HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-06-10; City Council; 10; Continuing the Declaration of Existence of an Emergency Condition in the Kelly Drive ChannelCA Review CKM
Meeting Date: June 10, 2025
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Geoff Patnoe, City Manager
Staff Contact: Hossein Ajideh, Engineering Manager
hossein.ajideh@carlsbadca.gov, 442-339-2756
Subject: Continuing the Declaration of Existence of an Emergency Condition in the
Kelly Drive Channel
District: 1
Recommended Action
Adopt a resolution continuing the declaration of the existence of an emergency condition in the
Kelly Drive Channel and authorizing the City Manager to expend up to $532,660 for the
emergency repair work.
Executive Summary
A portion of the concrete sidewall of the Kelly Drive Channel, a drainage channel west of the
intersection of El Camino Real and Kelly Drive, was found to have failed and slipped into the
channel in September 2024. Staff hired a contractor under an emergency repair contract to
restore the failed portion of the embankment, but subsequent inspections revealed unseen and
unexpected failures that pose a clear and imminent danger, with the risk of further erosion and
undermining of the channel, that require additional immediate repair work.
Timeline
• On April 29, 2025, the City Council declared the existence of an emergency condition in
the Kelly Drive Channel and authorized the City Manager to have the emergency repair
performed as swiftly as possible using emergency construction procurement procedures
rather than the formal bidding process (Resolution No. 2025-094).
• The City Council continued the declaration of the existence of an emergency condition
in the Kelly Drive Channel on May 13, 2025 (Resolution No. 2025-106), and on May 20,
2025 (Resolution No. 2025-106).
• The city received two construction proposals for the revised repair plan, with LC Paving
& Sealing, Inc. submitting the lowest responsive bid of $356,660.
• After evaluation, staff selected LC Paving & Sealing for the emergency repair based on
its proposal and qualifications. With construction contingency and construction
management services, the cost of the emergency repair work is estimated to be
$532,660.
• On May 22, 2025, staff informed LC Paving & Sealing to proceed with performing the
emergency repair work, which is scheduled to begin on June 9, 2025.
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• The work is anticipated to be completed by the end of August.
Staff are requesting the City Council continue the declaration of the existence of an emergency
condition in the Kelly Drive Channel, in accordance with Carlsbad Municipal Code Section
3.28.110(A), so that the contractor can continue to perform the emergency repairs. Staff are
also requesting the City Council authorize the City Manager to expend up to $532,660 for the
emergency repair work.
A four-fifths vote is required under Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 3.28.120 and California
Public Contract Code Section 22050 to continue the declaration of the existence of an
emergency condition.
Explanation & Analysis
Background
• The Kelly Drive Channel was constructed in the 1960s. (Exhibit 2 shows the channel’s
location.) It required localized emergency repairs in 2010, 2018 and 2019 at separate
locations.
• Part of the concrete embankment was found to have fallen into the channel last
September. This failure exposed the underlying material and increased the risk of
erosion and undermining.
• The City Manager approved a contract with N.M.N. Construction, Inc. on Feb. 20, 2025,
to perform the emergency repair in an amount not to exceed $97,000. This work was
authorized by an emergency permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and in
coordination with other regulatory agencies.
• The contractor began the repair work on March 25, 2025. Draining the area exposed
additional failures that had not been anticipated, including a 13-foot deep hole in the
channel’s earthen bottom, beneath the failed concrete side section. These unseen and
unexpected failures pose a clear and imminent danger, requiring additional immediate
repair work to prevent further erosion damage, including filling the hole, stabilizing the
channel and making structural repairs. This required the project to be expanded beyond
the work described in the contract.
• Staff consulted with a geotechnical engineering firm to obtain an appropriate repair
plan for the expanded project.
Emergency declaration
Public projects that cost more than $220,000 require formal bidding procedures under the
Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (Cal. Government Code, §§ 22000-22045).
However, those procedures can take up to six months and the failures in the channel require
more immediate action to prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, health, property or
essential public services.
Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 3.28.110(A) implements California Public Contract Code
Section 22035, which provides for an exemption from formal bidding procedures for emergency
construction procurements. To use the emergency exemption, Carlsbad Municipal Code Section
3.28.120 and Public Contract Code Section 22050 require the City Council to determine the
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existence of an emergency condition by a four-fifths vote. The City Manager may then
immediately proceed with the repair work without following the formal bidding procedures.
The City Council determined the failure in the channel was an emergency condition on April 29,
2025 (Resolution No. 2025-094. The staff report that recommended that determination is
provided as Exhibit 3.) The City Council continued the declaration of emergency condition on
May 13, 2025, and on May 20, 2025 (Resolution Nos. 2025-106 and 2025-113, respectively. The
staff reports that recommended continuation are provided as Exhibits 4 and 5, respectively.)
Staff have also coordinated with regional environmental permitting agencies, including the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, on the
project’s expanded scope.
Fiscal Analysis
Sufficient funding is available for the work in the account for the Kelly Drive Channel Repair
Project, Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6606, as shown in the table below, so staff
are not requesting any additional appropriation.
Next Steps
The contractor will continue to perform emergency repair work, which is expected to be
completed by the end of August.
Staff will return to the City Council on June 17, 2025, to review the emergency action and ask
the City Council to determine by a four-fifths vote whether there is a need to continue it.
Environmental Evaluation
The proposed action is statutorily exempt from environmental review under California
Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, Section 21080(b)(2) and (4) and CEQA Guidelines Section
15269(b)-(c), which apply to emergency repairs to publicly owned service facilities necessary to
maintain service essential to the public health, safety or welfare and other specific actions
necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency.
