High-speed rail contract, firefighter raises on Merced City Council agenda

A highly contested decision on the firm to begin planning for a high-speed rail station in town still has one hurdle to clear during the Merced City Council meeting Monday.

Along with that decision, the council will look at a new home for the Merced Police Department and a new contract with Merced firefighters at the 7 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 678 W. 18th St. The new police station will be discussed before that in a study session at 5:30 p.m.

The council already picked Hatch Mott MacDonald earlier this month to begin planning for a high-speed rail station in Merced, but the decision was controversial because the company was not the one recommended by a committee put together for that task.

The roughly $660,000 contract is on the agenda for Monday’s meeting in the “consent calendar,” which is a list of routine items usually considered not to be controversial.

It takes a second vote by the council to make the contract official. Mayor Stan Thurston, who voted against Hatch Mott McDonald, told the Merced Sun-Star he intends to pull the item off of the calendar so that he can speak about it. He declined to go any further into detail about his plans for the discussion during the meeting.

The council voted 5-2 on Oct. 7 to award the contract to the Sacramento office of Hatch Mott MacDonald rather than Berkeley-based 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.

Thurston and Councilman Michael Belluomini cast the dissenting votes.

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.

Opticos has experience with train systems such as Bay Area Rapid Transit and the Altamont Corridor Express, according to its representatives.

The council will also consider a new three-year contract with local firefighters. It includes a 2 percent pay increase in the first year, with a 2.25 percent increase the second year and a 2.5 percent increase the third. It also includes a uniform allowance and a bonus for professional development.

Before the regular meeting, a study session has been scheduled so the council can look at sites in northern Merced for a new police headquarters. The city has purchased land near Yosemite Avenue and G Street for the new station, but the council decided earlier this year that location may be better used for retail or commercial use.

This story was originally published October 18, 2015 at 10:57 AM with the headline "High-speed rail contract, firefighter raises on Merced City Council agenda."