CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA

CITY COUNCIL
Staff Report

October 2, 2017
ORDERS OF BUSINESS

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members

SUBMITTED Robert M. Harary, P.E. Director of Public Works

BY:

Receive the First Annual Public Works Report and Infrastructure Report Card
SUBJECT:

RECOMMENDATION:
Receive a presentation regarding the First Annual Public Works Report and Infrastructure Report
Card.

BACKGROUND/SUMMARY:

The City of Carmel-By-The-Sea's new Director of Public Works, Robert Harary, P.E., would like
to present to the City Council and members of the public an overview of the Public Works
Department, including organizational structure, tasks, and challenges, as well as an initial
assessment of our infrastructure ("Report Card").

The objectives of the presentation include:

Increase understanding of Public Works responsibilities
Highlight department strengths and challenges
Review strategies, some already underway, to improve services
Introduce community expectations with level of service
Be aware of the condition of key infrastructure components.

Overview of the Public Works Department:

The Public Works Department's Mission is to provide and maintain public infrastructure, services,
facilities and equipment that contribute to the health, safety, and well-being of the community, and do so
in an efficient and cost-effective manner with minimal detrimental effects on the environment.

The Department has an adopted budget for FY 2017/18 of $3.6M and a staff of 20.75 (currently 5
vacancies).

Reporting to the Director/Administrative Unit, the Public Works Department consists of five (5)
operating divisions with varying responsibilities as follows:
 Administration - Agenda reports, budgeting, purchasing/invoicing, personnel matters, serve
on Traffic Safety Commission, and support Forest & Beach Commissiont.

Environmental Programs - Storm water compliance and reporting, illicit discharge

investigations, waste diversion, recycling, energy efficiency, development application review,
and public outreach.

Facilities - Maintenance of 33 buildings totaling 146,200 square feet, condition

assessments, urgent repairs, capital improvement project support, installation of small
projects, and oversee service vendors (janitorial).

Forest, Beach & Parks - Liaison to Forestry & Beach Commission, maintenance and care
for 10,000 trees, 150,000 square feet of open space, 34-acre Mission Trail Nature
Preserve, a 22 acre beach and shoreline, North Dunes habitat area, administer tree permits,
and parks, landscaping and irrigation system maintenance.

Project Management - Development of the Capital Improvement Plan, manage

environmental permitting, engineering, design, bidding, and construction management of
infrastructure projects, including agency coordination.

Streets - Maintenance and repair of asphalt pavement, berms, sidewalks, squirrel trash cans,
signage/traffic controls, and drainage system, street sweeping, encroachment permit
inspections, fleet oversight, events and heavy equipment support.

As a whole, the Department enjoys strengths including: dedicated employees,

teamwork, excellent inter-departmental collaboration, diversity of projects and tasks, strong
community support, and Measure D funding.

However, the Department also faces many challenges, such as unbalanced staffing levels, a
backlog of capital improvement projects, insufficient funding to maintain infrastructure at good
levels of service, challenges in soliciting consultants and contractors to participate in City projects,
and an outdated corporate yard. Contributing to day-to-day challenges are increasing federal and
state regulations and expectations of the community of very high levels of service which
overshadow the department's resources.

Solutions to some of these challenges have been identified and are currently being implemented.
For example, a staffing plan was developed and vacant positions are proposed to be adjusted to
better match workload. Also, a solicitation for qualifications for 20 different, city-wide professional
service areas was released. This streamlining effort will save time from issuing requests for
proposals one project at a time. A free internet program called "ebidboard" is now being used to
solicit more construction bids which will inevitably save funding. Additionally, some capital
improvement projects have been bundled for efficiency, such as HVAC system upgrades for both
libraries.

Infrastructure Report Card:

Modeled after the American Society of Civil Engineer's nation-wide Infrastructure Report Card,
the Director would also like to review his initial assessment of the conditions of six (6) vital
infrastructure components: asphalt pavement, drainage system, building facilities, fleet,
forests/parks, and beach/shoreline. School letter grades, from A to F, were assigned to each
infrastructure component. This year will serve as a baseline year, and future year grades will be
compared to track progress and identify growing concerns.

This exercise is a holistic assessment of our Infrastructure based on data where available, such
as pavement condition index, International Facility Maintenance Association standards, funding
available compared to needs, etc. However, other components where such data is not available
were evaluated based on judgment and experience.

A key point is that costs for infrastructure rehabilitation increases significantly the more that
infrastructure decays. Therefore, maintaining infrastructure at a good to satisfactory level of
service is economical in the long run. This fact is not unique to Carmel - it applies to infrastructure
throughout the country.
FISCAL IMPACT:

There is no fiscal impact associated with receiving this report.The adopted budget for the Public
Works Department for FY 2017/18 is $3.6M. The Department has a staff of 20.75 full time
equivalent staff. Public Works generally oversees the Capital Improvement Plan which has a FY
2017/18 budget of $3.3M.

The presentation will demonstrate that to meet perceived community expectations and safe and
well-functioning facilities, major funding investments are needed to repair and extend our drainage
system, reconstruct the Scenic Drive pathway, renew the Mission Trails Nature Preserve, and
preserve Sunset Center and other historic buildings.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION:

None.
Attachments: