HomeMy WebLinkAboutCounty of Mendocino 2021-08-31 DocuSign Envelope ID:3B3B3B76-D4E1-461C-961 +A35B276D99 COU No. 2122-098
BOS Agmt#21-136
MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT PROVIDING FOR EMERGENCY
ASSISTANCE AMONG THE COUNTY OF MENDOCINO, CITY OF UKIAH, CITY OF
FORT BRAGG AND OTHER SIGNATORY CITIES OR SPECIAL DISTRICTS
This Mutual Aid Agreement ("Agreement") is made and entered into this 31st day of
August, 2021, by and between the County of Mendocino ("County"), the City of Ukiah
("Ukiah"), the City of Fort Bragg ("Fort Bragg") and other signatory cities or special
districts in Mendocino County which may be referred to herein individually as "Party' and
collectively as the "Parties." County, Ukiah and Fort Bragg shall be referred to herein as the
"Original Signatory Parties."
RECITALS
1. The Parties recognize that all water supplies in Mendocino County are potentially
vulnerable to natural and manmade disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, pandemics, droughts
and other emergencies, and desire to establish a mutual aid plan during an emergency to
maximize the utilization of available water supplies, distribution facilities, equipment, and
personnel to conserve, allocate, and distribute water equitably and sustain the safe and
reliable operation of wholesale and retail water systems and wells and water systems serving
individual residents and businesses in the County and avoid any catastrophic interruption
to normal production and/or delivery facilities.
2. Mutual aid is defined as emergency assistance given from one public agency
to another, under a prearranged agreement.
3. It is desirable that the Parties should be free to voluntarily aid and assist each other in
a timely manner both in preparation for an emergency and in response to any emergency
situation, or extraordinary or unusual circumstance, such as in the event of an earthquake,flood,
fire, sabotage, riot, pandemic, drought or other emergency in the County (hereinafter referred
to as an "emergency' or"unforeseen circumstance").
4. Such assistance may include the interchange of materials, resources, including
potable, non-potable and recycled water (hereafter "resources"), facilities, services,
equipment, and personnel to cope with the problems which would arise in the event of a major
emergency or unforeseen circumstances.
5. Materials, resources,facilities, services, equipment and/or personnel are provided on
the basis that the providing agency can continue operations and simultaneously meet the
health and safety needs of its residents and businesses and the receiving agency has,or is about
to, exhaust resources required to meet the health and safety needs of its residents and
businesses.
6. The Parties are each willing to assume risks due to the use of resources, equipment,
materials and personnel furnished by a Party.
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7. To the extent provided herein, the Parties agree to indemnify and hold each other
harmless from any liability for injury, illness, or property damage incurred by a Party or its
employees, officers or agents, or by third parties in the course of, or as a result of a Party's
activities performed pursuant to this agreement.
8.This Agreement is not intended as a joint use or joint purchasing program.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants herein, the
Parties agree as follows:
AGREEMENT
1. MUTUAL AID: ADOPTION OF EMERGENCY PLANS. Subject to the terms and conditions of
this Agreement, the Parties agree to furnish to each other resources, facilities, personnel, and
services to respond to emergencies and unforeseen circumstances in accordance with duly
adopted or hereafter duly adopted emergency plans.The Party making a request for mutual aid
shall be called a "Recipient" and the Party giving aid and assistance shall be called a "Provider."
1.1 Emergency Plan. The Parties shall develop emergency plans ("Emergency Plans")
providing for the effective mobilization of their resources, facilities, and services to respond to
any type of emergency.
1.2 Voluntary Participation. No Party to this Agreement shall be liable for its failure or
inability to provide, or attempt to provide, assistance to any other Party. It is the intent of the
Parties to provide assistance on a strictly voluntary basis. No Party shall be required to lend any
items or to unreasonably deplete its own resources, facilities, and services in furnishing such
mutual aid.
2. INTENT OF PROVIDER AND RECIPIENT. It is the intent hereof that each Recipient will use
the procedures herein established only for emergency situations or unforeseen circumstances
requiring resources beyond its existing resources and only for as long as necessary to respond to
those situations or circumstances. Each Provider should assist other Parties to the extent it can
do so without detriment to its own needs or impairing its ability to perform its own normal work
requirements. If the Provider determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, that its needs are
greater than those of the Recipient's, the Provider has first priority and sole authority over its
own equipment, personnel, resources and materials.
