Title
Authorization to Enter into an Agreement between the City of Phoenix and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Rio Salado Oeste Project General Reevaluation Report (Ordinance S-49184)
Description
Request approval for the City Manager, or his designee, to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prepare the Rio Salado Oeste General Reevaluation Report. Further request to authorize the City Controller to disburse all funds related to this item. The City costs under this agreement will not exceed $1.5 million spread over three years.
Report
Summary
The City is the local sponsor for the Rio Salado Oeste Ecosystem Restoration project, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works project along approximately eight miles of the Salt River from 19th Avenue to 83rd Avenue. This vital ecosystem restoration river project will connect to two existing and successful projects (Rio Salado Phoenix upstream and Tres Rios downstream). Both Rio Salado Phoenix and Tres Rios provide value to the City and its residents in terms of passive recreation, educational opportunities, access to natural spaces, adjacent economic growth, and tourism. Rio Salado Oeste is a crucial connection that will provide a continuous 19 miles of restored river corridor through Phoenix, magnifying the beneficial impact beyond what any one of these projects achieves individually.
This project originated in 2006. At that time, environmental documentation and partial early design plans were completed but were put on hold in 2009. A General Reevaluation Report (GRR) is required by the USACE to reactivate this project. This three-year effort will evaluate the feasibility of the Rio Salado Oeste project and position the project to obtain federal funds for design and construction. The GRR is led by the USACE and the City as partners, with each contributing 50 percent of costs for this phase of work. The USACE is providing $1.5 million over three years, and the City is responsible for a local match.
Contract Term
The agreement will be for a three-year term, with potential extensions not to exceed a total of five years, beginning on or around Oct. 1, 2022.
Financial Impact
The aggregate value shall not exceed $1.5 million without further City Council approval. Funding is available in the Parks and Recreation Department's Capital Improvement Program budget.
The City's local matching funds will be expended for USACE to conduct the GRR; however, if any City funds remain after the GRR is complete, the City may choose to roll the funds forward as part of the local match for the design and construction phase of the project.
Location
Salt River from 19th Avenue to 83rd Avenue
Council District: 7
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Inger Erickson and Karen Peters and the Parks and Recreation Department and Office of Environmental Programs.