R2012-102 AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT WITH BLANK, WESSELINK, COOK & ASSOCIATES

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BACKGROUND: In 1966, Warren &Van Praag, Inc. prepared a drainage study for the City of Decatur that examined the City's flooding problems and attempted to plan for drainage needs in future developments. Then, in the late 1970's and early 1980's, the City invested $19.75 million in drainage improvements throughout the City. The part of Nelson Park Neighborhood that is bound by 22nd Street on the west, Wood Street on the north, Nelson Boulevard on the east and Powers Boulevard on the south was included in this drainage study. A map of the area can be found in Figure 1 of this memorandum. When the 1966 report was written, numerous residences along nearly every street in the area reported street and basement flooding. This project was never constructed. It should come as no surprise that the flooding problems that existed in 1966 have not gone away. When the City completed the Stormwater Master Plan in 2009 with Clark Dietz, Inc., the Nelson Park Neighborhood was again included as an area that was experiencing storm drainage related problems. The area is one of the highest priorities in the Master Plan's list of 46 problem areas. The total estimated project costs in the 2009 Stormwater Master Plan $380,000. Due to expected construction costs being higher than funds available, the Nelson Park Neighborhood storm sewer project is planned to be completed in two phases. The first phase would construct an outlet for the system from Lake Decatur to the neighborhood. The second phase would construct a storm sewer system in the neighborhood. The preliminary estimated project cost of Phase I is approximately $700,000. City staff extended an invitation to the following four local civil engineering consultants to interview for the drainage related project for FY 2012/2013. Interviews were held on March 28, 2012: 1. Bainbridge, Gee, Milanski &Associates, Inc. of Decatur, IL 2. SKS Engineers & Associates, Inc. of Decatur, IL 3. Onsite Engineering, LLC of Decatur, IL 4. Blank, Wesselink, Cook&Associates, Inc. (BWC) of Decatur, IL Staff believes that BWC understands the requirements of this project and is the best qualified to perform this design. BWC has the resources available to complete the final design and prepare bid documents for the first phase of this project by September 2012. Preliminary Engineering of the second phase of the work is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. Scope of Services Staff has negotiated a scope of services and contract amount with BWC. The proposed contract amount of$80,513 is about 12%of the preliminary cost estimate of Phase 1. The project objective is to provide design and construction drawings to restore the first phase of the northeast drainage ditch to its original size and slope. Major work items of the project are: 1. Topographic Survey of the project area 2. Hydrology and Hydraulic Analysis Page 12