Vancouver City Council |
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: Feb. 5, 2003
Author/Local: Konowalchuk/7387RTS No. 03217
CC File No. 3501
Council: February 25, 2003
TO:
Vancouver City Council
FROM:
General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT:
Crown Street Special Environmental Treatment Project
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council authorize the replacement of the two stream crossings on the 6200 block of Crown Street as part of the Special Environmental Treatment Project, subject to obtaining grant funding.
B. THAT Dillon Consulting Limited be hired to carry out the engineering services detailed in this report at a total cost of $67,975 plus GST, with funding provided from Streets Basic Unappropriated Account Group SCA5B-UNAP.
C. THAT the Director of Legal Services execute the required Professional Services Agreement on behalf of the City.
COUNCIL POLICY
The appointment of consultants whose fee will exceed $30,000 must be authorized by City Council.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to obtain Council authorization to expand the scope of the original Crown St. Special Environmental Treatment Project to include the replacement of the two existing stream crossings on the 6200 block of Crown Street. Furthermore this report requests Council's approval to hire Dillon Consulting Limited to provide engineering services, including the design, construction administration, and environmental services, related to these stream works. The work provided by Dillon Consulting will include: geotechnical investigation, preliminary design, cost estimates, detailed design, tender analysis, construction administration, construction inspections, and environmental services and monitoring.
BACKGROUND
On May 14, 2002, Council approved the design and construction of the Crown Street Special Environmental Treatment Project as a local improvement. This project is being modelled after Seattle's SEA (Street Edge Alternative) Streets (see Appendix A) and follows similar principles as our Country Lanes project.
The Crown Street local improvement project is an alternative to the typical street, and has no curb and gutter. Instead, a narrow, meandering road is edged with structural grass to support vehicular traffic along the edge of the road, with permeable sidewalks to minimize stormwater runoff. Swales will be used to collect and convey storm water to allow for natural infiltration.
This sustainable streetscapes pilot project is receiving support and endorsements from Vancouver Parks Board, UBC, GVRD, Musqueam Indian Band, and the David Suzuki Foundation, for its innovative techniques and Best Management Practices to manage storm water and improve the environment. After consultation with the aforementioned stakeholders, it is proposed that the original project be expanded in scope to include possible replacement of the two existing stream crossings, road improvements and stream enhancements. Crown Street crosses Musqueam and Cutthroat Creek, the last natural salmon spawning streams in Vancouver. The existing culverts are undersized and silting in (see Appendix A). Consequently, they choke the flow of water impeding fish migration and cause a water buildup that occasionally overflows onto the road.Noting the substantial environmental benefits of this project, staff began pursuit of grant funding for the increase cost related to the change in scope. Although this grant funding has not been approved, it was reported to Council for submission to the Federal Infrastructure Program as a top priority on Feb 13, 2003. Should grant money not materialize, staff will report back on other funding options to pursue.
The overall project uses extremely innovative techniques to reduce environmental impacts associated with collection, conveyance, and treatment of storm water. Some of the environmental benefits of this project include reducing discharges into the storm sewer system, recharging ground water, reducing peak flows into rivers, natural filtration, and improved air quality. This project will directly benefit the two salmon bearing streams by improving stream hydrology and habitat. Additional benefits include traffic calming, and an extremely aesthetically pleasing streetscape.
PROPOSALS FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES
In order to protect fish and fish habitat, construction in or near streams is limited to a short construction window starting Aug 1st. In order that we meet this deadline, it is important that we begin the design of the stream crossings soon. In addition, the Federal Infrastructure Program requires more complete designs and estimates in order to proceed the application. The consultant recommended would complete this work.
Proposals for structural and environmental engineering services for the hydraulic modelling, geotechnical investigation, design, construction administration and environmental monitoring for the replacement of the two stream crossings, were requested from three consultants. All three companies provided proposals, but only two were able to provide all the services that we required. The proposals indicate that both these consultants have good general experience and would be able to perform the work.
The General Manager of Engineering Services recommends that Dillon Consulting Limited be awarded the work based on their submission which we believe provides best value to the City. Dillon has demonstrated a high level of work in this field, both locally and nationally. Their previous experience in both structural design and environmental services make them an ideal candidate for this work. They have an extremely good rapport with the environmental regulatory agencies, which is extremely important as environmental considerations are often the hurdles to obtaining construction permits in sensitive ecosystems.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Based on the man-hours and fees estimated by Dillon Consulting Limited, the consulting services for the work will require funding of $67,975 plus GST, a contingency and City overhead. This is considered reasonable for this work. Funding will be provided from Streets Basic Unappropriated Account Group SCA5B-UNAP.
Council approved funding of $346,987 on May 14th 2002 recognizing that this `demonstration sustainable project' has the potential to be 50% higher than standard road improvement costs. The property owners share under the Local Improvement Bylaw is $49,363. The cost to the City or the property owners would not increase as a result of the addition of the stream crossing works. With the possible inclusion of replacing the existing crossings, the total project cost is now estimated to be $1,200,000. We are seeking grants from other agencies including the Canada/British Columbia Infrastructure Program, the GVRD, and the Green Municipal Investment Fund, to help fund the additional costs of the project, and we will report back to Council. It is proposed that the consulting services funding will come from Streets Basic Unappropriated Account Group SCA5B-UNAP from the funding previously approved by Council.
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