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HomeMy WebLinkAbout64-17 RESOLUTION113 West Mountain Street Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479)575-8323 Resolution: 64-17 File Number: 2017-0107 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING OPERATIONS, INC. AMENDMENT 3: A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE AMENDMENT 3 TO THE CONTRACT WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING OPERATIONS, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $56,500.00 FOR WETLANDS MITIGATION SITE MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT IN 2017 WHEREAS, Ordinance 5687, which was adopted on May 6, 2014, waived the requirement of formal competitive bidding and authorized a contract with Environmental Consulting Operations, Inc. for wetlands mitigation site monitoring and management for 2014; and WHEREAS, Section 3.2 of the contract provides that the contract may be renewed for additional one year terms upon mutual agreement of the City and Environmental Consulting Operations, Inc. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1. That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby approves Amendment 3 to the contract with Environmental Consulting Operations, Inc. in the amount of $56,500.00 for wetlands mitigation site monitoring and management in 2017. PASSED and APPROVED on 3/7/2017 FAYETTfViLLE fes; I111(, t°°` City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Text File - File Number: 2017-0107 Agenda Date: 3/7/2017 Version: 1 113 West Mountain Street Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 Status: Passed In Control: City Council Meeting File Type: Resolution Agenda Number: A. 13 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING OPERATIONS, INC. AMENDMENT 3: A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE AMENDMENT 3 TO THE CONTRACT WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING OPERATIONS, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $56,500.00 FOR WETLANDS MITIGATION SITE MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT IN 2017 WHEREAS, Ordinance 5687, which was adopted on May 6, 2014, waived the requirement of formal competitive bidding and authorized a contract with Environmental Consulting Operations, Inc. for wetlands mitigation site monitoring and management for 2014; and WHEREAS, Section 3.2 of the contract provides that the contract may be renewed for additional one year terms upon mutual agreement of the City and Environmental Consulting Operations, Inc. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1. That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby approves Amendment 3 to the contract with Environmental Consulting Operations, Inc. in the amount of $56,500.00 for wetlands mitigation site monitoring and management in 2017. City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Page 1 Printed on 31812017 Tim Nyander Submitted By City of Fayetteville Staff Review Form 2017-0107 Legistar File ID 3/7/207 City Council Meeting Date - Agenda Item Only N/A for Non -Agenda Item 2/16/2017 Utilities Director / Utilities Department Submitted Date Division [ Department Action Recommendation: A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE AMENDMENT NO. 3 TO THE CONTRACT WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING OPERATIONS, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $56,500.00 FOR WETLANDS MITIGATION SITE MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT THROUGH 2017 -5400.730.5120.5315.00 Account Number N/A Project Number Budgeted Item? Yes Budget Impact: Water and Sewer Fund N/A Project Title Current Budget $ 73,233.39 Funds Obligated $ 16,233.39 Comments: Ordinance 5687 Current Balance Does item have a cost? Yes Item Cost $ 56,500.00 Budget Adjustment Attached? No Budget Adjustment Remaining Budget ` 00.00 V20140710 Previous Ordinance or Resolution # 35-16 Original Contract Number: 2320 Approval Date: Comments: Ordinance 5687 CITY OF 01 T• v le ARKANSAS MEETING OF MARCH 7, 2017 TO: Mayor and City Council THRU: Mayor Lioneld Jordan FROM: Tim Nyander, Utilities Director DATE: February 15, 201-7 CITY COUNCIL AGENDA MEMO SUBJECT: Professional Services Contract with ECO, Inc. