Discretionary Contract Disclosure Forms are attached.