HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 3382
City of Palo Alto (ID # 3382)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 12/17/2012
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: 2014 Infrastructure Finance Measure Update
Title: Update on Planning for Potential Infrastructure Finance Measure for
2014 Ballot
From: City Manager
Lead Department: City Manager
Recommendation
Staff recommends that Council accept this report providing an update on planning for a
potential infrastructure finance measure for the 2014 ballot. This has been placed on
consent because of the volume on the action agenda and because the related contract
award for public opinion research is also on the consent agenda.
Background
On September 18, 2012, the City Council adopted the plan and high level schedule of
the work to be completed over the next two years for a potential 2014 infrastructure
finance measure (included as Attachment A). This staff report provides an update on
initial planning efforts and strategy development, community outreach, and follow-up
items from the September 18, 2012 meeting, as well as, a more detailed timeline of the
work to be completed through 2014.
Discussion
This report provides an update on the following plan components:
1. Core Strategy Team
2. Planning & Opinion Research
3. Community Outreach & Engagement
4. Plan Design/Review
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1. Core Strategy Team
The first step of the plan is to assemble a core strategy team. Given the complexity of
the work to be completed over the next two years, staff established a Management
Team overseeing three tracks of work: 1) planning and opinion research, 2) community
outreach and engagement, and 3) technical (project plan/design). The City Manager’s
Office is leading the project.
A Leadership Advisory Team has also been established to assess key policy issues and
recommendations, with the City Manager making final recommendations to the Council
at key milestones. Attachment B provides an organizational chart and identifies the
core members of the Leadership Advisory Team, Management Team and working
groups that are assembled. It is also envisioned that the City’s Chief Communication’s
Officer will play a key role in the community outreach and engagement work. The
recruitment for this position is underway.
2. Public Opinion Research
Since September, staff has proceeded with retaining assistance of outside experts in
two areas: 1) public opinion research and 2) public communications and educational
outreach strategy. On the consent agenda this evening, Council will consider entering
into an agreement with Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates (FM3) to conduct
opinion research for the City over the next two years. FM3 has extensive knowledge in
public opinion research and a proven track record providing services on successful
ballot measures. FM3 conducted the opinion research for the City’s successful Library
bond measure in 2008 and has worked with numerous public agencies in California.
There are four phases of the opinion research beginning with a feasibility survey in
March 2013. If the research indicates that a finance measure(s) to support
infrastructure improvements is potentially feasible, the second phase is to conduct focus
groups over the summer. The third phase is a refinement survey to be conducted in
the fall of 2013, and a final tracking survey in the spring of 2014 prior to Council’s
decision whether to place a measure on the 2014 ballot. Proceeding with each phase of
the research is dependent on the results and is at the discretion of the City. Below is a
summary timeline of the research phases. The four phases are described in more detail
in the contract award (Consent Item #12).
Opinion Research Timeline
Research Phase Timeframe
Phase 1: Feasibility Survey February-April 2013
Phase 2: Focus Groups July-August 2013
Phase 3: Refinement Survey September- October 2013
Phase 4: Tracking Survey April-June 2014
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Council requested that staff return with a recommendation about engaging a Council
Committee or subcommittee to vet key policy issues over the next two years. Staff is
recommending that the incoming Mayor appoint two to three Council members as part
of the Committee assignments in January 2013 to work with staff on an ad hoc basis on
the public opinion research, and other areas to be determined such as community
outreach and ballot preparation, as needed. A similar approach was used in 2008 on the
library bond measure.
Based on the anticipated limited scope of these assignments, staff anticipates at this
time that they will be temporary ad hoc committees not subject to the Brown Act. It is
anticipated that the appointed members may participate in two to three planning
meetings during each phase of the opinion research and the development of the
communication plan and review draft documents via email. The appointed members
may also be asked to assist with ballot preparation in early 2014 should the City Council
elect to proceed with a finance measure.
3. Community Outreach & Engagement
Consistent with the plan, a solicitation is underway to retain the services of a
professional strategic communications and educational outreach firm to develop a
community outreach plan and assist with its implementation. The communications firm
will work with the City and the City’s polling firm to:
Develop and manage strategies focused on the finance measure’s feasibility.
Support the development of survey instruments and tracking polls on
communications/messaging and analyses and application of results.
Recommend how to structure/define the finance measure(s).
Develop, refine, and target key messages and themes.
Develop a communications plan.
Implement community outreach and education activities prior to Council’s
decision to place a measure(s) on the ballot.
The City issued a request for proposals for the communications strategist on November
8, 2012. Staff held a pre-proposal conference on November 28, with six vendors
attending. Proposals are due to the City on December 11, with staff evaluation of the
proposers in December. Interviews with the top candidates are planned in early
January. Staff anticipates bringing an agreement forward for Council consideration in
January 2013 and commencing work in early February 2013 in alignment with the first
phase of opinion research.
