Excerpt:

Exhibits:

1. Fifth Amended JPA with EBMUD

2. Short Term Agreement

...

BACKGROUND

On May 2, 1997, the City of Alameda (City) entered into a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (JPA) with the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) for the operation and maintenance of the water distribution facilities at Alameda Point. This agreement was amended five times, most recently in 2010, and expired March 31, 2017 (Exhibit 1). This short term agreement (Exhibit 2) is for EBMUD to provide continued services for up to six months while the City and EBMUD continue to negotiate the terms of an agreement that addresses the phasing of new incremental development in the adaptive reuse area at Alameda Point, and explore the possibility of the City transitioning from EBMUD to an outside contractor for operations and maintenance services of existing water infrastructure, if possible and if authorized by the State Water Board Resources Control Board Division of Drinking of Water. City staff is conducting due diligence on multiple fronts on the water quality and public safety implications of changing from EBMUD to a private contractor and is not currently recommending this approach.

DISCUSSION

The City does not have in-house expertise to operate and maintain the water distribution facilities at Alameda Point. Since 1997, EBMUD has performed this work on behalf of the City through a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA). The City compensates EBMUD for all associated costs, but requires that EBMUD obtain prior City approval for any routine operations, maintenance, or emergency work that exceeds a specified capped dollar amount. This short term agreement increases the prior capped dollar amount for routine operations and maintenance work from $7,000 per month to $10,000 per month and, otherwise, extends the provision of existing services by EBMUD for an additional six months, excluding the installation of new service and an ongoing backflow prevention program, which will now be managed cooperatively between the Base Reuse and Public Works Departments.