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of Amendment No. 3 with Environmental Consulting Operations, Inc. (ECO, Inc.) in the amount of $56,500 for the ecological monitoring and adaptive management of Woolsey Wet Prairie in 2017. Ordinance 5687, which was adopted on May 6, 2014, waived the requirement of formal competitive bidding and authorized a contract with Environmental Consulting Operations, Inc. for wetlands mitigation site monitoring and management for 2014. Section 3.2 of the contract provides that the contract may be renewed for additional one year terms upon mutual agreement of the City and Environmental Consulting Operations, Inc. BACKGROUND: ECO, Inc. developed the wetlands and storm water protection best management plans and conducted excellent construction inspection for the WSIP, and was tasked to ensure full compliance with the related regulations and permits. ECO Inc. also designed the wetlands mitigation site that was required by the Corps of Engineers, which has a mandated seven year monitoring and,reporting period. Funding comes from the Wastewater Treatment Operations Program. DISCUSSION: The contract covers the following work tasks for 2017: (1) Project Administration and Management; (2) Annual Ecological Restoration Monitoring; (3) Annual Adaptive Management Strategy; (4) Update Credit Tracking Ledger for Surplus Wetland Credits; The details of each of these work tasks are outlined within the proposed Amendment No. 3 between the City of Fayetteville and ECO, Inc. Amendment No. 3 has an increase of $6,500 from 2016, and justification is attached. Mailing Address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701 BUDGET/STAFF IMPACT: An appropriation of $56,500 is requested to pay for these services. This will be paid for within the budget of the Wastewater Treatment Operations Program. Attachments: Staff Review Form Amendment No. 3 Justification Attachment AMENDMENT NO.3 TO AGREEMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING SERVICES BETWEEN CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING OPERATIONS, INCORPORATED FOR WOOLSEY WET PRAIRIE ECOLOGICAL MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING SERVICES THIS AMENDMENT NO. 3 to the Agreement For Professional Environmental Consulting Services, dated May 8, 2014 (the "Agreement"), by and between CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS (CITY) and ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING OPERATIONS, INC. (ECO) for environmental consulting services in connection with monitoring and ecological adaptive management of CITY's wetland mitigation site (Site) known as Woolsey Wet Prairie is made and entered into for purposes of continuity of Site wetland habitat status in order to maintain surplus wetland credits generated at Site and due to Corps of Engineers (Corps) regulatory requirements to manage and maintain wetland compensatory mitigation in perpetuity to assure Site continues to meet ecological performance standards. - WHEREAS, this AMENDMENT NO.3 is a renewal of the May 8, 2014 Agreement that included a provision for automatic renewal of ECO's annual Scope of Services beyond 2014 for additional 1 -year terms upon mutual agreement by both CITY and ECO. Unless specifically stated, all other terms and conditions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. Neither this Amendment nor the Agreement may be modified except in writing signed by an authorized representative of the CITY and ECO. All work to be performed prior to issuance of Amendment has been completed. NOW THEREFORE, the CITY and ECO agree to amend the Agreement for ECO's Scope of Services as follows: 1. Part A - Project Administration And Management a) General administration and project management activities; b) Perform project initiation activities; c) Provide environmental regulatory and technical information to CITY and CITY Contractors; d) Meet with CITY and CITY Contractors for information exchange, goal and timeline setting, reviewing management strategies and action items; e) Perform internal project control including budgeting, scheduling, and quality control; fl Part A applies to January through December 2017. ECO's renewal of annual Scope of Services will be reviewed by the City Council and amended upon approval for renewal of Part A services beyond 2017. 123016 -ECO WWP Amnd No. 3.pdf 2. Part B - Annual Ecological Restoration Monitoring a) Conduct qualitative monitoring activities twice annually to maintain cumulative plant species lists, evaluations of seasonal hydrology and associated plant communities, and ication of stands of invasi dentifive plant species to be controlled; b) Observe and document total plant species richness for each wetland cell and the total mitigation Site in historical comprehensive plant species lists; c) Record locations of concentrated stands of non-native and native invasive plant species and locations of rare Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission tracking plant species on wetland cell maps; d) Develop 2017 Woolsey Wet Prairie Adaptive Management Strategy & Monitoring Report No. 11 that is consistent with historical- monitoring and management activities at Site in a format to be used for Site adaptive management purposes; e) Part B applies to January through December 2017. ECO's renewal of annual Scope of Services will be reviewed by the City Council, and amended upon approval for renewal of Part B services beyond 2017. 