Zone 1 Statement of Proposed Action: September 4, 2020

Statement of Proposed Action

According to the California Water Code, Section 68-6.2 Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (District) staff submits this Statement of Proposed Action to provide any Zone 1 Advisory Board (AB) member an opportunity to respond or provide written comment on the item outlined below within the next 30 days (expires on October 4, 2020).

Any individual AB member may contact the District operations manager, Hannah Lee at (415) 342-5033 or hlee@marincounty.org to request an AB meeting in order to discuss any items related to the zone. To comply with Brown Act requirements, all meetings of a quorum of AB members to discuss Zone business must be publicly noticed.

Item 1. Zone 1 FY 2020-21 Budget Adjustment

The District has various on-call contracts for biological, construction inspection, and geotechnical consulting services. These services are particularly in demand this year during construction of the Novato Creek Sediment Removal and Wetland Enhancement Project and the partially grant-funded Simmons Slough Water Management Project. These projects take place in and adjacent to sensitive habitats used by listed wildlife species so extensive biological surveying, monitoring, fish salvage, and related services from consultants is required in order to comply with environmental permits and regulations. Additionally, our project management staff are balancing COVID-19 related childcare needs with construction inspection needs and require consultant inspectors to ensure consistent coverage. We are also looking at reusing sediment from a project in Zone 9 at Simmons Slough and need to perform sediment testing to ensure it is appropriate for use on a levee. These services are expected to cost up to $150,000 this fiscal year.

Recommended Action

Recommend that the District Board of Supervisors approve the proposed budget adjustment of $150,000 for professional services.

Item 2. Zone 1 Construction Projects Update

See the previous Staff Reports and minutes for additional background and more details on these projects.

Simmons Slough Water Management System

This project involves installation of a new pump station at the current site of a portable diesel pump at the downstream end of Simmons Slough at Novato Creek across from Bel Marin Keys. The project also includes upgrades to several water management structures upstream of State Route 37 which would benefit habitat managed by Marin Audubon (a key grant condition) as well as reduce the frequency of flooding on the highway. The Zone has $1.4 million available through the State grant and may need to contribute up to another $1.8 million in Zone 1 funds. If bids come in higher than available funding, some of the water management structures not related to the wetland enhancement area may be excluded from construction this year. On June 9, 2020 three bids were opened. The low base bid was from Thompson Builders Corps. In the amount of $2,892,067 (note, engineer’s estimate was $2.2M) and the total of the bid additive items were $648,641 (engineer’s estimate was $700,000). The bid additive items would have include improvements and maintenance of drainage between the Audubon property and the pump station that could have better reduced flood risk at State Route 37, but as Zone 1 has several unfunded maintenance needs only the base bid was awarded. The project budget, including a 15% contingency, is $3,325,877.05. The construction work is currently underway, and Thompson Builders hopes Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Page 2 of 2 FCZ1 AB Statement of Proposed Action September 4, 2020 to be able to complete work by the end of 2020. However, the state is granting a one-year extension on the grant as COVID-19 related delays in delivery of key components are a high risk to the project schedule.

Novato Creek Sediment Removal and Wetland Enhancement Project

For several decades in order to maintain the design capacity of the Novato Creek Flood Control Project, sediment has been removed every four years from Novato Creek, Warner Creek, and Arroyo Avichi between approximately Diablo Ave and the SMART railroad crossing downstream of Rowland Way. The most recent sediment removal episode occurred in 2016 when some sediment was beneficially reused on a proposed future ecotone levee in Deer Island Basin. This episode includes additional beneficial reuse of sediment within the Deer Island Basin Complex (pictured below) to support future wetland restoration projects (if awarded grant funding for construction). On June 12, 2020 the project was awarded to Team Ghilotti for a total of $1,549,604.70. Including a 10% contingency, the project budget is $1,704,565.17. Construction began July 6 and is likely to extend into October.

Item 3. Schedule 2020 Meeting Dates

The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 5, 2020.