TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
David N. Carmany, City Manager
FROM:
Jim Arndt, Public Works Director
Richard Gill, Parks and Recreation Director
Steve Finton, City Engineer
Mark Leyman, Recreation Services Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Plans and Specifications for the Marine Avenue Park Synthetic Turf Installation Project and Appropriation of $1,353,000 from the Unappropriated General Fund CIP Fund Balance
APPROVE, APPROPRIATE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council:
a) Approve the plans and specifications for the Marine Avenue Park Synthetic Turf Installation Project and authorize the City Manager to solicit construction bids for the project.
b) Appropriate $1,353,000 in total project funding, including $845,000 from private donations and $508,000 from unappropriated General Fund CIP fund balance.
c) Approve field-use allocations for project donors.
d) Authorize the City Manager to accept and execute a $30,000 Synthetic Grass Fields Program Grant from the United States Soccer Federation Foundation.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Staff estimates total project costs, including the standard 10% contingency, to be $1,353,000. To date, $845,000 in private donations have been raised. The remaining $508,000 could be appropriated from CIP reserve funds.
BACKGROUND:
On November 6, 2012, the City Council approved a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the American Youth Soccer Association Organization (AYSO) for constructing an artificial turf to replace the current natural turf at Marine Avenue Park. (Attachment 1).
Major issues identified within the MOU included:
1. Funding for the project, consisting of design, geotechnical reports, inspection, construction, and construction engineering.
2. Field-use time dedicated to AYSO and other major donors.
3. Major project timelines and Construction schedule.
DISCUSSION:
The project has advanced through fundraising and completion of design and is ready to have plans approved and direction given to the City Manager to solicit bids. Because fundraising is short of what is required to construct the artificial turf field, it has been requested by AYSO and other donors that the City contribute remaining funds in order that construction occur in advance of the upcoming fall soccer season. The status of MOU requirements of the major issues within the MOU follows:
Funding
Plans, specifications, and cost estimates (Attachment 2) have been completed. The preliminary project costs, including contingency, are estimated to be $1,353,000. Once bids have been solicited and reviewed, construction costs will be determined and overall project costs better defined/modified. Inclusion of a 10% construction contingency helps establish the upper limit of estimated $1,353,000 project costs.
To date, donations received include:
AYSO: $520,000
Manhattan Beach 10k: $25,000
Vistamar: $100,000
Sand and Surf: $200,000
Total donations: $845,000
Current donations of $845,000 fall short of the estimated project cost of $1,353,000 by $508,000. Given the shortfall, guidance for City action is provided in Section 2.2.1 of the MOU:
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the City Council for City may decide to contribute the additional funds required to meet the fundraising needs, or the City may require that AYSO continue its fundraising efforts and defer the start of the project until sufficient funds are provided by AYSO."
Soccer Grant:
In an attempt to defray project costs, on October 5, 2012, the City submitted a $200,000 grant request to the United States Soccer Foundation (USSF) for the Marine Avenue Synthetic Grass Field project. In January 2013, the USSF notified the City that it had awarded a grant to the City in the reduced amount of $30,000. The USSF indicates that the majority of the grant requests received request the maximum of $200,000, however very few grants are funded at the maximum level. Most are partially funded. There are many factors that the USSF takes into consideration when deciding whether to fund an application; these factors include the size and location of a project, the financial need of both the community and the organization, and how much grant funding is available.
The grant would provide $30,000 in the form of a credit available to the City through a single synthetic Grass manufacturer: FieldTurf. FieldTurf is one of several manufacturers that could supply synthetic grass meeting the performance specifications established for the project. Bidders could choose any manufacturer they wish that met the minimum specifications. If their bid includes Field Turf, they will be eligible to receive $30,000 credit on their bid.
Field Time
The installation of a new synthetic turf field will allow year round play and provide approximately 2,200 hours annually of peak field-use time for youth sports groups. Peak hours include weekdays from 4:00-8:00 p.m. and weekends from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Evenings from 8:00-10:00 p.m. (~ 500 hours annually) are non-peak hours designated for adult use and are available for rental by the City.
Peak Hours:
Per Section 2.8 of the MOU, AYSO will receive approximately 1,050 peak hours annually. Without the MOU, AYSO would still receive at least this number of field-use hours as they are a recreational, volunteer, resident based, youth sports group. AYSO will receive the benefit of not paying light fees for the 10-year period on Marine field, which are currently $12 per hour.
