To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: Keenan Foster 707-547-1941
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Quagga and Zebra Mussel Inspection Program at Lake Sonoma
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with Dogs with Jobs, LLC, dba Mussel Dogs, in a form approved by County Counsel, for the quagga and zebra inspection program at Lake Sonoma through January 15, 2026, in the not-to-exceed amount of $667,000.
B) Adopt a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) Amending the Department Allocation List of Sonoma Water, Effective February 27, 2024.
C) Adopt a Resolution authorizing adjustments to the Board Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2023/2024 for the Russian River Projects Fund in the amount of $219,500 for the quagga and zebra mussel inspection program at Lake Sonoma and for the Sonoma County Water Agency General Fund in the amount of $61,471 for the addition of 1.0 FTE WA Program Specialist. (4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
Quagga and zebra mussels are an invasive mussel that, if introduced into a waterway, can devastate the natural environment, clog water and flood protection infrastructure, and cost millions of dollars in maintenance. Mussels are transported between waterways by watercraft, primarily recreational boats.
Sonoma Water applied to the California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) Quagga and Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention Grant Program to fund inspection programs at Lake Sonoma and was awarded $400,000 in grant funds. Sonoma Water has also received similar grant funding for mussel prevention efforts at Lake Mendocino. In total, the grants provide $800,000 in total state funded support for mussel prevention efforts in the Russian River Watershed. Furthermore, Congress has appropriated $3 million for mussel prevention efforts in the Russian River Watershed that Sonoma Water will seek to secure through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This item requests approval of a Water Agency Programs Specialist to administer the grant funding contracts and mussel prevention programs at both Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino. In addition, the position will coordinate ongoing community engagement efforts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Lake Sonoma Visitor’s Center (Lake Mendocino does not have a visitor’s center). Sonoma Water first obtained grant funds to conduct mussel inspections in March 2015 at Lake Sonoma and has continued to be successful at obtaining mussel grant funding during each new cycle. This item requests approval of contract and staff support to administer the grant and grant program.
Discussion:
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
Sonoma Water is a member of the North Coast Mussel Prevention Consortium and is working with North Coast Mussel Prevention Consortium's partner agencies to implement watercraft inspections at Lake Sonoma. Lake Sonoma is currently mussel free; however, mussels have infested a waterway south of Sonoma County, in San Benito County.
Since 2014, DBW’s Quagga and Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention Grant Program has funded prevention plans and implementation activities that help protect California’s reservoirs from quagga and zebra mussel infestation. Until program changes in 2017, Sonoma Water had not been an eligible applicant for these funds due to a requirement that applicants must own or manage a reservoir. In 2017, this was expanded to include the phrase “manage some aspect of the reservoir.” Sonoma Water manages the water supply storage pool and thus became eligible to apply for the grant program.
In 2016, the Corps applied for and received a grant under DBW’s program for $300,000 in grant funds. The Corps was subsequently unable to perform work during the 24-month grant period and the funds went unspent.
In the 2023 grant cycle, DBW elected to award Sonoma Water $400,000 for its proposal for a Lake Sonoma inspection program. On August 1, 2023, the Board approved the execution of a grant agreement to receive the funding. As part of the next steps following Board approval, Sonoma Water indicated that it would return to the Board to seek approval of this services agreement for the quagga and zebra inspection program at Lake Sonoma.
To support implementing the invasive quagga and zebra mussel prevention program at both Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino, a WA Programs Specialist is needed to provide effective oversight and assistance with the ongoing program as well as, to implement community engagement activities at Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino in collaboration with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and community stakeholders.
For Lake Sonoma’s inspection program, Sonoma Water requires Consultant's expertise and assistance to continue the inspections, demonstrations and to provide training for watercraft inspectors. Consultant has performed invasive mussel boat inspections at Lake Sonoma since 2012 and will adhere to the North Coast Mussel Prevention Consortium’s prevention plan during the inspection process. Watercraft inspections include visual inspections by trained mussel prevention staff and mussel-sniffing dogs provided by the Consultant.
AGREEMENT WITH DOGS WITH JOBS, LLC, DBA MUSSEL DOGS
A competitive selection process was not completed, and a Single/Sole Source Waiver was obtained from the County of Sonoma, Department of Public Infrastructure, Purchasing Division.
Consultant was chosen based on Consultant's knowledge and prior experience implementing invasive mussel boat inspections at Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma. No other consultants provide mussel-detecting canines, and Consultant’s services are used around the country for mussel inspection programs. Consultant provides a unique service that helps meet the goals of Sonoma Water’s prevention program.
Under the proposed agreement, Consultant will provide quagga and zebra mussel inspections and demonstrations, utilizing a team of specially trained canines to help inspect boats for invasive mussels. The Lake Sonoma Marina and Boat Ramp are open between 8:00AM and 7:00PM. Inspectors generally work between 8:00AM and 6:00 PM during the busiest periods, but overall hours are tied to funding and hours are increased and decreased based on boater activity. This will help educate boaters on how to clean, drain, and dry their boats to better protect our waterways from mussel infestation. In addition, Consultant will provide boat inspection training to inspectors at Lake Sonoma to help develop year-round inspections.
The cost of services will not exceed $667,000. The agreement covers services between November 17, 2023, through January 15, 2026. When authorization was needed to apply for the grant to support the program, the Board required Sonoma Water to bring the agreement back to the Board for authorization. This approach created a delay in being able to pay the contractor until a new agreement was authorized. To meet the requirements of the grant agreement, Mussel Dogs agreed to delay invoicing Sonoma Water until after agreement authorization was granted.