3. REQUEST FOR AID OR ASSISTANCE. If a Party has an emergency or unforeseen
circumstance, it may make a request to any other Party or Parties for emergency assistance under
this Agreement.The requesting Party will explain the nature of the circumstance and the type of
resources, materials, equipment or personnel expected to be needed.
3.1 Documentation. All mutual aid assistance, whether given or received, shall be
documented either in advance of providing/receiving assistance, or after the emergency
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assistance is no longer required, as these records may be needed for federal and state
emergency assistance funding application requirements and must be available to the
Provider/Recipient within 30 days of the resolution of the emergency.The Parties shall develop
a standard documentation form as soon as possible after this agreement is executed by the
Original Signatory Parties.
3.1.1 Documentation shall include one or more of the following, as applicable:
(1) photographs of damage and repairs; (2) documentation of insufficient resources: (3)
documentation of the type or amount of equipment, resources, or materials provided; (4)
notes on damage and repairs; (5) clippings of press reports; (6) a record of all expenditures,
including timecards and logs documenting equipment hours; (7) a record of all pertinent
conversations about specific damages and/or repairs to damaged facilities; (8) retained
receipts, invoices, statements, and other relevant paperwork for services rendered by a
contractor or vendor; and (9) any other documents reasonably requested by a Provider or a
Recipient or any state or federal agency regulating the emergency service or reimbursing the
costs thereof.
3.1.2 Books, documents, papers, accounting records, and other evidence
pertaining to costs incurred or compensation provided under this Agreement shall be
maintained by each Party and made available at all reasonable times for four(4)years from the
date of payment for inspection by another Party or state or federal agencies regulating or
reimbursing expenses incurred in providing mutual aid under this Agreement.
3.2 Procedures for Providers. A Provider may require a Recipient to comply with
procedures adopted by the Provider in its Emergency Plan to document requests made
hereunder.
4. CONTROL SAFETY SUPERVISION AND RECALL. It is expressly understood that the
Recipient, in whose jurisdiction the incident requiring mutual aid has occurred, shall remain in
charge for such incident, including the schedule of the work and the direction and supervision
of such personnel and equipment provided to it through the operation of this Agreement. Safe
work procedures and practices shall be observed by a Provider. Employees lending assistance
to a Recipient will not be asked to perform tasks which could lead to reasonably foreseeable to
injury or illness. Equipment shall be operated according to standards and procedures, if any,
provided by the Provider at the time such equipment is provided. A Provider may recall any
equipment, personnel or unused materials or supplies at any time, but shall give the Recipient
as much notice as practical prior to such recall.
5. CHARGES FOR MATERIALS, RESOURCES, PERSONNEL, AND EQUIPMENT.
5.1 Materials.All materials borrowed but not utilized shall be returned to the Provider
in the same condition as they were when they were borrowed. The Recipient shall pay the
Provider either the purchase or replacement cost (whichever is higher) for all materials
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obtained, utilized, and not returned under this Agreement with the prior approval of the
Provider, the Recipient may replace materials and return them to the site of the Provider as
soon as practical instead of making payments.
5.2 Resources. The Recipient shall pay the Provider for the use of resources in an
amount agreed upon by the Recipient and Provider. Such charge shall be approximately the
fair market value but it should reflect a return to the Provider sufficient to reimburse for the
costs of production or treatment.
5.3 Personnel.The Recipient shall pay the Provider's cost of salaries for the time spent
by all personnel in assisting the Recipient,including a provision for overtime,vacation,holidays,
sick leave, insurance, retirement, payroll taxes,and other direct salary costs. No overhead costs
shall be included.
5.4 Equipment and Facilities. The Recipient shall pay the Provider for the use of
equipment and facilities in an amount agreed upon by the Recipient and Provider.Such charge
shall be approximately the fair market value- rental charge but it should reflect a return to the
Provider sufficient to reimburse for the costs of ownership and operation. Unless otherwise
arranged, the default rate for equipment is the current FEMA reimbursement rate.
The Recipient shall return all equipment and facilities in undamaged condition, subject to
reasonable wear and tear. If equipment and/or facilities are damaged, the Recipient shall pay
the cost of repair. If equipment is damaged beyond repair, it shall be replaced by the Recipient
with new or comparable used equipment, acceptable to the Provider. The Recipient shall not
be responsible to repair pre-existing damage on equipment or facilities.
