TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Brian Bordona, Interim Director-Planning, Building & Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Barb Ruffino, Staff Services Manager
SUBJECT: Approval of Amendment No. 7 to Agreement No. 170518B with Interwest Consulting Group
RECOMMENDATION
title
Interim Director of Planning, Building and Environmental Services requests approval of and authorization for the Chair to sign Amendment No. 7 to Agreement No. 170518B with Interwest Consulting Group to perform building plan check services, increasing compensation by $100,000 for a new maximum of $350,000 per fiscal year with no change to the agreement term.
body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On August 3, 2006, the County entered into an agreement with Interwest Consulting Group to assist with review of building plans for code compliance. The agreement was amended in 2007, 2014, and then finally in 2015 increasing the annual maximum to its current maximum of $250,000 per fiscal year. The Interim Director of Planning, Building and Environmental Services is requesting to increase this annual maximum to $350,000 per fiscal year to effectively manage workload and address continued staffing shortages.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
|
Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
|
Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
|
Where is it budgeted? |
Building Division 21400-00 |
|
Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
|
Discretionary Justification: |
The Building Division established a four-week initial plan check review time as one of its performance targets. To meet this goal, the Chief Building Official may opt to use an outside plan review firm when the workload cannot be accomplished by the department staff. |
|
Is the general fund affected? |
No |
|
Future fiscal impact: |
The commitment of up to $350,000 per fiscal year would continue in future fiscal years unless the contract is terminated or amended by either party. |
|
Consequences if not approved: |
There are times when our initial plan check of building permits will take longer than established performance targets. This would also cause customer service goals to suffer. |
|
County Strategic Plan pillar addressed: |
Effective and Open Government |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
On August 3, 2006, the County entered into an agreement with Interwest Consulting Group to assist with review of building plans for code compliance at a total cost of $49,758. In fiscal year 2007-08 the agreement was amended increasing to a maximum annual amount of $50,000. In May 2014 the agreement was amended again increasing to an annual maximum of $200,000 per fiscal year. In June 2015 the agreement was amended to increase the yearly maximum amount by $50,000 for a new yearly contract maximum of $250,000. The County Fire department has also been experiencing staffing shortages and has been using these contract services for Interwest to review some of their fire permit plan reviews.
The Building Division collects a plan review fee from the applicant which fully covers the cost of these outside plan review services. In addition, the 2017 and 2020 fires both further impacted the department as far as plan review turnaround timelines and it is imperative that we continue to have these consultant services available in high submittal periods.
The Interim Director of Planning, Building and Environmental Services would like to increase the maximum annual compensation to $350,000. All other terms of the agreement remain unchanged.