Kelly Channel Drive Repair Project
Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6606
Total appropriation to date $3,641,000
Total expenditures and encumbrances to date -$769,864
Total available funding $2,871,136
Construction contract -$356,660
Construction contingency (estimated) -$88,000
Construction management, inspection, material testing and support
services (estimated) -$88,000
Total estimated construction costs -$532,660
Remaining balance after total estimated construction costs $2,338,476
Additional appropriation needed $0
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Exhibits
1. City Council resolution
2. Location map
3. April 29, 2025, staff report (on file in the Office of the City Clerk)
4. May 13, 2025, staff report (on file in the Office of the City Clerk)
5. May 20, 2025, staff report (on file in the Office of the City Clerk)
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Exhibit 1 RESOLUTION NO. 2025-125 .
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD,
CALIFORNIA, CONTINUING THE DECLARATION OF THE EXISTENCE OF AN
EMERGENCY CONDITION IN THE KELLY DRIVE CHANNEL AND
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXPEND UP TO $532,660 FOR THE
EMERGENCY REPAIR WORK
WHEREAS, the Kelly Drive Channel has required multiple localized emergency repairs since
2010; and
WHEREAS, in September 2024, another failure occurred in a different segment of the channel
where a portion of the concrete sidewall had slipped into the channel, which exposed the underlying
material and increased the risk of erosion and undermining; and
WHEREAS, staff inspected the site and subsequently initiated an emergency repair contract to
restore the failed portion of the channel embankment through an emergency permit issued by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and in consultation with other regulatory agencies; and
WHEREAS, on Feb. 20, 2025, the City Manager approved a contract to perform the emergency
repair with N.M.N. Construction, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $97,000, which is below the threshold
for formal bidding; and
WHEREAS, on March 25, 2025, the contractor initiated the repair work with dewatering
activities, exposing further unseen and unexpected failures within the channel bed, including a 13-
foot-deep void at the base of the earthen bottom of the failed concrete side section; and
WHEREAS, these unseen and unexpected failures pose a clear and imminent danger, requiring
additional, immediate repair work, including void backfill, channel stabilization and structural
remediation, to ensure long-term structural stability and prevent further failures; and
WHEREAS, the estimated cost of the expanded repair work exceeds the formal bidding
threshold, and the formal bidding process could take up to six months; and
WHEREAS, the expanded repair work requires prompter action than formal bidding permits to
prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, health, property or essential public services; and
WHEREAS, on April 29, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2025-094, declaring the
existence of an emergency condition in the Kelly Drive Channel and authorizing the City Manager to
have the repair work performed without formal bidding; and
WHEREAS, on May 13, 2025, and May 20, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution Nos. 2025-
106 and 2025-113, respectively, continuing the declaration of the existence of an emergency condition
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in the Kelly Drive Channel and continuing to authorize the City Manager to have the repair work
performed without formal bidding; and
WHEREAS, in the case of an emergency, the Carlsbad Municipal Code, or CMC, Sections
3.28.110(A) and 3.28.120 and Public Contract Code Sections 22035 and 22050 allow the City Council
by a four-fifths vote to authorize repair or replacement of a public facility, take any directly related and
immediate action required by the emergency, and procure the necessary equipment, services and
supplies for these purposes without following formal bidding procedures; and
WHEREAS, staff received contractor proposals and determined LC Paving & Sealing, Inc. was a
responsible bidder with a responsive bid of $356,660; and
WHEREAS, on May 22, 2025, staff notified LC Paving & Sealing, Inc. to perform the emergency
repair work, which is expected to be completed by the end of August; and
WHEREAS, the expanded emergency repair is estimated to cost $532,660, including
contingency and other construction support costs; and
WHEREAS, sufficient funding is available in the account for the Kelly Drive Channel Repair
Project, Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6606; and
WHEREAS, staff also engaged with the appropriate environmental permitting agencies,
including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board,
to coordinate review and compliance with the revised project scope; and
WHEREAS, staff request that the City Council review the emergency action and continue to
declare the existence of an emergency condition in the Kelly Creek Channel.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, as
follows:
1.That the above recitations are true and correct.
2.That the proposed action is statutorily exempt from environmental review under
California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, Section 21080(b)(2) and (4) and CEQA
Guidelines Section 15269(b)-(c), which apply to emergency repairs to publicly owned
service facilities necessary to maintain service essential to the public health, safety or
welfare and other specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency.
3.That the City Council continues to declare the existence of an emergency condition in
the Kelly Drive Channel.
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4.That the City Manager is authorized to expend up to $532,660 for the emergency repair
work.
5.That the City Manager is directed to return to the City Council at the next regularly
scheduled City Council meeting for a determination by a four-fifths vote whether the
emergency condition continues to exist.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City
of Carlsbad on the 10th day of June, 2025, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Blackburn, Bhat-Patel, Acosta, Burkholder, Shin.
NAYS: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
______________________________________
KEITH BLACKBURN, Mayor
______________________________________
SHERRY FREISINGER, City Clerk
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PROJECT NAME EXHIBIT2KELLY DRIVE CHANNELEMERGENCY REPAIR
4866 KELLY DR
LOCATION MAP
CARLSBAD
VISTAOCEANSIDE
ENCINITAS
SAN MARCOS
Vicinity Map
SITE³NOT TO SCALE
³NOT TO SCALE
PLOT DATE: 4/21/2025 PATH: T:\David_Edwards\LocationMap\KellyChannel\KellyChannel.mxdAuthor: Andy Chang
PROJECT SITE
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Exhibit 2Docusign Envelope ID: E4C90F9F-9D53-4D15-9041-1ED22363935D
Exhibit 3
April 29, 2025, staff report
(on file in the Office of the City Clerk)
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Exhibit 4
May 13, 2025, staff report
(on file in the Office of the City Clerk)
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Exhibit 5
May 20, 2025, staff report
(on file in the Office of the City Clerk)
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