[Durham INC] City Stormwater Services Response: INC-list Digest, Vol 129, Issue 9

Fri Sep 11 09:47:00 EDT 2015

Dear INC List:

We noted the discussion regarding the City of Durham Stormwater & GIS Services Division and the concerns noted by some about our efforts to install more rain gardens and other small residential stormwater practices. We'd like to respond to these concerns, explain our competitive bid process, clarify some information, and better explain how we work with the Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD).

In the past, the City of Durham Stormwater & GIS Services Division had several small contracts and grant projects to install small-scale residential stormwater retrofits within the city. The projects include the City's Rain Catchers project, which won an EPA award, as well as projects with partners such as the SWCD and the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association.

In addition to having worked with the SWCD on these small-scale projects, the City currently has a 2014 Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with the SWCD for the installation and inspection of 12 rain gardens and cisterns for the next five years. In short, we value our SWCD partners and we look forward to continuing to work with them.

A concern was raised as to why our division felt a competitive bid process was the best approach after working with various entities up until now. After completing these small-scale projects, we felt that a competitive process for these types of projects was needed to review and update information from previous efforts, including several grants and other contracts, and then use this information to develop a systematic approach for the city moving forward.

We also want to determine a plan for long-term monitoring and reporting for the new devices as well as previously installed devices, bid document preparation, construction management, and design specification for the implementation of these small-scale residential stormwater control measures. At this point, the professional services request for proposals is still underway. A separate bid process will be held for the construction and installation of these practices at a later time.

On May 22, the Stormwater & GIS Services Division issued a professional services request for proposals. When we issued the request, our information contained many sections including evaluation criteria and how to submit a proposal. Proposals were due on June 22, and a committee evaluated the submitted proposals based on criteria detailed in the request. As part of this process, oral presentations were then requested with two of the top-scoring proposals. The top-scoring proposals demonstrated a thorough understanding of the project and the methodology to be used. The top proposals also demonstrated their ability to provide effective project management. A negotiation with the top-scoring team from the oral presentation process is now underway to see if a scope and cost can be agreed upon. If a scope and cost can be agreed upon, then a contract will be drawn up and presented to the City Council for approval.

I'd also like to add a note of clarification on taxes and the City of Durham stormwater utility. Stormwater Services is not funded by tax dollars, but funded by a stormwater utility fee that is applied to city residents only. For more information on this fee, please visit http://durhamnc.gov/814/Stormwater-Bill-Questions.

If you still have concerns or questions about our impartial process to develop a systematic approach for the city moving forward, please contact me directly at (919) 560-4326 or by email at Sandra.Wilbur at DurhamNC.gov<mailto:Sandra.Wilbur at DurhamNC.gov>.

Sincerely,

Sandra Wilbur, PE

Civil Engineer III

Public Works Department Stormwater & GIS Services Division

City of Durham

-----Original Message-----

From: INC-list [mailto:inc-list-bounces at lists.deltaforce.net] On Behalf Of inc-list-request at lists.deltaforce.net

Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2015 11:46 PM

Today's Topics:

5. Request for the INC to invite the SWCD to talk about this RFP business with Stormwater Services (Melissa Rooney)

6. Request for the INC to invite the SWCD to talk about this RFP business with Stormwater Services (Philip Azar)

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Message: 5

Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2015 21:53:29 -0400

From: Melissa Rooney <mmr121570 at yahoo.com>

Subject: [Durham INC] Request for the INC to invite the SWCD to talk about this RFP business with Stormwater Services

A couple years ago, the INC heard from the SWCD regarding the lack of collaboration and the persistence of redundancies between City Stormwater Services and Durham's Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD)

Given the situation outlined in Pat?s and my emails below, this collaboration doesn't seem to have gotten any better.

I am writing to request that the INC invite the SWCD to a meeting to report on the situation regarding Stormwater Services' RFP for rain gardens and other bmps in the city (see correspondence below), the resulting excessive and redundant costs to Durham taxpayers, and the current status of collaboration between the city/county/SWCD with regard to long-term and holistic plans (and acquisition of funding) to improve and preserve the health of Durham watersheds, particularly the Jordan and the Falls.

Subsequently, I expect INC to invite Stormwater Services to give their reasons behind the aforementioned RFP process (why they did not renew the City's previous year's $10,000 pilot program with the SWCD) and the reasons behind their decision to spend ~10x more taxpayers' money for an independent Raleigh contractor to perform these same services? As well as any INC-ers? questions that arise after hearing from the SWCD in this regard.

In another matter, the SWCD is in the process of requesting that the county form a watershed commission, consisting of multiple stakeholders from the city and county, to determine a long-term plan for improvements to our impaired watersheds. Such a plan is desperately needed to ensure open communication and collaboration and to minimize redundancies of services among city/county agents as well as to ensure that Durham tax dollars are spent most efficiently and with maximal benefits to our waterways. The SWCD should also speak to this, likely at a separate/second INC meeting, so that you all know what is being discussed in this regard and why.