3. Part C - Annual Adaptive- Management Strategy a) Continued development and implementation of annual strategy for specific controls of invasive species via selection, coordination, and scheduling of time sensitive hydrology controls, herbicide applications, mowing, hand pulling, and prescribed burning; b) Make Site visits throughout the growing season to snake observations of hydrology, vegetation, and effectiveness of invasive vegetation control; c) Oversee selection, scheduling, and coordination of Site adaptive management activities and provide guidance pertaining to Site Deed -Restrictive Covenant restrictions to CITY and CITY's Contractors associated with management of Site; d) Provide restoration ecology advisory technical guidance to CITY and CITY's Contractors associated with management of Site for the purpose of implementation of Site management activities that are compliant with Site permanent protection measures and restrictions specified in the CITY's Section 404 permit; e) Document and maintain records of adaptive management activities implemented and the date of use; f) Make adjustments, as necessary, to timing and type of vegetation management to be implemented including, but not restricted to, hydrology management, mowing, herbicide applications, prescribed burning, and hand pulling of invasive plant species; 123016 -ECO W WP Amnd No. 3.pdf g) Utilize drone -generated wetland cell aerial photographs showing locations of concentrated stands of invasive and non-native plant species and locations of rare Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission tracking plant species in order to target and prioritize areas for specific management activities; h) Develop herbicide application specifications that include specific types of herbicides to apply to specific invasive plant species by City contractors; i) Schedule and select type of herbicide, adjuvant, and application rate to be used for specific target non-native and invasive plant species at specific locations and document herbicide effectiveness; j) Coordinate, schedule, and observe areas where herbicide applications have been made to evaluate effectiveness for controlling invasive species by City contractors; k) Develop burn specifications that clearly identify prescribed Burn Contractor responsibilities as a part of CITY's informal bid process that identify: Site preparation, notifications, and Burn Contractor responsibilities; 1) Coordinate, schedule, and observe prescribed burn to evaluate Burn Contractor's conformance with state laws, notifications, and specifications; m) Part C applies to January through December 2017. ECO's renewal of annual Scope of Services will be reviewed by the City Council, and amended upon approval for renewal of Part C services beyond 2017. 4. Part D - Update Credit Tracking Ledger for Surplus Wetland Credits a) Site has generated surplus of wetland credits above those required by CITY's Section 404 permit for wetland compensatory mitigation. CITY has received Corps approval to use wetland credits to mitigate for wetland impacts caused by the CITY's infrastructure improvement projects within Illinois River watershed, HUC 11110103; b) Under the 2014 Scope of Services, ECO developed a wetland credit ledger to include surplus credits and credit debits from CITY's Van Asche Extension Project for submittal to Corps; c) Under the 2015 Scope of Services, ECO developed a wetland credit ledger to include surplus credits and credit debits from CITY's Clabber Creek Recreational Trail Project for submittal to Corps; d) Under the 2016 Scope of Services, CITY did not utilize any surplus wetland credits for City infrastructure improvement projects requiring wetland compensatory mitigation; e) It is unknown at the current time, whether or not Part D services will be necessary for January through December 2017, and will be a function of whether or not surplus credit 123016 -ECO W WP Amnd No. 3.pdf 3 transactions occur. Should 2017 wetland credit transactions occur, ECO shall update wetland credit ledger accordingly for submittal to Corps at the end of 2017; f) ECO's renewal of annual Scope of Services will be reviewed by the City Council, and amended upon approval for renewal of Part D services beyond 2017. 