Yolo Habitat Conservancy authorizes sole-source contract with Urban Economics for five-year financial assessment

The Yolo Habitat Conservancy on March 17 authorized its interim executive director to execute a sole-source agreement with Urban Economics to perform the HCP/CCP five-year periodic financial assessment and an accompanying nexus study.

The contract was presented as an update to the plan's cost chapter that will compare original cost and revenue assumptions against current data and recommend adjustments. "This particular contract ... is a sole source contract. It is with the entity that did the original cost analysis for our plan," the interim executive director told the board, saying that the firm's prior work on the plan makes it efficient and appropriate for the update.

County counsel Phil Pugletich explained the agency's approach to sole-source procurement. "The Conservancy follows the county's policies on procurement, including our sole source policy," Pugletich said. He described the common criterion for sole sourcing: when a consultant has unique skills or prior work on a plan that makes competitive solicitation unlikely to yield a comparable pool of firms.

Board members had no public comments on the item and proceeded to a motion to approve the agreement. The motion carried unanimously; the transcript does not record the names of the mover and seconder or individual vote tallies.

The approved scope includes a narrative description of the assumptions used in the original cost model and proposed updates, which staff said will make future competitive procurements easier by clarifying required qualifications and inputs. The board did not discuss the contract price on the record.

The action advances a mandated five-year review required under the Yolo Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP) implementation schedule and adds a nexus study intended to document assumptions underlying development-fee calculations.