SEQUOIA ECOLOGICAL CONSULTING, INC. - FIRST AMENDMENT (#2025361)

Page 2 of 4 25783, and budget amendments appropriating $1,048,900 in grant revenue and corresponding $1,048,900 in project expenditure, all in the Miscellaneous Capital Improvement Program Grants Fund. BACKGROUND In June 2022, the Canyon Fire burned 71 acres of the Pleasanton Ridge, including a portion of Augustin Bernal Community Park. This prompted an internal discussion between the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department (LPFD) and City staff regarding fire management and future fire protection along the City’s western edge. Staff reviewed fuel management funding opportunities and, in early 2023, identified a grant opportunity via the California State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) California Climate Investments Wildfire Prevention Grants Program. In March 2023, the City and LPFD coordinated on an application for the grant to reduce fuel in an approximately 125-acre area in and around Augustin Bernal Community Park. On May 16, 2023, the City Council adopted a resolution acknowledging the submission of a grant application to fund fuel reduction in Augustin Bernal Community Park and certified the availability of funds to implement the reimbursement grant by March 15, 2029. On January 17, 2024, the City was awarded a $1,048,900 non-matching grant (i.e., no City funds are required for the project). Upon award notification, staff reached out to CAL FIRE and other surrounding agencies with fuel management experience to determine the appropriate California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process for the fuel management project. DISCUSSION The Augustin Bernal Fuel Management project, CIP No. 25783, will address fuel-build-up at the 227-acre park and bring the parkland back to a more manageable level so that if a fire occurs in the future, it can be more easily contained with less significant damage. The project will target 125 acres within and around the park and provide fire breaks and vegetation removal to protect structures and access routes and improve the park’s and surrounding areas’ resiliency to fire. The work is scheduled to occur over a roughly five-year period, with the environmental documentation scheduled for the first year and hand labor, grazing, and mechanical vegetation removal scheduled over the next two to four years until the project goals have been met and the available grant money utilized. The fuel management work requires the City to obtain the necessary environmental approvals prior to work being performed. In March, the City and LPFD advertised a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a CEQA-compliant vegetation treatment program for Augustin Bernal Community Park. Four environmental firms submitted a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) for the project prior to the March 28, 2024, submittal deadline. Staff reviewed the SOQs and invited the top two firms for interviews with a panel with representatives from the City and LPFD. The interviewed firms were: 1. Sequoia Ecological Consulting, Inc. Docusign Envelope ID: 3C33ECF0-32A1-49BB-8EEC-71FF81CFBB8D