5. COMPENSATION a) For the amended Scope of Services described herein, CITY agrees to pay ECO the sum specified below on Cost Detail Table. Invoices shall be submitted by ECO each month for work completed in the previous month. Total payments shall not exceed the amount of FIFTY SIX THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($56,500.00). Amendment No. 3 - 2017 Cost Detail Amended ECO Scope of Services Fee Estimate Part A - 2017 Project Administration And Management $ 1,500 Part B - 2017 Annual Ecological Restoration Monitoring $20,000 Part C - 2017 Annual Adaptive Management Strategy $35,000 Part D - 2017 Update Surplus Wetland Credit Tracking Ledger $ 0 TOTAL $56,500.00 Clerical fees The CITY and ECO intending to be legally bound, indicate their approval of this AMENDMENT No. 3 by their signatures below., ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE OPERATIONS, INC. By: Bruce Shackleford, President Date: December 30, 2016 Date: �A0 l ATTEST: •• C1T•sy Sondra E. Smith, City Clerk/Treasurer 'rp`n���'�'A NSP;'.•'';: fig � • • ... • ���� End of December 30, 2016 Arne 0%. 3 for Environmental Consulting Services 123016 -ECO W WP Amnd No. 3.pdf CERTIFICATE OF LIABILITY INSURANCE DATE (MM DO2016 IYYYY) THIS CERTIFICATE IS ISSUED AS A MATTER OF INFORMATION ONLY AND CONFERS NO RIGHTS UPON THE CERTIFICATE HOLDER. THIS CERTIFICATE DOES NOT AFFIRMATIVELY OR NEGATIVELY AMEND, EXTEND OR ALTER THE COVERAGE AFFORDED BY THE POLICIES BELOW. THIS CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CONTRACT BETWEEN THE ISSUING INSURER(S), AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OR PRODUCER, AND THE CERTIFICATE HOLDER. IMPORTANT: If the certificate holder is an ADDITIONAL INSURED, the policy(les) must be endorsed. If SUBROGATION IS WAIVED, subject to the terms and conditions of the policy, certain policies may require an endorsement. A statement on this certificate does not confer rights to the certificate holder in lieu of such endorsement(sj. PRODUCER - The Thomas Insurance Agency of Benton, Inc. 114 East Conway Street_ P. O. Box 49 Benton AR 72018-0049 uwTSOr Carol Alexander !2m CAI (501) 778-9162 % (501)]98-0533 'MAIL calexandex@thomasins. net MSURE B AFRORL3H3o COVErwol=_ NAJC iNsugoA,Peerlezz Indemnijiy Ind. Co 18333 INSURED Environmental Consulting Operations, Inc. 17724 Interstate 30 Suite 5A Benton AS 72019 ilnuRERn.CaLl3l Insurance Comparly 15725 IMSURIER -America First Insurance 12696 INSURERD-The Netherlands Ins. Co. IHSIRERE-Westchester Fire Nisums• rnlrCon r_�c rFRT7Ftr aTF lJttMRFR•MaarnT• ?0151703.6 RFVIS3nN IUUMRFR- THS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE POLICIES OF INSURANCE LISTED BELOW HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO THE INSURED NAMED ABOVE FOR THE POLICY PERIOD INDICATED, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY REQUIREMENT, TERM OR CONDITION OF ANY CONTRACT OR OTHER DOCUMENT WITH RESPECT TO WHICH THIS CERTIFICATE MAY BE ISSUED OR MAY PERTAIN, THE INSURANCE AFFORDED BY THE POLICIES DESCRIBED HEREIN IS SUBJECT TO ALL THE TERMS, EXCLUSIONS AND CONDITIONS OF SUCH POLICIES LIMITS SHOWN MAY HAVE BEEN REDUCED BY PAID CLAIMS. "M LTR TYPEOFINSURANCE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE A .CY NUMBER PG.ICY.EFF POLICY EXP LIMITS OENERALLtARWTY EACH OCCURRENCE S 2,000,000 X COPAMFRCiAL GIE ER IAI31L1TY A A S 50,000. MED F�(P An on rson3 S 5,000. A AL3MU CLAIOE OCcorl 13OP8777430 5/10/2015 i./10/2016 PERSONALS ADV IN URY S 2, 000, 000. 5/10/2016 5/10/2017 GENERAL AGGREGATE S 4, 000, DOC GErfL r1GGRCOATE LIMITAPPUESPER PRODUCTS -COMPIOP AGG S 4,000,000 S H POLICY PRO LOC AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY I SIN61905il 2,000 ,000 BODILY INJURY (Per person) S B ANY AUTO ALL OWNED X SCHEDULED AUTOS NONAUT�OWNED HIRED AUTOS AUTOS ;AB001502 3/1/2015 3/1/2016 3/1/2016 3/1/2017 BODILY INJURY (Per accident) S T9tOPERTr'DAMADE S m� rne,a>< s sono X UMBRELLA LIABX OCCUR EACH OCCURRENCE S 1,000,000 AGGRFGATF S 1,.000,000 C EXCESS LIAR CLAIMS -MAGE 5/10/2015 5/10/2016 L.L, I.XRETENTION10,00 S =774391 5/10/2016 5/10/2017 D WORKERSCOMPENSATION lVCM TA70. CPTH, AND EMPLOYERS LIABILITY ANY PROPRIETORIPARTNERrEXECUTIVE YIN OFFICER/MEMBER EXCLUDED? (Mandatory in NH) - NIA aCB777B30 5/10/2015 5/10/2016 E L EACH ACCIDFIJT 5 1 000 000 E��cr=nSE FAJrMpLDYE S 1 000 000 El i71SEASE -POLICY W1yT $ ], D00 000 Il yes, describe under DE&CRIPTION OF OPERATI .5/10/2016 5/10/2017 E Professional Liability 3INDER/PROFESSIONAL ;/10/2015 S/10/2016 Conlacl,m Poll, Ural, Agg 2,000,000 ;/10/2016 5/10/2017 Cantractors Pollu Liab Occ 1,000,000 DESCRIPTION OF OPERATIONS/ LOCATIONS I VEHICLES (Attach ACORD 101, Additional Remarks Schedule, If more space is required) r —Ir ATC unn M=0 7'6Nr:FI 1 ATInN ACORD 25 (2010105) IN8n2E nnlnrxl m 123016 -ECO W WP Amnd No. 3.pdf ©1988.2010 ACORD CORPORATION. All rights reserved. The Arn Dn.