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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 13912 City of Palo Alto (ID # 13912) City Council Staff Report Meeting Date: 1/31/2022 Report Type: Action Items City of Palo Alto Page 1 Title: Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) Recommends that Council Direct Staff and the PRC to Assess and Conduct Public Outreach on a New Community Gymnasium Project in Palo Alto From: City Manager Lead Department: Community Services Recommended Motion The Parks and Recreation Commission recommends that City Council direct staff and the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) to assess and conduct public outreach on a new gym project, including location, site considerations, gym features and requirements, construction and operations costs, funding timeline, demand assessment, and prioritization of projects. Background The City of Palo Alto does not own a gymnasium (gym). There are two small gyms and a recreational court pavilion at Cubberley Community Center, which is owned by Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD). The City leases these gym spaces from PAUSD and makes them available to community groups for recreation purposes. There are no locker rooms, weight rooms, or meeting space available in these gyms. The demand for gym space is high; these gyms are almost always reserved in the afternoon and evenings every day of the week. The 2017 Parks, Trails, Natural Open Space and Recreation Master Plan (Parks Master Plan), discusses the importance of gym space and notes that planning, designing, and constructing a new public gym as a major project that needs further study and strategic funding. The Parks Master Plan also notes that the limited number of gyms available to the public and the lack of a City-owned gym complicate the expansion of most sports programs. During the community outreach process for the Parks Master Plan, gym facilities were identified as highly desired by the community. The Parks Master Plan states the following regarding gyms: • As of means of responding to growth and to maintain, expand, and provide future programming, at least one multi-purpose gymnasium is recognized as a community need. City of Palo Alto Page 2 • Increasing sports facilities, sharing of facilities, and adjusting facility scheduling should be investigated. • Sports programs, particularly middle school athletics and adult sports, are operating over capacity, with full teams and waitlists for most offerings. These programs are not easily expanded, as they rely on limited gym and field space. • The highest participation in City programs is in sports (adult and youth), aquatics (youth and teen) and day camps. Continued demand for these program areas is anticipated, and program offerings should respond to this demand. The current policy of “everyone plays” is widely supported for middle school athletics. Since limited gym and field space makes it difficult to expand these programs, the City and PAUSD should consider additional facilities or improved scheduling to maximize student involvement. • Intramural sports provide the opportunity for children to learn a new sport, develop social skills, practice teamwork and build friendships. They also promote an active and healthy lifestyle. Palo Alto will explore creating an intramural sports program for middle and high school students. Implementation of intramurals will require coordination with PAUSD and would require additional field and gym space. Discussion An Ad Hoc Committee of the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) prepared a memo to the full Commission describing the need for a recreational gym in Palo Alto (Park Memo). On November 17, 2021, the PRC discussed adding a new Palo Alto gym and voted unanimously to pass the following motion: The Parks and Recreation Commission supports investigating a plan, design, and construction of a new public gymnasium, consistent with the Parks Master Plan. The Commission requests City Council to direct staff and the Commission to assess and conduct public outreach on a new gym project, including location, site considerations, gym features and requirements, construction and operations costs, funding timeline, demand assessment, and prioritization of projects. Feasibility is based upon privately funded construction and operation. A status update will be provided to City Council during calendar year 2022. The PRC explored several potential locations for a new gym and noted that the two most promising sites are the Baylands Athletic Center, which includes 10.5 acres that became available after the golf course was reconfigured, and the Ventura neighborhood, which has long been identified as deficient in recreational amenities and is currently the focus of its own master plan process. In December 2021, Palo Alto resident Mr. John Arrillaga contacted the City with interest in donating a majority of the cost of a new gym. This extraordinary offer would involve a number of notable stipulations: • If the City contributes $10 million toward construction costs for the project, the City of Palo Alto Page 3 donor will contribute the balance of construction costs excluding certain costs such as consultants, utilities, and furnishings. If the total construction cost $40- 45 million, the donation would total $30-35 million. • The building’s basic design and footprint would be provided by the donor, including two levels and floor space for three basketball courts as well as additional high-ceiling uses. • The two-level design would provide an opportunity to incorporate numerous other complimentary uses, such that the facility could be described as a “wellness center” rather than simply a gymnasium. • Construction and any design modifications would proceed through a pre-selected contractor. This model of receiving a donation has recently been implemented by the County of San Mateo, enabling the project to proceed much more quickly than typical for public works construction. • Finally, Mr. Arrillaga has expressed a strong desire for the project to advance quickly. This would likely require expediting the selection of a preferred location, which would then be evaluated in detail concurrently with environmental clearance and community engagement on programming priorities. Similarly, expediting design and other approvals could be considered, potentially with a goal of beginning construction within the coming year. If Council is interested in exploring this generous offer and the PRC’s recommendation to assess a new gym project, staff would return to Council at a future date with results of any assessments and studies conducted such as location limitations and constraints, construction and operations costs, and the likelihood of securing additional donors. Timeline If the recommended action is approved, staff would begin working on Council’s direction immediately. Resource Impact The initial resource impact would consist primarily of staff time. Additional research will be required to determine the costs of community outreach, planning, design, construction and ongoing operations and maintenance of a new gym. There are several other projects under way or planned in the next few years that may compete for limited staff resources that would be required if Council directs staff to prioritize work on a new gym project. Those projects include: • Partnership with the First Tee of Silicon Valley to improve the Baylands Golf Links youth practice area • Community outreach on a new skatepark • Foothill Nature Preserve Infrastructure Improvements • Animal Shelter Improvements • New dog park • New park restroom City of Palo Alto Page 4 • Byxbee Park Improvement • Boulware Park Improvement • Cameron Park Improvement • Ramos Park Improvement • New history museum/Roth Building In addition, funding for the City’s financial support both of the construction and non- construction costs as noted above such as consultants, utilities, and furnishings would need to be identified as part of the near term of the five-year capital improvement plan. This would require prioritizing this project as an immediate funding need versus other planned projects as noted above in addition to the prioritization of staff time. Policy Implications Planning, design and construction of a new gymnasium is identified in the Parks Master Plan as a major project that needs further study and strategic funding. Stakeholder Engagement On November 17, 2021, the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) discussed adding a new Palo Alto gym. Environmental Review This action is statutorily exempt from CEQA per CEQA regulation 15262 as it is only a feasibility or planning study for possible future action.