Merced picks an HSR consultant for first plans

A split Merced City Council has chosen a Sacramento engineering firm to lead the first phase of local planning for California’s high-speed rail project, rejecting the Berkeley-based firm that had been recommended by a city committee.

The council voted 5-2 late Wednesday to award the roughly $660,000 contract to Hatch Mott MacDonald rather than Opticos Design Inc., the consulting firm chosen last month by a committee made up of city staff and local residents.

The teams were scored on their plans for outreach, area parking, real estate development, integration of bicycle traffic and a number of other categories.

Mayor Stan Thurston and Councilman Michael Belluomini cast the dissenting votes.

Hatch Mott MacDonald won support from council members who noted it has a longer history of working in the Merced area. It also has committed to partnering with Golden Valley Engineering, a Merced firm.

“Hatch Mott MacDonald has a better connection to the community,” Councilman Noah Lor said.

Hatch Mott MacDonald has experience working on more than 35 stations, including high-speed rail stations in Taiwan, the United Kingdom and a proposed station in Gilroy, according to its representatives.

“This is an incredibly experienced team, not just in planning but in engineering,” said Cara Strom, the team’s senior vice president.

Strom also pushed her Merced experience during the interview before the council, saying she’s lived in town for 27 years.

“Merced is really important to me personally,” she said. “And, so, it’s important to my team.”

The high-speed rail project aims to connect the Bay Area to Sacramento, and head through the San Joaquin Valley to San Diego. The first operational section, a roughly 300-mile link set to begin running in 2022, would link Merced to the San Fernando Valley in Southern California, according to some estimates from the state High-Speed Rail Authority. Under the proposed project schedule, Merced would be the northernmost stop on the rail line until at least 2029.

Civil engineer Richard Davies, a member of the Hatch Mott MacDonald team, said the station’s location would make Merced a gathering point for commuters.

“It is the key point to the northern link,” he said.

The forecast for the number of riders in Merced is higher than most other stops, he said.

Having an engineer in the room during the interview helped the firm’s chances as the lack of one in the Opticos team was a major point of contention last month when the committee recommended the city give the contract to Opticos.

But several people at the meeting, including members of a local high-speed rail boosters club and a local engineering firm, argued the committee did not put enough emphasis on technical expertise. Opticos acknowledged it did not have a civil engineer on staff, but said it could bring one on if necessary.

Hatch Mott MacDonald said it also has had a relationship with UC Merced for three years, something Opticos could not match.

The winning company noted the potential for the rail stop to transform Merced. Representatives said a balance has to be struck to make room for the growth in people driving to the stop, but plans must take into account that the number of cars in the area would shrink after the rail was extended to Sacramento.

AECOM, which is working on the high-speed rail stop in Fresno, also took part in the interview process. At one point the mayor motioned to award the contract to that company, but it failed to get enough votes.

Thurston has made it no secret that he’s skeptical of high-speed rail altogether, repeatedly saying during the meeting that the state is struggling to pay for the project.

He criticized Hatch Mott MacDonald after the vote Wednesday, saying he felt the other two teams outpaced the firm.

KTGY was initially interviewed but did not return for the interviews with the council Wednesday.

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 10:19 PM with the headline "Merced picks an HSR consultant for first plans."