To date, reporting on infrastructure related issues has been on the Infrastructure Blue
Ribbon Commission (IBRC) report, and related City Manager Reports, as well as current
projects described on various webpages on the City’s website. Additionally, the City has
distributed construction updates to impacted neighborhoods, emails to various project
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subscriber lists, posts to social media sites, emails to the Palo Alto Neighborhood group,
alerts to the media, updates provided in the Mayor’s Message newsletter, and City
Manager Comments at Council meetings. Additionally, space for text messages and
flyers in the utility bills has been reserved over the next six months.
In preparation for the communication consultant’s work, staff is reviewing all
infrastructure-related topics on the City’s website in order to assess what information
currently exists and how to make it more accessible to the community. This initial
review, to be completed in January, will help inform early infrastructure educational
efforts. These efforts will become more strategic as the City has more refined
information about community perspectives and priorities as a result of the City’s opinion
research.
A key element of the City’s community outreach strategy is to engage a Citizen Advisory
Committee. The purpose of the advisory committee is to supplement City leadership
with external community partners and leaders to help build broad-based consensus,
provide input to finance measure planning, and to be partners in informing the
community about the City’s infrastructure needs. Staff is currently conducting research
on best practices on the development of a Citizen Advisory Committee and recommends
utilizing the expertise of the City’s polling and communications consultants to develop a
plan to engage and support a Committee. Staff is committed to returning to Council
with recommendations in early 2013 based on the experience and suggestions of the
City’s polling and communications consultants.
4. Plan/Design Review
The initial feasibility survey will focus on the projects reviewed by City Council at its
September 18, 2012 meeting:
1. Public Safety Building
2. Bike/Pedestrian Plan
3. Bike Bridge
4. Byxbee Park
5. Fire Stations
6. Streets (also includes Charleston/Arastradero and accelerated resurfacing)
7. Sidewalks (surface catch-up)
8. Cubberley (replace/expand)
9. Parks catch-up
10. Animal Services Center
11. Playing Fields (golf course)
12. Post Office
13. Ventura Community Center
14. School Childcare Sites
At the September 18 meeting, staff provided a series of one page summary sheets for
each project. The project sheets provided a project description, the estimated project
cost and basis of the estimate, information on identified and potential funding sources
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that may offset the need for public financing, and other variables or considerations that
may affect project timing, cost, or viability. Council requested staff develop a one page
summary worksheet of similar information that identified all the projects, estimated
cost, potential funding, net cost, importance of project, availability of funding, and
public support. Attachment C provides a draft of the worksheet. Staff will continue to
update and refine the worksheet as new information is available.
Council also requested staff return to Council with a strategy and timeline for refining
project costs. This will occur as staff works with the public opinion research consultant
to develop questions for polling that will provide information about the public’s support
for infrastructure projects.
It is important to refine the cost estimates used as much as possible at the current
levels of project design. The goals of the near-term work on cost estimates are as
follows:
verify the cost estimates and update them as necessary to reflect any changes to
the project scopes
define and utilize a consistent set of assumptions about project contingencies,
soft costs, and construction escalation
develop new cost estimates for newly defined projects such as the Ventura
Community Center and School Childcare Sites
There are a variety of factors influencing the project cost estimates. In some instances,
such as the Public Safety Building and the Cubberley (replace/expand) projects,
ongoing processes and Council policy decisions will inform the cost estimates. Given
the number of projects and the extensive variables that may impact cost estimates, the
need for accurate project estimates must be balanced with the resources that are used
to refine the estimates. The initial baseline survey will focus on public support for
projects and some preliminary cost estimates or ranges of costs. The table below
describes staff’s proposed work on the cost estimates, to be completed prior to the
initial public opinion polling in spring 2013.
Project Initial
Estimated
Cost
(in millions)
Level of Effort Needed
Public Safety Building 47 Staff review of project scope, project
design and construction contingencies,
construction year escalation, and soft
costs such as design and environmental
clearance. Update estimates as
appropriate for consistency.
Byxbee Park 3.6
Sidewalks (surface catch-up) 3.7
Cubberley (replace/expand) 83*
Parks catch-up 9.8
Playing Fields (golf course) 6
City of Palo Alto Page 6
Bike/Pedestrian Plan 25 Consultant peer review of existing
construction costs estimates. Staff
review of project scope, project design
and construction contingencies,
construction year escalation, and soft
costs such as design and environmental
clearance. Update estimates as
appropriate for consistency and
accuracy of construction costs.
