To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency, Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency, Human Services Department
Staff Name and Phone Number: Grant Davis, 707-547-1911; Chase Takajo, 707-521-1872; Lillian Torres, 707-565-5677
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Stream Maintenance Services
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager and Sonoma County Human Services Department Director to execute the First Amended and Restated Cooperative Funding Agreement for Stream Maintenance Services with the Human Services Department, in substantially the form as the draft presented to this Board. This amendment increases the agreement amount by $318,824 for a new not-to-exceed total of $1,322,420 and no change to the end date of June 30, 2027.
end
Executive Summary:
Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) performs annual stream and creek maintenance to reduce the threat of flooding. Several priority flood control projects are scheduled, and Sonoma Water will not have adequate resources available to perform planned priority and maintenance projects. Sonoma Water needs continued assistance from County of Sonoma (County) Human Services Department (HSD) to complete these projects.
Discussion:
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
Sonoma Water maintains approximately 75 miles of engineered flood control channels and has hydraulic easements on approximately 150 miles of modified or natural channels. Required maintenance activities on engineered channels include sediment removal, bank stabilization, and vegetation management. Required maintenance activities on modified and natural channel easements include vegetation and debris removal that obstruct flow.
Sonoma Water’s Stream Maintenance Program Manual, best management practices, and long-term programmatic permits require that maintenance activities are conducted in a manner that promotes the establishment of a healthy, native riparian corridor. Stream maintenance best management practices also require that crews conducting vegetation removal have a biologist or arborist on site for guidance and direction. Due to its seasonal and regulatory constraints, stream maintenance work is concentrated into a relatively short period of time.
Sonoma Water does not have the staff to perform the amount of work needed and therefore needs to supplement its crews on a short-term basis. Sonoma Water desires to enter into the agreement for stream maintenance services for the channels where Sonoma Water has maintenance authority. Without the additional crews, Sonoma Water would not be able to implement some required flood channel maintenance activities.
In 2009, HSD and Sonoma Water partnered to lead the development and implementation of the Sonoma County Youth Ecology Corps (SCYEC). The two agencies have worked collaboratively since implementation of the SCYEC to provide meaningful opportunities to engage and employ young people while benefiting the community, including the development of vocational County internships through HSD’s My Pathway Program.
SCYEC provides youth and young adults with paid work experience, environmental education, and the opportunity to explore careers and develop work-readiness skills. Youth contribute to their community while completing environmental and conservation-related projects. HSD values and supports the opportunities SCYEC provides to young people, which helps youth who have experienced challenges or barriers gain and retain permanent employment and prioritizes opportunity youth (those not in school and not working), foster and former foster youth, and youth receiving California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) benefits. Sonoma Water’s year-round crew opens the door for these young people to participate in valuable, extended employment opportunities and exposure to a range of careers with the County, along with potential pathways to those positions. This aligns with the County’s goal of building a more diverse and inclusive workforce, meets the needs of the program’s older youth who are looking for more than a summer job, and emphasizes the career pathway focus of the program’s primary funding source, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
The work completed to date reflects steady progress toward meeting Sonoma Water’s maintenance obligations, while current efforts remain focused on completing outstanding priority tasks within regulatory timeframes.
Sonoma Water and HSD first entered into an agreement on July 16 2024, for stream maintenance services, in the amount of $1,003,596.
SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED
Under the proposed amended agreement, HSD will provide crews under contract with Conservation Corp North Bay, or other local youth service providers, for Sonoma Water stream maintenance projects. These services include vegetation thinning; tree pruning and removal; installation of erosion control; tree planting and maintenance; and debris removal. Sonoma Water will reimburse HSD for a portion of the cost of these services. HSD will match Sonoma Water funds with federal WIOA funding for 50 percent of year-round crew costs. Sonoma Water may engage crew members for additional work and pay the full cost for additional hours to HSD.
Amending the agreement is necessary because the HSD-provided crews are operating independently rather than alongside Sonoma Water crews as originally anticipated. This requires each crew to have its own equipment, supervision, and additional personnel, increasing overall costs. As a result, the current arrangement is more expensive than initially planned, and an amendment is needed to reflect the true cost of completing the work. The additional cost is $318,824, for a new not-to-exceed agreement total of $1,322,420. There is no change to end date of June 30, 2027.
Through the proposed amended agreement, the Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager will be delegated the authority to approve a written amendment to extend the term of the agreement for up to two additional years by providing written notice to the other party thirty days in advance of the term end date and by executing an agreement amendment.
County of Sonoma Strategic Plan Alignment:
This item directly supports Sonoma County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Resilient Infrastructure
Goal: Goal 5: Support, fund, and expand flood protection.
Objective: Objective 1: Develop partnerships with cities, tribal governments, and private organizations regarding flood protection and sustainability to identify gaps and address climate change impacts.
Work performed under this cooperative agreement between the two County departments will provide annual stream and creek maintenance to reduce the increasing threat of flooding due to climate change, and promote the establishment of a healthy, native riparian corridor.
Sonoma Water Strategic Plan Alignment
Goal: Planning and Infrastructure
Strategy: Conduct planning that integrates and balances operational, maintenance, and infrastructure services.
Action: Continue to engage in planning efforts to support reliable wastewater and flood management services.
Sonoma Water owns in fee or maintains easements for several streams, creeks, and channels requiring annual maintenance to prevent flooding. Under the agreement, HSD will continue to perform the necessary flood control maintenance at these locations.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
See Attachment 2
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$118,824 |
$200,000 |
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$118,824 |
$200,000 |
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$118,824 |
$200,000 |
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$118,824 |
$200,000 |
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Budgeted amount of $118,824 is available from FY 2025/2026 appropriations for the Flood Control Zone 1A ($39,608), 2A ($39,608), and 3A ($39,608) Funds which are funded by property taxes. FY2026/2027 appropriations will be budgeted in that fiscal year.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Amended Agreement with HSD
Attachment 2: Prior Board Actions
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.