— end I— — —(c Fer- ni me r-ue of ArnDn SHOULD ANY OF'THE ABOVE DESCRIBED POLICIES BE CANCELLED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION DATE THEREOF, NOTICE WILL BE DELIVERED IN Proof of Insurance . ACCORDANCE WITH THE POLICY PROVISIONS. AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE Paul Childress/CA=^^---•- ACORD 25 (2010105) IN8n2E nnlnrxl m 123016 -ECO W WP Amnd No. 3.pdf ©1988.2010 ACORD CORPORATION. All rights reserved. The Arn Dn.— end I— — —(c Fer- ni me r-ue of ArnDn mvsoo.ru 110. , ECO, mc, 'fnlegr emp R"f'CM"vr ;E'CCAgD,, awe IM" Date: January 25, 2017 To: Tim Nyander — City of Fayetteville From: Bruce Shackleford, - ECO, Inc. Regarding: Justification for 2017 Woolsey Wet Prairie Contract Price Increase Upon your request, I am providing additional information pertaining to the justification fro the price increase in ECO, Inc.'s 2017 Contract Amendment No. 3. As discussed in the December 30, 2016 Executive Summary for Woolsey Wet Prairie Annual Ecological Monitoring and Adaptive Management: The price reflected within the proposed 2017 Amendment No. 3 to the May 8, 2014 Agreement is slightly more than the 2016 Amendment No. 2. Currently, additional labor is warranted under Part C Adaptive Management due to the need to reduce the very invasive woody vegetation at the site that is threatening the prairie habitat, An most endangered ecosystem. The December 30, 2016 Executive Summary showed the amount for 2016 Conti -act Amend. No. 2 ($50,000) and the 2016 Actual Amount Billed ($50,000), but did not show the actual work completed by ECO, Inc. ($53,413), as shown below. 2016 Contract Amend. No. 2 Approved Amount $50,000 2016 Actual Billed 2016 Actual Work Completed 2016 Work Donated & Not Billed $50,000 $53,413 $3,413 The donated work was not shown in the December Statement No. 11 that I emailed to you on December 30, 2016, but it is reflected in the Itemized Category Report that was attached to the statement. The $3,413 overage was largely due to unanticipated labor for ECO, Inc. to address the need to greatly reduce the density of woody vegetation. Our work included: • Marking areas in the field for tree clearing/thinning; • Conferrals with USFWS to minimize impacts and identify tree removal restrictive dates due to the presence of the endangered Indiana bat within the project area that roosts in trees during the warm season; • Coordination with CH2MHill, regarding tree removal strategy, scheduling, methodology; • Development of July 22, 2016 technical memorandum for tree clearing/thinning with marked thinning/clearing aerial photographs; • Inclusion of proposed 2017 tree removal strategy section within Annual Monitoring and Adaptive Management Report with revised marked aerial photographs for tree clearing after learning that CH2MHi11 contractor's equipment would be difficult to use for thinning but is practicable for clearing; The figure of $56,932 within the proposed 2017 Amendment No. 3 represents a $3,519 or 6.5% increase over the 2016 Actual Work Completed figure of $53,413, due to the planned upcoming activities for 2017. • Make minor changes to field -marked areas for tree clearing only and include a designated "No Clear" area to meet Section 404 permit requirement of maintaining a minimum of 2.25 acres as forested wetland mitigation site; • Coordination with CH2MHill, regarding tree removal strategy, scheduling; • Coordination with CH2MHill, regarding a more aggressive herbicide program for controlling wood vegetation; • Provide guidance to CH2MHill for implementing preventative measures to control woody plant succession rather having to take more labor and equipment intensive actions that we now face; • Field observation/oversight of tree clearing activities Historically, the level of tree removal currently needed in 2017 at Woolsey Wet Prairie has not been done in previous years. Growing season conditions can vary widely from one year to the next and this greatly influences how adaptive management tools can be implemented, and how effectively woody vegetation can be controlled with prescribed burning and herbicides. More specifically, fire may stunt and/or kill the very small woody vegetation, but will not kill the saplings and larger trees. Mechanical methods and/or herbicides are required to kill the saplings and larger trees. The spring of 2015 was very wet and the March 23, 2015 prescribed burn was far less intense than any burn to date. Therefore, the fire was not sufficient to knock back a significant portion of the smaller