Bike Bridge 10
Fire Stations 14.2
Streets 9.75
Animal Services Center 6.9
Post Office 10
Ventura Community Center tbd Develop new cost estimate. Define
scope and estimate construction cost
with consultant assistance, applying
consistent contingencies and soft costs
such as design and environmental
clearance.
School Childcare Sites tbd
*City’s estimated portion $83M; total estimated cost $200M.
Timeline
The draft working schedule is included as Attachment D. Staff will continue to develop
and refine the timeline and schedule based on the results of the opinion research,
decisions about the strategy and priorities for the infrastructure finance measure, and
the communication plan. Staff will also continue to provide regular informational
updates to the Council on the progress of work.
Attachments:
Attachment A. Strategy and High Level Schedule (PDF)
Attachment B. Organization and Core Teams (PDF)
Attachment C. Project Summary Sheet (PDF)
Attachment D. Project Schedule (PDF)
Attachment A. High Level Work Plan & Schedule
Opinion Research/ Strategic Planning
• Assemble Core Team
• Identify Priority
Projects & Costs
• Retain Expertise
• Conduct Feasibility
Research
• Assess Baseline Results
for Feasibility
• Track/Reassess Support
• Act to Place Measure
on Ballot (Policy ‐June/
Official ‐July 2014)
RFP
20
1
3 J F M A M J J A S O N D J 20
1
4 J F M A M J J A S O N 20
1
5
Community
Outreach
• Retain
Communications
Strategist
• Conduct Preliminary
Community Outreach
• Develop
Communication Plan
• Implement Outreach &
Engagement Program
• Engage Citizen
Advisory Committee
RFP Preliminary
Plan/Design Review(as applicable)
• Refine Project Costs
• Develop/Update
Schematic Designs
• Conduct
Environmental Review
• Council & Committee
Review/Approval
Ballot PreparationOpinion Research/
Strategic Planning
• Prepare Ballot Measure
• Prepare Synopsis
• Adopt Resolution of
Necessity
• Adopt Ordinance
Calling Election
• File Ordinance
• Hold Election
Attachment B. Organization, Management and Leadership Teams
Attachment C. Infrastructure Project Summary Sheet
(all costs/revenues in millions of dollars)
Project
Estimated
Cost
Potential
Funding Net Cost
Importance
Ranking
Public
Support
Ranking
Annual
Operating
Revenue
Other One
Time Costs
Public Safety Building 47 27 20 tbd tbd 1.4 tbd
Bike/Pedestrian Plan 25 1.2 23.8 tbd tbd
Bike Bridge 10 5 5 tbd tbd
Byxbee Park 3.6 0 3.6 tbd tbd
Fire Stations 14.2 0 14.2 tbd tbd
Streets 1 9.75 0.45 9.3 tbd tbd
Sidewalks (surface catch‐up)3.7 0 3.7 tbd tbd
Cubberley Replace/Expand 200 117 83 tbd tbd
Parks Catch Up 9.8 0 9.8 tbd tbd
Animal Services Center 6.9 0 6.9 tbd tbd
Playing Fields (at Golf Course)6 0 6 tbd tbd tbd
Post Office 2 10 0 10 tbd tbd 1.2 3
Ventura Community Center tbd tbd tbd tbd tbd
School Childcare Centers tbd tbd tbd tbd tbd
Surface Catch Up 5.1 0 5.1
Buildings Catch Up 4.5 0 4.5
Cubberley Deferred Maintenance 6.9 0 6.9
Civic Center 16 0 16
Los Altos Treatment Plant 2 0 2 tbd
Airport 5 5 0
Golf Course 8.1 7.6 0.5
Municipal Services Center 93 93 0
Regional Water Quality Control Plant 2 88 88 0
Energy/Compost Facility 100 100 0
Sum: 674.6 444.3 230.3 2.6 3
1 Streets project is defined as completion of the Charleston/Arastradero project with acceleration of the overall street resurfacing program;
this placeholder estimate is for the Charleston/Arastradero project and does not yet include additional cost for accelerated resurfacing
2 Project cost figures have been updated since the 9/18/2012 City Council meeting
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The project information and cost estimate information on this sheet represent staff’s best information at this
time. Staff will continue to refine the information as new and more precise information becomes available.
