TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Steven Lederer, Public Works Director
REPORT BY: Steven Lederer, Public Works Director
SUBJECT: Receive a report on emergency projects currently under construction
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve a report of emergency Public Works actions on three projects as authorized by Resolution No. 2015-37, determine that the emergency does not permit the delay associated with competitive bidding procedures, and that the emergency actions are necessary to respond to the emergency pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 22050(c)(1) and affirm the need to continue this action. (No Fiscal Impact)
[4/5 vote required]
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BACKGROUND
Per Public Contract Code section 22050(c)(1), when the Board orders expedited contracting procedures be used, the Board shall review the emergency action at its next regularly scheduled meeting and at every regularly scheduled meeting thereafter (but not more often than every 14 days) until the action is terminated, to determine, by a four-fifths vote, that there is a need to continue the action.
Project 1: Pope Canyon Rd. Mile Post Marker (MPM) 4.35 ($550,000)
Recent storms caused significant damage to the County road system, resulting in the Board of Supervisors declaring a state of emergency. Some of the sites required immediate action to protect the public and ensure the damage does not spread to other areas. The County used emergency contracting procedures to initiate work on these areas, which allowed for reduced time to hire contractors to perform the work.
Status: Construction commenced 7/28. All (50) piers are complete. Paving scheduled the week of 9/2 and all work should complete by 9/10.
Project 2: Mt. St. Helena Communications Tower Emergency Generator Replacement ($145,313)
The County currently has a 40-foot-tall telecommunications tower atop the South Peak of Mt. St. Helena that was built in 1970. This site is critical for the operation of public safety communication throughout the county serving local government, law enforcement, and fire agencies.
In April of 2025, the emergency generator that previously provided power during outages ceased operation. To temporarily resolve this, Public Works borrowed one mobile generator from the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to operate on standby at the communications tower. While this temporary solution works in the short term, it limits resources that OES can deploy in emergency situations. Additionally, there is concern that the fuel capacity of the mobile generator may not meet the operational time required for emergency situations at the communications tower during a power outage. Because of the tower’s remote location, access to the tower during an emergency may be significantly hampered, making refilling the temporary generator’s fuel tank during an emergency challenging. If the communications tower is left without power, especially in an emergency, this has the potential to severely affect the response of emergency agencies to the public.
Public Works staff determined that it is necessary to replace the temporary generator with a permanent generator, equipped with a higher capacity fuel tank that will be suitable to power the communications tower in an emergency, as soon as possible. Staff went through Sourcewell to obtain a quote for a contractor with the ability to provide and install the replacement generator. Based on the Sourcewell quote received, Public Works executed a contract with Peterson Power Systems, Inc. for the replacement of the emergency generator.
Status: The replacement generator has been ordered and a delivery date is being determined.
Project 3: Yountville Fire Department Bathroom Emergency Repairs ($373,620)
Severe leaks and water damage, which is potentially jeopardizing the normal use of the station, have been identified at the Napa County Fire Department Station 12, located at 7401 Solano Ave, Yountville, CA 94599. Public Works and the Fire Department Chiefs met to discuss the safety concerns of occupying a building with potential biological growth. In addition, the urinal became inoperable due to leaks and the building bathroom was insufficient to serve the staff at the fire station. The conditions of the building made the long design period and competitive bidding process, which would not start until October 2025, to be insufficient to keep the fire station operational. Without repairing the bathroom as an emergency, Fire could need to relocate staff to a temporary housing option, which would induce higher cost and a decrease in public safety due to the longer response time to travel back to the station.
Status: Shower room No. 1 is scheduled to complete 9/10. Shower room No. 2 will follow, with a scheduled completion date of 10/24.
The Board has previously approved funding and no additional funds are being requested at this time. Good progress is being made, and staff recommends continuing these projects to conclusion in order to expeditiously protect public safety and property.
Requested Action:
Approve the above report and affirm that these projects should continue under the expedited contracts.
[4/5 vote required]
FISCAL IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
No |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
Approval of this action will allow these important safety projects to proceed to completion in an expeditious manner. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Consequences if not approved: |
If not approved, the projects underway will be stopped until formal bidding procedures can be conducted, resulting in month’s delays in restoring this important infrastructure. |
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: General Rule. It can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility the proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment and therefore CEQA is not applicable. [See Guidelines For the Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, 14 CCR 15061(b)(3)].