An invitation can be sent to

Eddie Culberson  |  Director

721 Foster Street

Durham, North Carolina 27701

Office (919) 560-0558   |   Fax (919) 328-6192

eculberson at dconc.gov <applewebdata://5649DC2F-F67A-4FAE-8BF9-ECD91D2E562F/lmarochak@dconc.gov>

Thanks for considering inviting the SWCD to communicate these issues to the INC directly-they are big issues that affect all Durham residents and taxpayers, not to mention the health of our waterways and drinking water.

Sincerely,

Melissa (Rooney)

(Note: I am an associate supervisor on the SWCD board, but I write to you here as a Durham citizen who pays both county and city taxes.)

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On Sep 5, 2015, at 8:15 PM, Melissa Rooney <mmr121570 at yahoo.com> wrote:

Hiring an engineering company to oversee a rain-garden program is like hiring a plastic surgeon to treat acne.  It is overkill and completely unnecessary, redundant, and costly (for Durham taxpayers).

Durham citizens elect supervisors to serve on the Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) board, providing far more citizen oversight of the rain-gardens and other bmps (best management practices) that our tax dollars are paying for (via state and county (and previously city) funding of Durhams SWCD).

The SWCD has an incredibly hands-on approach, involves cost-sharing (which is far more educational to the homeowners on whose property these bmps are being installed and which also ensures their long-term buy-in with regard to proper use and maintenance of these bmps), and involves our public school system via the Agriculture/Business programs at Southern High School, the Hub farm, and soon-to-be Lowes Grove Middle School.

Yet the city Stormwater Services department (SS) excluded the SWCD?s RFP (to provide the rain-garden services sought) before the SS's scoring process of the other RFP?s was even complete.

My favorite part about the SWCD?s RFP was that nearly ALL of the funds requested (to provide these rain-garden services) were going to pay for public school teacher stipends (for those overseeing the above Ag/Bus programs) and summer stipends for the students who work in these programs via their public school programs. This summer stipend would be a significant financial contribution to the families of the many low-income students involved in the Ag/Bus program at Southern (and who would be installing the rain gardens as well as growing the plants for them).

Furthermore, the SWCD?s RFP involved collaboration on the part of the state, the county, DPS, and the city (via this RFP), and letters of recommendation were submitted along with the RFP accordingly. I've never seen a more collaborative and positive approach.

What's more, the SWCD put in a lot of staff time fulfilling the hurdles required to provide these exact same rain-garden/bmp-installation service for the city last year for a mere $10,000 (all of which was cost-shared among the homeowners whose applications were accepted, on the basis of which projects would provide the most benefit to our waterways). The SWCD went through this frustrating process under the pretense that this contract with the city would be ongoing; and I, for one, was very frustrated when I learned that the city Stormwater Services Department was, instead, requesting RFPs from other entities for these same services. In the meantime, the SWCD?s services in this regard, and especially the involvement of our public schools, has received awards on all levels (see annual report link below):

http://dconc.gov/home/showdocument?id=13393

The lack of sincere collaboration (in action, not just meetings) between the city's Stormwater Services and Durhams Soil and Water Conservation District must end if our approach to improving the health of our waterways is to be its most effective (cost-wise as well as environmental-benefits-wise).

The necessity for a holistic approach and long-term plan regarding actions to improve the health of our stormwater and water sources is a no-brainer. The city and county must work together if we taxpayers are to get the most bang for our bucks.

I hope that the INC will invite the SWCD and Stormwater Services (at separate meetings) to discuss this matter at length and take action to improve this situation moving forward.

Sincerely,

Melissa (Rooney)

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On Sep 5, 2015, at 11:14 AM, Pat Carstensen <pats1717 at hotmail.com <mailto:pats1717 at hotmail.com>> wrote:

I am struggling to understand these two different proposed processes for getting more rain gardens in Durham, a relatively cheap way to improve water quality in our water supply lakes.

What we aren't doing, the Soil and Water Conservation District program, costing in 10's of thousands of $$: Get the plants from DPS's Hub Farm

Use a network of watershed associations to find places to build rain gardens (they should have included INC!) Use the students at the ag concentration and internship program at Southern High School to build the rain gardens Use design and technical assistance from SWCD staff

What stormwater decided to do, costing 100s of thousands of $$ for 1/2 as many rain gardens:

Farm everything out to a Raleigh firm (hiring how many Durham folks to work on it???)

Now, I can understand that if you are building a great big retention pond, you would need a specialist engineer to figure things out (tho the specialist engineers did a pretty good job of messing up the stormwater pond in our neighboring development, so they had to get in the super-specialist engineers to do it right (-:).  But it doesn't sound like a backyard rain garden is something you need a certified civil engineer to OK.

I think other municipalities in NC (Charlotte? Wilmington?) have figured out how to use more local services effectively where they are appropriate, and it is always disappointing when Durham isn't showing leadership in effective use of taxpayer money.

Regards, pat

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Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2015 22:09:33 -0400

From: Philip Azar <pazar at nc.rr.com>

Hi Melissa,

I am looking for a subject matter expert to discuss water resources at the next INC meeting so that there is a baseline for expected further discussion with stakeholders and advocates.

I would prefer not to go directly to advocates and stakeholders if possible.

Everyone, If you know a subject matter expert that may fit the bill, please email me.

Thanks, Philip
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