Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-06-28 City Council (6)TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS DATE:JUNE 28, 2004 CMR:340:04 SUBJECT:APPROVAL OF CONTRACT WITH ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES GROUP IN THE AMOUNT OF $398,847 FOR ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SERVICES FOR CHILDREN’S LIBRARY IMPROVEMENT AND EXPANSION -CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PROJECT ~E-04010) RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the Mayor to execute the attached contract with Architectural Resources Group (ARG) in the amount of $366,607 for architectural design services and $32,240 for additional services for a total not to exceed amount of $398,847. BACKGROUND The Children’s Library is part of the Lucie Stem Community Center. The Library was designed in 1932 by Birge Clark, a prominent local architect, and was constructed in 1940. It is a 3,400 square foot, single-story, wood-framed building. The Library has been designated a local historic resource. The adjacent Secret Garden is used by the Library primarily as an overflow space for children’s programs and events. The Children’s Library suffers from deferred maintenance and many of its original systems need replacement. Additionally, the Library is overcrowded and in need of reorganization and expansion. The Secret Garden also needs renovation. This project will provide new heating and air conditioning systems for the existing building along with seismic upgrades, new roofing, and ADA accessibility. A new north wing expansion will also be added to address overcrowding and the Secret Garden will be renovated. As part of the Fall 2002 Library bond election, the renovation and expansion of the Children’s Library was proposed, including new wings at the north and south ends of the building~ The north wing would add approximately 1,600 square feet of program space to alleviate overcrowding. Preliminary design work on the renovation and upgrades to the Children’s Library building and the proposed north and south wing expansion was presented to the public in the fall of 2002. This work was performed by the design firm Architectural Resources Group (ARG) and was reviewed by the Architectural Review CMR:340:04 Page 1 of 4 Board and Historic Resources Board prior to City Council approval. This preliminary design work will be used as the starting point in the upcoming design effort. On February 10, 2003, the City Council approved a public-private partnership between the City, the Palo Alto Library Foundation (PALF), and the Friends of the Palo Alto Library (FOPAL) to support the fundraising effort for the proposed renovation and expansion of the Children’s Library. At the meeting, the Council deferred designing a renovation and upgrade of the existing Children’s Library until December 31, 2003 when the results of the FOPAL/PALF efforts to raise half the funds needed to complete a $2.3 million renovation and expansion project would be known. The fundraising by FOPAL and PALF was targeted at adding the north wing expansion to the project. The fundraising effort was successful with FOPAL and PALF together raising $960,000 for the Children’s Library Improvements and Expansion Project (PE04010). Council subsequently approved a cost sharing agreement with FOPAL and PALF on March 1, 2004 (CMR 142:04). DISCUSSION Consultant Selection Process In April 2000, FOPAL contracted with ARG to develop a feasibility study. The selection process leading to the ARG contract followed standard City contracting procedures including: ¯a request for Proposal (RFP) sent to 30 consulting firms on February 1, 2000. o a total of ten firms responded by submitting qualifications and proposals. ¯a selection advisory committee consisting of staff from the Public Works Department, the Library Division of the Community Services Department, and members of FOPAL reviewed the proposals. Four finns were invited to participate in oral interviews on March 10, 2000. The selection committee carefully reviewed each firm’s qualifications relative to the following criteria: Background in feasibility studies Experience in library projects Experience in historical building renovation projects Previous work for government agencies ARG was selected because it demonstrated the most extensive experience related to the selection criteria. ARG has provided architectural design services for a number of historical library renovation and expansion projects in California, including: the Smiley Library in Redlands, the Brand Library in Glendale, the Carnegie Library in San Luis Obispo, the Carnegie Library in Paso Robles, the Carnegie Library in Healdsburg, the CMR:340:04 Page 2 of 4 Carnegie Library in Sonoma, and the Green Library at Stanford University. FOPAL and PALF support the continued use of ARG for this project. In September 2001, Council approved a contract with ARG to provide preliminary architectural design services for the Children’s Library Project with an option to amend the contract for future phases of the project including: schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration (CMR:327:01). After the Fall 2002 Library bond failed, ARG’s contract with the City was closed. Consultant Services Description The recommended architectural design services include: review prior work on the Children’s Library project, prepare schematic design-level designs with presentations to the HRB, ARB, and designated representatives from FOPAL and PALF, prepare schematic design-level construction cost estimate, prepare design development plans and cost estimate with presentations to HRB, ARB, and designated representatives from FOPAL and PALF, prepare construction documents for bidding, and provide construction administration services during project construction. All of these services were included in the scope of work under the City’s previous contract with ARG. The recommended contract with ARG will continue the work begun under the previous contract except that the proposed south wing expansion is no longer part of the project. Staff met with ARG to discuss the Children’s Library Improvements and Expansion project and schedule. ARG is fully qualified and capable of meeting the City’s design service requirements and schedule for the project. ARG’s maximum compensation of $398,847 is a not-to-exceed amount using ARG’s hourly rates and is consistent with consultant fees typically charged for architectural design services of this type. The design fee is within the currently available budget for the project. RESOURCE IMPACT Funding for the ARG contract is available in Capital Improvement Project PE-04010. The FY 2004-05 Capital Budget includes $1.2 million of City Infrastructure Reserve funding with $960,000 in matching funds from the FOPAL and PALF, a $90,000 Federal grant and a $50,000 donation from the Arrillaga family. Project costs are estimated at $400,000 for design and $1.9 million for construction. Continuing to use ARG will result in significant savings in design time (3 to 4 months) and cost (about $135,000) to the project. POLICY IMPLICATIONS CMR:340:04 Page 3 of 4 This recommendation is consistent with existing City polities regarding infrastructure improvement and expansion. TIMELINE Below are listed the various phases of the project with their estimated completion dates: June 28, 2004 October 11, 2004 December 27, 2004 July 12, 2005 February 2, 2007 Consultant starts schematic design Consultant starts design development Consultant starts construction documents Consultant starts construction administration Construction completed ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The proposed north wing expansion for Children’s Library underwent environmental review during the conceptual design phase for the Fall 2002 bond election. A Mitigated Negative Declaration (Resolution No. 8183) was approved by the Council for the project on June 24, 2002. Also, because the Children’s Library is a historic structure, any modifications to the building required seismic and ADA retrofits will be done per the Secretary of Interior’s Standards and will be reviewed by the Planning Department and Historic Resources Board. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Contract Attachment B: CMR:327:01 (without attachment) PREPARED BY: DEBRA JACOBS Project Engineer DEPARTMENT HEAD: MIKE SARTOR Assistant Director of Public Works CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: EMILY HARRISON Assistant City Manager CMR:340:04 Page 4 of 4