Project Status
The Snowdrop Road Project (Project) was initially approved by the Board of Supervisors to advertise for competitive bids on May 21, 2019. As previously mentioned, shortly after the release of the bid documents, new design conflicts were identified. After consulting with department management and legal counsel, it was determined that cancellation of the bid was necessary in order to minimize potential construction conflicts that would come at considerable additional costs after award of the contract was made and experienced during construction.
The Special Districts Department (Department) worked to resolve the identified conflicts and offer value engineering solutions to mitigate the potential conflicts found. After completion of the plan and specification revisions along with additional geotechnical investigation required for retaining walls and graded slope stability, the Department prepared a revised bid package and submitted to the Board of Supervisors for approval and authorize the re-advertisement. The Board approved the revised bid package on October 22, 2019, and authorized the Department to re-advertise for competitive bids. On November 7, 2019, these bids were uploaded to the County solicitation website, e-Pro, along with multiple job-boards for interested bidders to view and bid on the project.
A mandatory pre-bid meeting was held on December 3, 2019 by the Department for all interested bidders on the project. The project drew the interest of 15 potential bidders who attended this meeting, in which all Department expectations related to the bidding process and construction were delivered. The Department is also actively working with the County’s Real Estate Services Division, County Flood Control Department, Southern California Edison and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to finalize remaining easement acquisitions along the southern part of Haven Avenue before connecting with Rancho Cucamonga’s Haven Avenue.
A bid addendum extending the bid opening to the end of February 2020 was issued to answer a bid quantity question brought up by a Request for Information from a potential bidder. Following bid submissions, review of the bids will be accomplished by the Department and if the contract amount meets the funding requirements, the contract will be submitted to the Board for approval and award. Bonds will be released for construction funding and assessments will be implemented. Provided the project funding aligns with the Assessment District value, easement acquisition completes, and environmental conservation processes allow, the Department will continue to target beginning construction in the spring of 2020.
Environmental Compliance under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Department staff initiated consultation with the project’s regulatory agencies on the proposed impacts to streambed and habitat areas. Applications were submitted to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and the Regional Water Quality Control Board on May 30, 2019. District staff continues to actively communicate with each of the regulatory agencies during this process to reach agreements in advance of the standard permitting timeline. It was determined by Fish and Wildlife Service who requires that any land disturbance activities during construction in the affected habitat areas and easements, a land offset mitigation at an approximate ratio of 3:1 at some cost yet to be determined to comply with the State’s CEQA requirements. Final costs and amount of land off-set is still being evaluated and will need to be included in the total project costs.
The Department had their project engineer calculate the required off-set values and are determining the total mitigation requirements. The Department is in active discussions with a State approved land bank to determine final offset costs and conservation management for the environmental mitigation requirements. Upon opening of construction bids, an analysis will be conducted by Department staff between final planned project costs and the Assessment District funding, including any necessary mitigation requirements. In the event that the Project costs exceed the funding available for AD-2018-1, the Special Districts department will need to work with the AD 2018-1 property owners to determine whether an adjustment to the Project scope road or an increase in assessment is preferred in order to complete the Project.