REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, P.E., Director Public Works Department BY: BRIAN E. RUSSELL, Assistant Director Public Works Department, Streets, Landscape, and Graffiti Divisions ERIKA L. PELAYO-LOPEZ, Community Coordinator Public Works Department, Streets, Landscape, and Graffiti Divisions SUBJECT ..Title Approve a Consultant Agreement with Dudek in the amount of $249,958 to be used for the development of a comprehensive Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) for the City. ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City Council approve a Consultant Agreement with Dudek in the amount of $249,958. Dudek will work with City staff to draft a comprehensive Urban Forest Management Plan. The Urban Forest Management Plan will provide guidance to various City departments for design, construction, installation, and maintenance of trees for which the City of Fresno is responsible. The Urban Forest Management Plan process will engage both internal and external stakeholders in reviewing of existing policies, procedures, ordinances, specifications, and guidelines related to street, public and private trees. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On June 25, 2020, the City was awarded a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) grant that provided funding to hire a contractor that would assess the City's current urban forest, tree inventory, green canopy, along with City policies. This plan will provide guidance, direction, and suggested changes to the City's current processes with the goal of creating a forty-year Urban Forest Management Plan. This plan will be comprehensive including both recommendations for maintenance and expansion of the Cities Urban Forest. Upon completion of the draft master plan, staff will present to Council for consideration for final adoption. BACKGROUND A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Urban Forest Management Plan was published on June 12, 2021, in the Fresno Business Journal and Planet Bids. A public bid opening was held on June 24, 2021, and two bids were received. Staff conducted interviews of both companies and Dudek was selected as the most qualified and experienced. Unfortunately, due to Covid and staff changes this project was placed on hold and is now ready to proceed. Staff has met with CAL FIRE and is confident that the grant timeline and expectations will be met. The project scope is expected to take approximately 16 months to complete and will conclude with a presentation to the Mayor and City Council in December 2023. The project scope does include community outreach which will include a community online survey, seven community meetings, and two Urban Forest Summits. Dudek will conduct a series of interviews to include City staff that are involved in design and or management activities that may also affect tree preservation and green infrastructure design or planning efforts within the City. During the interviews the goal will be to identify and build upon the following: * Existing tree management and protection policies and regulations in comparison to model tree ordinances. * Internal protocol and processes for design, tree removal requests, pruning, use of inventory database and GIS tools. Along with reviews of other maintenance and tree planting activities being conducted by all City departments. * Financial and human resources dedicated to urban forestry management, plan review, and permitting. * Potential future tree management or planting activities. * City ordinances, regulations, and permits in place that affect tree management, tree protection, tree removal, or tree planting. * Goals, policies, and priorities of each department that relate to tree management, tree protection, or tree planting. * Urban forest program funding. The Community Engagement aspect will ensure that we inform, consult, involve, collaborate, and empower our constituents. A working group will be identified ensuring that each member has an active role in creating a healthy urban forest. Working group members would be selected based on criteria developed by Dudek and the City, and in partnership with local nonprofit organizations, to verify that a broad range of stakeholders, including City staff, elected officials, community-based organizations, and community members are represented. The objectives of the working group meetings will be the following: 1. Create a vision statement for the Fresno urban forest. 2. Identify priority issues to address in the UFMP. 3. Develop short-, medium-, and long-term goals. 4. Identify priority needs to address through public education. 5. Develop a strategy for public education. 6. Review the 80% complete version of the draft UFMP document. Staff recommends that the City Council award a consultant agreement in the amount of $249,958 for the Urban Forest Management Plan and a contingency amount not to exceed 20%. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15378, this is not a project as defined by CEQA. LOCAL PREFERENCE Local preference was not implemented because this contract uses state funding. FISCAL IMPACT This request will have no impact to the General Fund as the dollars are from a CalFire grant and are included in the adopted FY2023 budget. Attachments: Dudek Consultant Agreement