The agreement includes authorization for the General Manager to make changes to lengthen time schedules or make minor modifications to the scope of work, which do not increase the amount paid under the agreement, in a form approved by County Counsel.
The agreement includes two options for Sonoma Water to extend the term for a period of one year each by providing written notice to Consultant thirty days in advance of the expiration date of the agreement and of the first extension option. The extension will be formalized in an amended agreement or amendment signed by Sonoma Water and Consultant.
Addition of one (1) FTE Water Agency Programs Specialist II
The requested Water Agency Programs Specialist would be a full-time employee tasked with coordinating and implementing the Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino mussel prevention program and coordinating community engagement activities at the Lake Sonoma visitor’s center. The scope of work will include developing and implementing mussel prevention grant applications for both state and federal funding opportunities, including coordinating the implementation of the grants at both Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino. The position will manage the consultant(s) selected to support mussel prevention inspections. Funding from the California Department of Boating and Waterways mussel prevention grant program and the Corps will be sought to help provide funding for this FTE in addition to ongoing mussel inspection programming.
In addition, the position will coordinate community engagement activities at the Lake Sonoma Visitor’s Center. These activities will include public tours, staffing the visitors center during the week and during normal business hours, and serving as a liaison to the Corps and community organizations for community engagement purposes.
Sonoma Water is the local sponsor of both Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lake Sonoma is a multi-purpose water supply, flood protection and recreational reservoir facility that hosts tens of thousands of visitors from the public - more visitors than any other Corps facility within the Corps western division. (Lake Sonoma had 536,637 visitors in 2023 while Lake Mendocino had 571,477 visitors.) Visitors include the general public, boaters, hikers, and others. The visitors' center at Lake Sonoma is not currently staffed by the Corps during the weekdays. Lake Mendocino does not currently support a visitors center.
The requested Water Agency Programs Specialist would be a full-time, ongoing employee tasked with coordinating community engagement at the visitor’s center and augmenting the efforts of Sonoma Water temporary seasonal employees. The requested position will ensure the visitors center at Lake Sonoma is staffed full time or part-time as needed to provide community engagement activities such as public tours, and will collaborate with community stakeholders at each lake on a variety of issues such as recreation, wildfire prevention, public tours and overall Corps coordination on the recreation business line. Additionally, the requested WA Programs Specialist would assist with implementing the invasive quagga and zebra mussel prevention program at both Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino. Funding from the California Department of Boating and Waterways mussel prevention grant program will be sought to help provide funding for this FTE in addition to ongoing mussel inspection programming. Sonoma Water has been successful in securing ongoing mussel prevention funding - approximately $600,000 per year - from this statewide grant program for the past several years.
California Environmental Quality Act
Sonoma Water’s General Manager has determined that the project activities are exempt under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15309, Inspections, because the activities are limited to watercraft quagga and zebra mussel inspections, inspection trainings, and education and outreach activities that help prevent potential for infestation at Lake Sonoma. The proposed project does not have the potential to degrade the quality of the environment, have a cumulatively considerable effect, or cause substantial adverse effects on human beings, either directly or indirectly, and would not result in damage to scenic or historical resources.
County of Sonoma Strategic Plan Alignment
N/A
Sonoma Water Strategic Plan Alignment
Goal: Environmental Stewardship
Strategy: Protect, enhance, and monitor natural resources, watershed conditions, and ecosystem health that are vital to the Russian River, Petaluma River, and Sonoma Creek watersheds.
Action: Support collaborative efforts to improve habitat and pursue restoration opportunities that provide integrated regional benefit.
Work performed under this agreement will support efforts to further protect the Russian River watershed from the introduction of invasive species. Protecting the watershed is critical to ensuring that the region’s water supply remains resilient for today and future generations.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
Attached
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY25-26 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
$526,790 |
$311,962 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$280,971 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$280,971 |
$526,790 |
$311,962 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$61,471 |
$191,790 |
$199,462 |
|
State/Federal |
$140,480 |
$214,400 |
$45,120 |
|
Fees/Other |
|
$120,600 |
$67,380 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
$79,020 |
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$280,971 |
$526,790 |
$311,962 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Additional appropriations of $280,971 are required to process this expense. With Board approval of the attached budgetary resolution, FY 2023/2024 appropriations of $280,971 will be made in the Russian River Projects Fund and General Fund. California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways grant funds will offset $140,480. Remaining funding will be sourced from the Russian River Projects Fund in the amount of $79,020 and $61,471 from the General Fund. FY 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 appropriations will be budgeted in those fiscal years.
Regarding the requested position, salary and benefits are budgeted in the General Fund which is funded through property tax revenue and grant awards. The General Fund is reimbursed by our enterprise funds through the overhead rate using project costing. Sonoma Water’s cost accounting system allocates labor costs to Sonoma Water projects specific to its enterprise funds. Adding a 1.0 FTE WA Programs Specialist represents a net increase of $61,471 in labor costs for FY 23/24 (based on an hourly weighted rate of $88.66 and an annual cost of $184,413 prorated for 4 months). For FY 2024/2025 the net increase for salary and benefits will be $191,790 and $199,462 for FY 2025/2026 assuming a 4% COLA each year.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Water Agency Programs Specialist II |
$7,504 - $9,124 |
1.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
If approved, this request will change Sonoma Water’s allocation tables as follows:
Water Agency Programs Specialist II allocations will increase from 5 to 6.
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Resolution Amending Department Allocations List
Attachment 2: Resolution Authorizing Adjustments to Board Adopted Budget
Attachment 3: List of Prior Board Actions
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None