5.5 Invoiciniz and Payment.The Provider shall provide the Recipient a detailed invoice
for the cost of the mutual aid services.The invoice will include assigned personnel classification,
dates and hours worked, hourly billing rates, equipment used, materials provided, and a
summary of total costs incurred. The Recipient shall notify the Provider of any dispute of the
information in the invoice within thirty (30) days of receipt. The Parties will cooperate to
resolve any disputes before resorting to legal remedies.
The Recipient shall pay the Provider within sixty(60) days of receipt of the invoice
for any undisputed charges or within fifteen (15) days after resolution of any disputed charges.
By mutual consent, the Provider and Recipient may agree to an alternate payment schedule
and/or charges in consideration of federal and/or state reimbursements or other factors.
6. INDEMNIFICATION.
6.1 Indemnity for Requested Assistance. To the fullest extent provided by law, each
Recipient shall fully indemnify and hold the Provider and its elected officials, officers,
employees, contractors, authorized volunteers and agents ("Indemnified Parties") harmless
from any liabilities, claims, demands, causes of action, costs, expenses, losses or damages,
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including attorney's fees and expert witness fees (collectively, "Claims") arising out of, or
occurring during or in the course of the provision of assistance under this Agreement. Recipient
shall assume on behalf of the Provider, the defense of any Claims in which liability is sought to
be imposed on the Provider or shall reimburse the Provider for all reasonable costs of
defending or responding to such action,claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys'fees.
Notwithstanding the above, Recipient shall have no obligation to indemnify, defend, or hold
harmless the Indemnified Parties to the extent the Claims are caused by the negligence,
recklessness, or willful misconduct of an Indemnified Party. Obligations arising out of this
section shall survive the termination or withdrawal from this Agreement by a Party hereto.
6.2 Liability for Joining. In the event of any Claims of whatever kind or nature arising
out of the rendering of assistance pursuant to this Agreement,the Parties involved in rendering
or receiving assistance agree to indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted
by law, each signatory to this Agreement, whose only involvement in the transaction or
occurrence which is the subject of such Claims,is the execution and approval of this Agreement.
Such indemnification shall include indemnity for all Claims, including but not limited to Claims
for personal injury and property damage.
7. WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYEE CLAIMS; EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES.
Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement, it is the intent of the Parties that, to the
fullest extent permitted by law, any employee of a Provider that provides labor pursuant to
this Agreement, is performing the labor within the course and scope of employment for
Provider and, therefore, will be covered by Provider's workers' compensation insurance
coverage during performance of any labor provided under this Agreement. Without limiting
the generality of Section 6.1,the Provider shall indemnify and hold the Recipient and its elected
officials,officers,employees,contractors, authorized volunteers and agents harmless from any
and all Claims for personal injury or death incurred by such officers,employees or agents while
engaged in carrying out their duties,functions or activities under this Agreement, except to the
extent the Claims are caused by the negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct of an
Indemnified Party.
Each Party shall pay all wages, salaries, and other amounts due to its employees and
agents in connection with any and all services performed under this Agreement and as required
by law. Each Party shall be responsible for all reports and obligations respecting their own
employees, including, but not limited to, social security taxes, income tax withholding,
unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation insurance. Employees or agents of one
Party shall not be deemed employees of any other Party for any purpose.
8. INSURANCE. Each Party shall be responsible for maintaining a program of
insurance that shall cover each Party's indemnification obligations. Without in any way
affecting the indemnity herein provided and in addition thereto, each Party shall secure and
maintain throughout the Agreement the following types of insurance. including coverage
through a pooled risk joint powers agency with limits as shown.
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8.1 Workers' Compensation: A program of Workers' Compensation Insurance or
a state-approved self-insurance program in an amount and form to meet all applicable
requirements of the Labor Code of the State of California, including Employer's Liability
with $250,000 limits covering all persons providing services on behalf of each Party and
all risks to such persons under this Agreement.
8.2 Comprehensive General and Automobile Liability Insurance: This coverage is
to include contractual coverage and automobile liability coverage for owned, hired,and
non-owned vehicles. The policy or self-insurance shall have combined single limits for
bodily injury and property damage of not less than two million dollars ($2,000,000.00).
