AGENDA STAFF REPORT

Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 21-000335
MEETING DATE:	06/22/21
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	3
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	OC Community Resources (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Dylan Wright (714) 480-2788
	Stacy Blackwood (949) 923-3743

Subject: Irvine Lake Shoreline Fishing Operations and Management Contract Extension

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Discussion

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: N/A

Current Year Cost: N/A

Annual Cost: FY 2021-22: $492,020

Staffing Impact:

# of Positions:

Sole Source: Yes

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: OC Parks Fund 405: 100%	County Audit in last 3 years: No

Prior Board Action: 6/23/2020 #S66E, 6/25/2019 #S68I, 6/11/2019 #S1B, 11/18/2014 #9

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Authorize the County Procurement Officer or authorized Deputy to execute Amendment Number Two to the sole-source contract with James Productions, Inc. for shoreline fishing operations at Irvine Lake to extend the contract from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, and make other minor modifications, in an amount not to exceed $492,020, for a revised three-year cumulative total contract amount not to exceed $1,508,660.

SUMMARY:

Approval of the contract with James Productions, Inc. will support the public shoreline-fishing program at Irvine Lake.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

On June 11, 2019, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved acceptance of a 29-acre parcel adjacent to Irvine Lake (Property) that was originally included in an Irrevocable Offer of Dedication (IOD) from The Irvine Company to the County. The Board approved that IOD on November 18, 2014, as part of a larger conveyance of 2,500 acres of open space land to the County.

Irvine Lake and the surrounding lands (including the Property) have been used historically for fishing and other recreational purposes but have not been maintained for public recreation since 2016. Following acquisition of the Property and recognizing the opportunity to play a role in reintroducing shoreline fishing, under the leadership of the Third District Supervisor, OC Community Resources/OC Parks (OC Parks) and County Executive Office (CEO) Real Estate moved forward with instruments that would facilitate public shoreline fishing at the lake. One of those is a license agreement with Serrano Water District (SWD) and Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) and the other is a contract to prepare the Property for public use and support fishing operations at Irvine Lake.

Due to variability of the Irvine Lake water level, the Property is not immediately adjacent to the lake water’s edge. To access the lake water’s edge from the County’s property to fish, the public would need to traverse SWD and IRWD property. A license agreement with those water districts was issued, with an expiration date of June 30, 2020, under the Chief Real Estate Officer’s delegated authority that provides the required access through SWD/IRWD property and water recreational rights to establish the shoreline-fishing program in the near term. CEO Real Estate, SWD and IRWD previously extended that license to June 30, 2021, and have recently finalized an extension of that license agreement to accommodate further negotiations as the parties deem necessary.

A one-year sole source contract (MA-012-19011945) with James Productions, Inc. (James), was approved by the Board on June 25, 2019 in an amount not to exceed $526,120 with an end date of June 24, 2020. The contract provided for extensive initial site preparation and maintenance as well as ongoing maintenance and operations to support public shoreline fishing, including trash removal, maintenance and operations personnel, monitoring and patrol, public restrooms, utilities and limited insurance costs. The contract does not include stocking of fish in the lake. On June 23, 2020, the Board approved Amendment Number One, which extended the contract with James to June 30, 2021, decreased the contract not to exceed amount to $490,520, removed costs for and references to initial site preparation activities that no longer applied and made other minor modifications to operations and costs for those operations.

Both the contract and license agreement were established to afford CEO Real Estate and OC Parks time to continue negotiations with SWD and IRWD towards a long-term agreement governing recreation rights and related lake management roles and responsibilities. This is intended to not only facilitate public recreation opportunities at Irvine Lake, but also to address long-term costs and revenues associated with those opportunities and the need for revenues to support other obligations related to the management and operation of other areas in the County’s 2,500 acres of open space.

At present, those negotiations are still ongoing, and Amendment Number Two (Attachment A) has been prepared to extend the contract with James by one year to be coterminous with the water districts’ license agreement, which is expiring on June 30, 2022. Amendment Number Two extends the contract term from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, in an amount not to exceed $492,020, with no change to the services provided. The nominal total contract cost increase of $1,500, as compared with the existing contract term, is a result of an increase in internet connection fees.

The contract with James allows the County to benefit from James’ years of experience, familiarity with and current involvement in operating publicly used facilities around Irvine Lake. In addition to the fishing operations at Irvine Lake, James currently operates an RV Storage facility on the Property as well as the Oak Canyon Special Event Facility, located proximate to Irvine Lake, under licenses with the County. As an existing licensee, James is the only vendor that offers both years of knowledge and expertise in managing recreation operations at Irvine Lake and can provide services to manage shoreline fishing operations at the Property during the limited time that a long-term agreement is being negotiated. The proposed amendment is an amendment to a sole source contract and a completed Sole Source Request Form is attached to this Agenda Staff Report.

This contract is coming to the Board less than 30 days prior to the commencement of the contract as negotiations on the license agreement extension continued into May 2021, resulting in the earliest Board date available for scheduling to be June 22, 2021. The contractor’s performance has been confirmed as at least satisfactory. OC Community Resources has verified there are no concerns that must be addressed with respect to Contractor’s ownership/name, litigation status or conflicts with County interests. This contract includes a subcontractor. See Attachment D for information regarding subcontractor and Contract Summary Form.

Compliance with CEQA: The proposed project was previously determined to be Categorically Exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15301 (Class 1) of the CEQA Guidelines on June 25, 2019, when it was originally approved. CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 provides for the exception of maintenance and operation of an existing public facility involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

Appropriations for this Contract are included in the OC Parks Fund 405 FY 2021-22 Budget,.

The proposed Contract includes a provision stating the Contract is subject to, and contingent upon, applicable budgetary appropriations approved by the Board for each fiscal year during the term of this Contract. If such appropriations are not approved, this Contract may be immediately terminated without penalty to the County.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A – Amendment Number Two to Contract MA-012-19011945
Attachment B – Sole Source Request Form
Attachment C – Contract MA-012-19011945 Redline
Attachment D – Contract Summary Form