Per Section 2.8.2 of the MOU, other donors may receive field-use time based upon their contribution. AYSO reached out to other youth sports groups including Manhattan Beach Sand and Surf, Beach Cities Flag Football, Manhattan Beach Lacrosse, South Bay Force, and Vistamar High School. The two groups that were able to find mutually beneficial field scheduling agreements were Manhattan Beach Sand and Surf, and Vistamar High School. The other groups either had scheduling conflicts with AYSO, or did not have the capital to contribute at this time.
Manhattan Beach Sand and Surf contributed $200,000 towards the project and will receive 240 peak hours annually at a rate of approximately $83 per hour (Attachment 3). Manhattan Beach Sand and Surf is a resident based, club soccer organization and therefore their rate would be $100 per hour without their commitment, plus the light fees of $12 per hour.
Vistamar High School contributed $100,000 towards the project and will receive approximately 120 peak hours annually at a rate of $83 per hour (Attachment 4). Although Vistamar is not a resident based group, their field-use has minimal impact on AYSO's schedule and additionally uses the hours before 4pm for an additional 120 hours (these are considered neither peak or non-peak, as they are times that there is no demand and otherwise not marketable). Based upon these unique needs, Vistamar's use fits well with the field-use schedule.
Because both organizations are contributing the funds in advanced, staff believes that the $83 per hour is a fair rate, due to the groups providing the capital funds in advanced. The City will have a new turf field for the community benefit and have the ability to generate more revenue annually with no field maintenance times when the field is unavailable for use.
Summarizing, allocation of peak field-use hours are as follows:
AYSO: 1,050 hours
Manhattan Beach Sand & Surf: 240 hours
Vistamar High School: 120 hours
Total of Annual Peak Hours: 2,200 hours
Remaining Peak Hours for Rental by the City: 790 hours
From the 790 hours of peak hours available to the City to rent out, the City could generate between $30,000-$50,000.
Non-Peak Field Hours and City Use of Marine Soccer Field:
Non-peak hours include adult sports leagues and private adult group rentals from 8:00-10:00 p.m. daily. Non-peak hours also include City programs scheduled during daytime hours for holiday school breaks and summer months. These programs could generate from $50-$75,000 annually. To fill in any gaps in usage, Staff will rent the field to sports groups whenever possible to generate additional revenue.
Major project timelines and construction schedule
The AYSO was to present donated funds by February 1, 2013 in order to track with major elements of the schedule, including the construction schedule. Donations received through March 6 are $845,000, as noted herein. If the Council approves the needed City contribution, staff will advertise for bids. The remaining estimated schedule is as follows:
Open bids: April 2, 2013
Award contract: May 7, 2013
Begin construction: June 3, 2013
Completion of construction (90 calendar days): September 3, 2013
The estimated completion of construction date of September 3, 2013, is within the guidelines of Section 2.6 (ii) of the MOU, which states that the City shall complete construction:
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.within six months of AYSO's donation, if AYSO's donation is received after February 1, 2013."
Because donations were received March 6, 2013, which is after February 1, 2013, the City is required to complete construction within six months of March 6, 2013, meaning by September 6, 2013.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends the City Council:
1. Approve the plans and specifications for the Marine Avenue Park Synthetic Turf Installation Project and authorize the City Manager to solicit construction bids for the project. If bids are solicited immediately after City Council authorization, there is a high likelihood that construction could proceed in a timely fashion and allow for field-use by the start of the next soccer season in Fall 2013.
2. Appropriate $1,353,000 in total project funding, including $845,000 from private donations and $508,000 from unappropriated General Fund CIP fund balance. Although the funding goal of AYSO falls short of that considered in the November 6, 2012 MOU, it still represents a 62.5% contribution to the project. Additionally, if the project costs are less than the estimated $1,353,000, the City's share would be reduced to reflect the savings. If construction costs are greater than estimated, the Council could elect to consider sources of additional funding, rebid, or cancel the project.
3. Approve field-use allocations for project donors and other user groups. Any excess hours would be allocated by the City at its discretion.
4. Authorize the City Manager to accept and execute a $30,000 Synthetic Grass Fields Program Grant from the United States Soccer Federation Foundation, with the provision that it be included in the plans and specifications as a credit to the successful bidder if they select Field Turf as the turf manufacturer.
Attachments:
1. Memorandum of Understanding with the American Youth Soccer Organization
2. Project cost estimate
3. Manhattan Beach Sand and Surf letter of field usage
4. Vistamar letter of field usage