8.3 Additional Named Insured: All policies, and/or memoranda of coverage,
except Workers' Compensation,.shall contain additional endorsements naming each
Party and its officers, employees, agents and volunteers as additional named insured
with respect to liabilities arising out of each Party's performance hereunder.
8.4 Policies Primary and non-Contributory: All policies required above are to be
the primary and non-contributory with any insurance or self-insurance carried or
administered by each Party.
9. EXECUTION AND EFFECTIVE DATE. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts,
each of which shall be deemed an original, all of which shall constitute one and the same
instrument. Electronic signatures or signatures on copies transmitted by email or telefax
shall have the same force and effect as original signatures and any copy of this Agreement
with executed counterparts so transmitted shall be admissible in any administrative or
judicial proceeding as evidence of the Parties'agreement. Each Party shall, upon approval
of this Agreement,forward a certified copy of its resolution or other action approving the
Agreement to all other Parties.
10. TERMINATION NOTICE. This Agreement shall remain operative and effective as between
each and every Party that has heretofore or hereafter approved or executed this
Agreement until participation in this Agreement is terminated by the Party.A Party which
no longer desires to participate shall, by resolution or other action, give notice
terminating its participation in this Agreement to all other Parties. This Agreement is
terminated as to such party 30 days after notice to all Parties has been given.
11. AGREEMENT BINDING. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of
the Original Signatory Parties and all parties who may subsequently enter into this
Agreement, and their successors and assigns.
12. THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. This Agreement is only for the benefit of the Parties as municipal
or local government entities and shall not be construed as or deemed to operate as an
agreement for the benefit of any third party or parties, and no third party or parties shall
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have any right of action or obtain any right to benefits or position of any kind for any
reason whatsoever.
13. SEVERABILITY. In the event that any one or more phrases, sentences, clauses,
paragraphs, or sections contained in this Agreement shall be declared invalid or
unenforceable by a valid judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, such
invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, sentences,
clauses, paragraphs, or sections of this Agreement which are hereby declared as
severable and shall be interpreted to carry out the intent of the parties hereunder.
14. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of
California. Venue shall be in the state courts located in Mendocino County. In the event
any Party seeks to change venue under Code Civ. Proc. §394, the Parties agree to waive
the right to a jury trial and stipulate to the appointment of an out-of-county judge by the
Judicial Council to hear the case in Mendocino County.
15. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement contains the entire Agreement of the Parties with
respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior negotiations,
understandings or agreements. This Agreement may only be modified by a written
agreement signed by each of the Parties hereto.
16. NON-WAIVER. None of the provisions of this Agreement shall be considered waived by
any Party unless such waiver is specifically provided in writing.
17. Addition of Signatory Parties: Additional cities or special districts in Mendocino County
may become parties to this agreement with the approval of the Original Signatory Parties
by duly approving and executing this Agreement in accordance with Section 9. The Chief
Executive Officer of the County and the city managers of Ukiah and Fort Bragg are hereby
delegated the authority by their respective governing bodies to approve the addition of
a party or parties to this Agreement.
SIGNATURES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE(S)
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Parties have caused this Mutual Aid Agreement to
be executed by its authorized agent or official evidencing the consent of its legislative body
hereto.
CITY OF UKIAH COUNTY OF MENDOCINO
DocuSigned by:
_
Pat. V�t
12
y: Mayor Juan Orozco E y: an` jerde, Chairman
Ukiah City Council Board of Supervisors
ATTEST: , ATTEST:
DocuSigned by:
Kristine Lawler CityClerk In sey Daugherty, Clerk of the
Board
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
DocuSigned by:
(L,.yjShat, � W iSDavid J. Rapport, City Attorney __......_...._...._._.___.__._.__.-...._______.__._____.____.___.__.________.__.__.____.____.._._.__.__.
rtis, County Counsel
CITY OF FORT BRACG
,, --�DocuSigned by:
FD06090B53AE4F0:..._,.,___.._.----.__..___._..__._...__.___..--__.
By: Mayor Bernie Norvell
Fort Bragg City Council
ATTEST:
DocuSigned by:
j j6AL �L*bS (,At�
C M C, City...;Clerk
APPROVED AS To FORM:
DocuSigned by:
3K� FF't"'ollins, City Attorney