woody plants. Atypical levels of inundation within the wetland cells prevailed well into the growing season, which precluded the application of herbicides to woody plants in many areas, due to herbicide restrictions that prohibit applying herbicides over standing water. The black willows, in particular, thrived under these conditions and grew larger. The March 5, 2016 prescribed burn was very intense, however, due to the increased size and density of black willows, the fire did not effectively kill many of the woody plants. ECO, Inc. conducted a site reconnaissance in early July 2016 and observed the very dense growth of woody vegetation and subsequently developed the July 22, 2016 technical memorandum emphasizing the need for more aggressive actions to remove the dense woody growth. The acreage of forested areas has displaced herbaceous wetland acreage required by the City's Section 404 permit resulting in the loss of surplus wetland credits and posing a threat to rare wetland sedge/rush plant species tracked as elements of conservation concern by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC), that require open wet meadow habitat exposed to sunlight. The July 22, 2016 technical memorandum was copied to you on July 22, 2016. However, I am attaching it to this memorandum for your convenience. Table 2 on page 3 of the memo, shows excerpts from annual monitoring reports dating back to 2011 that recommend the need to control woody vegetation. As indicated on Page 4 of the memo "ECO, Inc. has not observed control efforts of black willow during the 2016 growing season, and herbicide application records to date, do not indicate that herbicides are being applied to black willows. Furthermore, dense stands of persimmon saplings have been observed, particularly in Wetland Cell E-4." and "As.noted in the Table 1 black willow management records, no black willows have been cut/sprayed since 2013. " Additional detailed recommendations concerning the immediacy for tree removal activities, and consequences for failure to do so, is discussed in Section 3.1— Tree Removal To Control Woody Plant Succession that I emailed to you on December 28, 2016. Conferrals with CH2MHil1 since the July 22, 2016 memo (including yesterday) indicate that minimal actions were taken during the remainder of the 2016 growing season to reduce the density of woody vegetation and that they have made arrangements with the City for approval to have their vegetation control contractor to remove woody vegetation with a timber mulcher in the near future. Today, I reminded CH2MHill that the restrictive tree removal dates imposed by USFWS does not allow tree removal after March 15. ECO, Inc.'s proposed price increase for coordination of tree removal activities coincides with CH2MHi11 getting City approval for contracting tree removal via a timber mulcher. Although changes in yearly weather patterns can affect implementation of adaptive management activities as discussed above, it is ECO, Inc.'s opinion that more cost-effective preventative measure are achievable. Historically, ECO, Inc. has only billed for City -approved services provided and if annual services end up below the approved contract amount, The City is only billed for the labor and expenses expended toward the scope of work, rather than the full contract amount. This is well documented in previous budget memoranda and budget summaries I have provided to the City. For example, the 2015 Contract Amendment amount was $50,766 but ECO, Inc. only billed for $45,370.37. 3 In contrast, in certain years, ECO, Inc.'s labor and expenses may have exceeded the contract amount, due to unforeseen circumstances and ECO, Inc. has donated additional labor and expenses to get the job done. Examples include: 1) 2013 when the approved contract amount was $33,870.00, because of what was left in the WSIP budget. ECO, Inc. expended a total of $39,590.60, thereby donating $5,720.60 to the cause. 2) 2014 when David Jurgens departed his position with the City and ECO, Inc.'s contract was thereby delayed and not approved until May 8, 2014. Nonetheless, I could not allow the very time -sensitive work at WWP (such as March prescribed burn and post burn herbicide applications) to go without attention. Consequently, ECO, Inc. continued with providing services for WWP prior to contract approval, and made city fully aware of all of ECO, Inc.'s activities, donating $13,124.30 of labor and expenses prior to May 8, 2014, for which the City was not billed. 3) 2016 when ECO, Inc. donated $3,413, as described above. I will be in contact with you to answer any questions you may have and to further clarify the issues at hand.