TO: Board of Directors
FROM: Steven E. Lederer, Director of Public Works
REPORT BY: Michael Karath, Staff Services Analyst II
SUBJECT: Contract Amendment No. 1 - Landscape and Irrigation Services
RECOMMENDATION
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Director of Public Works/District Manager requests approval of and authorization for the Chair to sign Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 230118B (MPCD) with Prestige Lawn Care Maintenance to increase the contract’s maximum amount for Fiscal Year 2022-23 to $55,000 from $35,000 for landscape and irrigation services.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On February 28, 2023, the Napa County Board of Supervisors approved a $20,000 budget transfer from use of available fund balance to 1) blade entire cemetery grounds, $9,000; 2) refurbish plaque entrance area, $5,000; 3) repair erosion at Spanish Flat Water District water connection and utility boxes at cemetery’s southeastern corner, $2,000; and 4) provide funds for unanticipated costs, $4,000. To execute this work, staff requests Board approval to amend the Prestige Lawn Care Maintenance contract to increase the maximum amount for Fiscal Year 2022-23 to $55,000, from $35,000, allowing the company to proceed with the upgrades and repairs. The maximum amount for subsequent renewal years will revert to $35,000.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Landscape Services |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
The MPCD needs the contract amendment to complete upgrades and repairs to the cemetery and continue monthly landscape service payments. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
The available fund balance will be reduced, but all major upgrades and repairs the cemetery has long needed will be completed. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
The long-needed upgrades and repairs will not be made. Prices and cost of projects, along with further erosion of present state of the cemetery, will outpace the assessment revenue the cemetery receives, making the projects less feasible in the future. |
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County Strategic Plan pillar addressed: |
Healthy, Safe, and Welcoming Place to Live, Work, and Visit |
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
Monticello Public Cemetery is located at the bottom of a large hill on a fairly steep slope. The southern fence line runs adjacent to Spanish Flat Loop Road. The cemetery then slopes upward to the northern fence line. The slope has been a lingering problem for the cemetery since it was relocated in 1956 from its original site in the town of Monticello that was flooded to create Lake Berryessa. In years of heavy rains, the water runs down the hill at a high velocity, washing down over the cemetery. On either side of the hill are two swales that channel water at an even higher volume and velocity and run down the sides of the cemetery. This created a problem with the storm water pushing the cemetery’s grass and topsoil from the top of the slope to the bottom, leaving weeds, Bermuda grass, and bare spots dotted by grass-like clumps. The resulting surface became hazardous for seniors and other visitors attending burial services or visiting the graves of loved ones. The MPCD Advisory Committee unanimously supports refurbishing the cemetery and making it user friendly for visitors.
In December 2022, the slope project was completed and has performed well through the winter rains. Napa Resource Conservation District erosion control specialists helped design the project. The next step is blading and re-seeding of the cemetery lawn, which is one of the projects necessitating amending the landscape contract. One of the projects listed in this Board letter is the rehabilitation of the Monticello Public Cemetery’s “plaque area” that greets visitors at the cemetery’s entrance. It features a stone wall with an official bronze plaque. The plaque and surrounding area had been obscured for years by overgrown and dying vegetation. It was not accessible to the public. This project was completed in April 2023. Before and after pictures of the project are attached to this Board letter.
All work mentioned in the Executive Summary above is scheduled to be completed before the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2023.