ID Task Name Start Finish
1 1 Public Opinion Research Tue 1/1/13 Tue 7/1/14
2 1.1 Feasability Survey Sun 1/13/13 Mon 4/15/13
3 1.1.1 Review Past Surveys &
Background Material
Tue 1/15/13 Fri 2/1/13
4 1.1.2 Conduct Kick Off Meeting Fri 2/1/13 Fri 2/1/13
5 1.1.3 Develop Survey QuestionnairFri 2/1/13 Fri 3/1/13
6 1.1.4 Pre‐test Survey, Evaluate, RefFri 3/1/13 Fri 3/8/13
7 1.1.5 Conduct Feasility Survey Fri 3/15/13 Fri 3/22/13
8 1.1.6 Present Top Line Results and
Findings to City and Key
Stakeholders
Mon 4/1/13 Mon 4/1/13
9 1.1.7 Council Evaluates Results &
Determines Next Steps
Mon 4/15/13 Mon 4/15/13
10 1.2 Focus Groups Mon 7/1/13 Mon 9/2/13
11 1.2.1 Conduct Kick Off Meeting Mon 7/1/13 Mon 7/1/13
12 1.2.2 Develop Recruitment Plan Mon 7/1/13 Sun 7/14/13
13 1.2.3 Develop Moderator Guide Sun 7/7/13 Thu 8/1/13
14 1.2.4 Complete Focus Group RecruSun 7/14/13 Thu 8/1/13
15 1.2.5 Conduct Focus Groups Thu 8/1/13 Thu 8/15/13
16 1.2.6 Provide Key Findings to City Mon 9/2/13 Mon 9/2/13
17 1.3 Refinement Survey Mon 9/2/13 Fri 11/1/13
18 1.3.1 Council Evaluates Results &
Determines Next Steps
Fri 11/1/13 Fri 11/1/13
19 1.4 Tracking Survey Sat 3/1/14 Thu 5/1/14
20 1.4.1 Council Makes Policy
Decision on Whether to Pursue
Sun 6/1/14 Sun 6/1/14
21 2 Communication & Engagement
Strategy
Wed 11/7/12 Mon 7/14/14
22 2.1 Vendor Selection Wed 11/7/12 Mon 1/28/13
23 2.1.1 Release RFP for
Infrastructure Communications
Wed 11/7/12 Tue 12/11/12
24 2.1.2 Evaluate Proposals Wed 12/12/12 Fri 12/21/12
25 2.1.3 Interview and Select
Communications Vendor
Mon 1/7/13 Fri 1/11/13
26 2.1.4 Council Considers Contract anMon 1/28/13 Mon 1/28/13
2/1
4/1
4/15
7/1
9/2
11/1
6/1
1/28
O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S
2013 2014
Attachment D. Draft Project Schedule
12‐12‐2012
Page 1
ID Task Name Start Finish
27 2.2 Communications and Outreach Mon 1/14/13 Mon 7/14/14
28 2.2.1 Review Past Infrastructure
Outreach Efforts
Mon 1/14/13 Thu 1/31/13
29 2.2.2 Conduct Kick Off Meeting Fri 2/1/13 Fri 2/1/13
30 2.2.3 Develop Messaging from
Feasibility Survey Results
Mon 4/1/13 Fri 4/12/13
31 2.2.4 Develop Communications
Strategy and Implementation Plan
from Survey Results
Mon 4/1/13 Tue 4/30/13
32 2.2.5 Implement Outreach &
Engagement Program
Wed 5/1/13 Mon 7/14/14
33 2.2.6 Refine Messaging after
Focus Groups
Thu 8/15/13 Thu 8/15/13
34 2.2.7 Update Messaging after
Refinement Survey
Fri 11/1/13 Fri 11/1/13
35 2.2.8 Refine Messaging after
Tracking Survey
Thu 5/1/14 Thu 5/1/14
36 2.3 Citizen Engagement Mon 4/15/13 Mon 7/14/14
37 2.3.1 Engage/Support Citizen
Advisory Committee
Mon 4/15/13 Mon 7/14/14
38 3 Plan Design and Review Mon 12/3/12 Sat 3/15/14
39 3.1 Review Existing Cost Estimates Mon 12/3/12 Thu 1/31/13
40 3.2 Develop Consultant Scope of ServMon 12/17/12 Fri 1/18/13
41 3.3 Engage Consultant Fri 1/18/13 Fri 1/18/13
42 3.4 Refine Existing Cost Estimates
and Develop New Ones
Fri 1/18/13 Fri 3/15/13
43 3.5 Continue to Refine Plan
Design/Cost as Applicable
Fri 3/15/13 Sat 3/1/14
44 4 Ballot Preparation Mon 6/2/14 Mon 8/4/14
45 4.1 Preparation of Synopsis of Ballot Sun 6/1/14 Sun 6/15/14
46 4.2 Council Adopts Resolution of
Necessity
Mon 7/14/14 Mon 7/14/14
47 4.3 Council Adopts Ordinance
Calling Election
Mon 7/21/14 Mon 7/21/14
48 4.4 Last Day for City Clerk to File
Ordinance
Mon 8/4/14 Mon 8/4/14
2/1
8/15
11/1
5/1
1/18
7/14
7/21
8/4
O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S
2013 2014
Attachment D. Draft Project Schedule
12‐12‐2012
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