Okaloosa County BOCC — April 7, 2015 — Amendment No 1 to the Gap Creek Watershed Grant Agreement G0326 — agenda request

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: April 7, 2015 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Jason Autrey SUBJECT: Amendment No 1 to the Gap Creek Watershed Grant Agreement G0326 DEPARTMENT: Public Works BCC DISTRICT: 4 STATEMENT OF ISSUE: On February 1, 2012 Okaloosa County and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) entered into an agreement (DEP Agreement No. G0326) for improvements to the Gap Creek Watershed. Through the course of designing and permitting the project it has been determined that the original project scope requires amendment. The required amendment is provided for consideration by the Board of County Commissioners. BACKGROUND: Part of the Gap Creek Watershed Water Quality study that was completed in 2008 included proposed improvements to the drainage conveyance path from Lovejoy Road (in the adjacent ditch) to Echo Circle. In 2012 the FDEP and Okaloosa County entered into an agreement to address those proposed improvements. The agreement was part of the 319 grant program promulgated by FDEP and the scope of work included the design, permitting and construction of the project. Terms of the agreement required a match by Okaloosa County, which was in the form of paying for the design and construction administration (by either contract or in-house) services. The FDEP was to provide the full cost for construction activities. During design development the County met with permitting agencies regarding the proposed work. Initial indications were positive, however as details developed it was determined that a jurisdictional wetland was located on a portion of the project site. Improvements proposed at this location included the construction of a stormwater basin, but federal policy restricts the ability to convert wetlands to stormwater basins without significant mitigation. Unfortunately mitigation costs were not contemplated in the original grant agreement, therefore an amendment to the project scope is required. Staff has worked with FDEP on the proposed amendment and it is attached for consideration. The reduction of scope will remove both the replacement of a run of stormwater pipe and the construction of the aforementioned stormwater basin. In total, the reduction of scope relates to a project reduction of $799,753.13. The remaining value of the grant totals $444,960.00, of which Okaloosa County will be required to provide a 50% match through either in-kind or third party services. Though the scope of the project was reduced, the remaining improvements are expected to improve water quality and improve longstanding stormwater flooding issues in the area. By improving flow capacity and outfall structures, there is an anticipated increase in treatment of 11% of overall runoff that formerly exceeded conveyance channel capacity. Furthermore, staff continues to work with FDEP to address the permitting restrictions related to the removed portion of the original project scope. If/when a resolution is determined, that portion of the project will be considered for future 319 Grant funding. In order to complete the project, execution of Amendment No.1 is required. Once executed, staff will immediately begin final preparations to the bid documents to ensure that construction of the project is completed well before the grant deadline in September of 2016. Approved documents will be returned to FDEP for final adoption. OPTIONS: Approve/Disapprove authorization for the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners to execute Amendment No. 1 to DEP Agreement No. G0326. RECOMMENDATIONS: Authorize the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners to execute Amendment No. 1 to DEP Agreement No. G0326. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator