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Home My WebLink About2002-12-09 City Council (2)TO: City of Palo Alto City Manage Report HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM: DATE: CITY MANAGER DECEMBER 9, 2002 DEPARTMENT: COMMUNITY SERVICES CMR: 442:02 SUBJECT:PROPOSAL TO CREATE A PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND THE FRIENDS OF THE PALO ALTO JUNIOR MUSEUM AND ZOO RECOMMENDATION This report requests that Council direct staff to proceed with development of a public/private partnership, including an Option to Lease Agreement, with the Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (Friends) for the purpose of allowing the Friends to initiate the planning process to renovate the Junior Museum and Zoo. The Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo will provide funding for the entire project. BACKGROUND In September 2001, board members of the Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo discussed the possibility of pursuing plans to rehabilitate the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo with City Manager Frank Benest. After that discussion, the Friends secured private funding and initiated a feasibility study and program analysis of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo to determine options and costs for potential future improvements to the facility. A number of possibilities were considered and reviewed by city staff and the Friends board members. The board chose a program plan that proposes upgrades to the Junior Museum and Zoo and the addition of a small educational wing to the current facility, in order to accommodate existing programs that are now offered under compromised conditions. City Policy and Procedure 1-25, approved by the City Council on February 28, 1994, encourages the development of public/private partnerships for public benefit. Public/private partnerships are defined as cooperation between the City and private sector or nonprofit organizations in providing services, facilities, or other capital projects to the community.in order to achieve mutually shared objectives. City staff typically receives partnership proposals, such as this one, from private sector or non-profit organizations and an Option to Lease Agreement is negotiated. The policy recognizes that it may be’ appropriate for the City to waive normal processing and use fees in order to facilitate the project. CMR:442:02 Page 1 of 5 Staff has reviewed the proposal from the Friends and identified pros and potential cons. In favor of the proposal are the facts that there are much needed improvements to the Junior Museum and Zoo, the City has no resources to initiate those improvements, and a community group has come forward with an offer to fund those improvements. There are, however, potential issues that could arise, depending upon when construction commences. These issues include a proposed parking lot redesign to accommodate additional automobiles and a possible delay in initiating a City parking lot safety lighting project at the Lucie Stem complex. Based on staff’s analysis of the pros and cons, it is recommended that the City move forward with the Public/Private Partnership, including the waiving of fees. DISCUSSION The Friends have proposed a public/private partnership strategy similar to the 1991 Lease Agreement entered into between the City and the Friends of the Children’s Theatre for improvements to the Children’s Theatre. The Friends will seek extensive community feedback on this project and work closely with City staff to ensure that the improvements remain integrated within the Lucie Stem complex and are of a scale consistent with community character. A multi-department City team, similar to the approach used with the recent library projects, will work with the Friends of the Junior Museum and Zoo to move the project forward. City team members will include staff from the City Manager’s Office, Public Works, Planning and Community Development, Administrative Services and Community Services. The Friends of the Junior Museum and Zoo will manage the project independently and complete it with funds that it anticipates generating through a fundraising capital campaign. The Friends have worked with City Staff to develop an approach that would allow the Friends to develop their proposal beyond the program stage. The suggested approach is to negotiate an Option to Lease Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (Option Agreement). The Option Agreement will include several conditions that must be satisfied before the Friends can exercise the option, lease the site and begin construction of the project: The Friends of the Junior Museum and Zoo will need to engage the services of a professional architect to handle all aspects of the design and project review. The design will provide for all improvements necessary to comply with all new codes that might be triggered because of the work on the facility. The Friends of the Junior Museum and Zoo will need to engage the services of a professional project manager that will the point of contact for City coordination throughout the term of the project, from design through construction. The City Public Works Department will review the contract with the professional project manager to ensure that adequate scope of services is, included. CMR:442:02 Page 2 of 5 The Friends will submit schematic plans to be reviewed and approved by Public Works and Planning and Community Development Departments. Review will include those aspects of design pertaining to "maintainability" of the project after it is completed and returned to the City for operation and maintenance. The Friends will submit development plans to" be reviewed and commented upon by the Architectural Review Board, Planning and Transportation Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Historical Resources Board. The development Plans will then be submitted to City Council for review and approval. The Friends will obtain all required permits and perform all environmental review required to allow the project to proceed. The Friends will provide evidence satisfactory to the Director of Finance that they have sufficient funds on hand to complete the project. The Friends will provide evidence of insurance and performance security necessary to complete the project. The Option Agreement will have a term of 24 months. If the Friends are unable to exercise the option to lease within this time period, then the City and the Friends may agree to extend the term. Once the Friends exercise the option, the City and the Friends would enter into a lease agreement. The lease would provide, among other things, that the Friends of the Junior Museum and Zoo would not be responsible for Junior Museum and Zoo programming during construction. Staff will investigate options for alternative accommodations for the project should the museum or zoo need to be closed. RESOURCE IMPACT Funding for the renovation of the Junior Museum and Zoo will be provided by the Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, contingent upon successful completion of a fundraising capital campaign POLICY IMPLICATIONS This proposal is consistent with the City’s policy and procedures regarding Public/Private Partnerships. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The required environment assessment under the California Environmental Quality Act for the project will be performed during the option period in conjunction with the City’s discretionary review of the project. CMR:442:02 Page 3 of 5 PREPARED BY: DANIEL B. WILLIAMS Director of Recreation, Open Spac.e~and Sciences DEPARTMENT HEAD:~__~_~ Director of Community Services CITY MANAGER APPROVAL ~WEMIL.~___HAR~S_dl,~ - "~"-~-- .... Assistant City Manager CMI~:442:02 Page 4 of 5