Council to consider items related to Parkway Boulevard overpass

The Parkway Boulevard overpass, which has been planned in Dixon for decades but has yet to be developed, might see some more movement as a number of items will go before the City Council at its Tuesday meeting.

These include amending the original contract with T.Y. Lin International, updating the city’s Streets Master Plan, executing a reimbursement agreement with Union Pacific Railroad, and creating a corresponding budget amendment with no net fiscal impact.

Plans to construct an overpass connecting from Parkway Boulevard to Pitt School Road date back to 1993, when the city included the project in its General Plan to develop the area and decrease impacts to the downtown. In 2004, the city entered into an agreement with T.Y. Lin, an infrastructure services firm out of San Francisco, for the project, which specifically aims to extend Parkway Boulevard from its current endpoint at Valley Glen Drive and connect to Pitt School by creating an overpass to go above the railroad tracks in an attempt to create improved access to Dixon High School and easier travel for emergency vehicles.

According to a staff report by Public Works Director Joe Leach, the original agreement also included Pitt School from Hillview Drive to Porter Road, which was completed by the developer of the Homestead development. Additionally, he wrote that the original scope of the project included a preliminary design, environmental documents, final design plans, specifications and estimates, bidding support and construction support.

However, according to Leach, an amendment that had previously been adopted by the City Council has been updated with new rules and changes. As a result, he wrote that additional efforts are required by TY Lin, including a partial redesign of the western embankment, Union Pacific approval of the bridge type, additional earthwork, assessment of the current conditions, an addendum to the Environmental Impact Report, an update of the California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act documents and a redesign of the utilities including the drainage system.

“TY Lin proposes to complete these new and additional tasks for an amount not to exceed $376,824.71,” Leach wrote. “This will bring the total proposed time and materials, not to exceed fee for TY Lin to $622,255.71 for the services related to developing the western embankment.”

One article from the 2004 contract stipulates that the city retain 10 percent of the amount earned for each task until each task is completed. Staff is recommending this provision be removed, Leach wrote.

“Retention provisions are not common in professional services agreements and the City’s current professional services agreements do not contain a retention provision,” he wrote.

Additionally, Leach wrote that staff determined that the city could save money on the Parkway Boulevard project if data is collected concurrently with data for other ongoing projects, such as the Rail Corridor Study and update to the city’s Transportation Impact Fee. Therefore, staff is requesting the council authorize an amendment to the city’s contract with DKS Associates — which the city has also contracted with for the previously listed projects — for the city to receive required additional data for an amount of $34,905 or less. This would include updated traffic data for the CEQA/NEPA documents.

Finally, Leach wrote that Union Pacific was involved with a preliminary review of the construction documents but discontinued its involvement in 2016 because the project was inactive. The city is now required to enter into a new reimbursement agreement with Union Pacific for a sum not to exceed $60,000 to complete the plans for the western embankment portion of the project. Following the agreement, Leach wrote the city and Union Pacific would work together to complete a diagnostic meeting for the entire intercity rail corridor including the Pit School crossing, review the proposed embankment plans, and work together as necessary during the construction.

“Staff is working to determine whether STA (Solano Transportation Authority) will fund at least a portion of the UPRR Reimbursement Agreement,” Leach wrote.

In other business, the council will consider appointing somebody to serve as interim city clerk until the Nov. 2 special election and also consider increasing compensation for the city treasurer and commission members.

The council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The meeting can be accessed via Zoom at Us02web.zoom.us/j/9886211137?pwd=R2dxZ3RkbU9SQXdlUVllRkc0QlQwZz09 and by teleconference at 669-9009128. The meeting ID is 988 621 1137, and the passcode is 604754. Members of the public may comment by using the “Raise Hand” feature on Zoom or by pressing *9 when teleconferencing.

Comments may also be emailed to publiccomment@cityofdixon.us.