TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Stephanie Katsouleas, Public Works Director
Prem Kumar, City Engineer
Edward Kao, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consider Findings from the Assessment and Feasibility Study Report on a New City Hall with Public Parking, Fire Station No. 2, and City Aquatic Complex, and Provide Direction on These as well as Potential Other Facility Initiatives (Public Works Director Katsouleas).
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider findings from the assessment and feasibility study report on a new City Hall with public parking, Fire Station No. 2, and City Aquatic Complex, and provide direction on these and other potential facility initiatives.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
For more than a decade, City Council has considered various initiatives to improve various public and community facilities. Such initiatives have resulted in a new Police Fire station, City Hall Plaza, Library and Skate Spot, upgrades to the Joslyn Community Center and development of Metlox. Most recently, City Council has explored renovation and/or replacement of these three facilities:
1. City Hall with additional underground parking: three options with conceptual level cost estimates are provided;
2. Fire Station No.2: six options with conceptual level cost estimates are provided, three of which contemplated acquiring additional property.
3. City Aquatic Complex: three options with conceptual level cost estimates are provided at Begg Pool.
In addition to potentially proceeding with preliminary design concepts for any of the three facilities listed above, Council may wish to consider whether additional facilities should be evaluated for potential upgrade and/or replacement, including but not limited to the Joslyn Community Center, Manhattan Heights, Live Oak, Sand Dune Park and Public Works facilities.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications with receiving this report. Any future fiscal implications will be determined based on the direction given by City Council for these and other facility initiatives.
BACKGROUND:
On November 17, 2015, City Council directed staff to prepare a Needs Assessment/ Feasibility Study for the potential replacement of City Hall with underground parking, replacement or renovation of Fire Station No. 2 and construction of a new City Aquatic Complex at the Begg Pool site. On February 2, 2016 Council awarded a contract to Griffin Structures, Inc. to develop that report (Attachment 1). The report includes an assessment of staff and operations needs, computations of space requirements, conceptual site plans and probable cost estimates for each facility. The unique challenges and opportunities of each facility were also considered and are described herein.
City Hall Complex
City Hall was originally constructed in 1975. Since that time, municipal services, operations and staffing have evolved considerably. For example:
• Development and redevelopment of residential and commercial properties in Manhattan Beach have dramatically increased over the past 20 years, impacting the staffing demand in Community Development and Public Works to support those development activities;
• Information Systems (IS) support within municipalities started in the early 1990s as the demand for and use of desktop computers grew. Shortly thereafter, multi-use networks emerged for sharing information across the organization. And demand for IS support services further increased with the evolution of the internet, wireless technologies and handheld devices.
• The City Clerk’s office has initiated and grown its electronic catalog exponentially, with a goal to digitize paper records dating back decades; public records requests have grown from 15 annually in 1996 to over 1660 this year alone; and current transparency initiatives demand significantly more staff time than in prior years in order to meet the City’s goal of open government access.
• New recreation programs have been created and/or expanded to meet a growing demand for older adult programs and dial-a-ride transportation services; the number and types of special events has increased; there is greater use of parks facilities (e.g., art classes, afterschool programs, teen center). And, class offerings and registrations have grown, as has the use of social media to advertise classes and communicate with user groups.
• Lastly, the expanded municipal services listed above have necessitated the need for adequate support from Human Resources.
City staffing and support services have continually morphed to meet community demands and the growth in programs over the past several decades. However, although City Hall has undergone multiple stages of reconfiguring, the existing building can no longer adequately provide the adequate space needed to meet that growth in its current configuration. Additionally, the main building and Council Chamber present some challenges in meeting full Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance (e.g. hallway widths, bathroom access, podium access, counter heights, etc.)
City Hall was evaluated with additional consideration given to increasing the availability of parking at the City Hall Plaza. The three options presented in the attached report include:
• Option A: 3 stories - street retail facing Highland Ave., with City Hall operations on the second and 3rd floors. The current parking lot would be expanded to create a 3rd level of parking. The lower (basement) level would also be enlarged. The estimated cost is $37,736,000.
• Option B: 2 stories - no street retail. City Hall would occupy two levels with a larger footprint. Parking would not be expanded. The estimated cost is $26,706,000.
• Option C: 2 stories - no street retail. City Hall would occupy two levels with a larger footprint. The current parking lot would be expanded to create a 3rd level of parking. The estimated cost is $29,272,000.
Fire Station 2
Fire Station 2 was constructed in 1954. Since that time, significant changes have been made to building codes, in particular seismic-related structural requirements for first-response facilities. Fire Station 2 is not in compliance with those codes. Additionally, the facility does not provide accommodations for female firefighters and other privacy issues, the size of the apparatus bay does not accommodate today’s modern firefighting equipment, and there is no space available to provide other types of community services (e.g., clinics). In short, it has outlived its useful and functional life.
Initially, City Council directed staff to investigate whether there were others sites in the city that would be better suited for a new, state-of-the-art fire station. That assessment was presented to City Council on March 15, 2016. It summarized opportunities at the City’s Creative Arts Center, Manhattan Heights, Trinity Evangelical Church and the station’s current location. For a variety of reasons, it was determined that Fire Station 2’s current location was the best option to consider for renovating or replacing the facility and that additional consideration should be given to expanding that site to the south and/or east by acquiring additional parcels. With this consideration in mind, Attachment 1 identified three options as follows:
• Option 1: Acquiring one parcel to the south and constructing a new building that would allow drive-through access of the apparatus bay.
• Option 2: Acquiring two parcels to the south and constructing a new building that would allow drive-through access of the apparatus bay. A portion of the existing City parcel on the east side could be sold.
• Option 3: Acquiring one parcel to the east and constructing a building that would not allow drive-through access of the apparatus bay.
Although one property owner to the south was potentially a willing seller (Option 1), on June 21, 2016, Council decided to discontinue consideration of expanding the Fire Station 2 property beyond its current footprint and asked for an additional analysis using only the City’s existing property. Attachment 2 identified three options as follows (all contemplate a 2-story structure):
• Option 4: Renovate and expand the existing building to approximately 8,560 SF with an estimated cost of $6,274,000.
• Option 5: Demolish the existing building and build a new 9,710 SF building with an estimated cost of $7,777,000.
• Option 6: Demolish the existing building and build a new 10,550 SF building with an estimated cost of $8,390,000.
These three options require that fire trucks continue to be backed into the apparatus bay, and they include separate male and female accommodations. Additional highlights of Options 4, 5 and 6 include:
• Administration. Administration space has increased significantly to allow for captain/crew workstations, CERT office space, conference and training space, as well as a first aid community clinic available for the residents of Manhattan Beach.
• Living Quarters. This area has increased to accommodate a 6-person shift (from existing 3-person shift) and the support space needed for additional dorms, showers, lockers, a dining area, and associated living area.
• Apparatus Bay / Support Rooms. This space has increased to accommodate an added paramedic response unit within the bay, eliminate the need for customization of engines, and allow equipment to be serviced within the bay.
With replacement of Fire Station 2, it would be possible to expand the operations of the fire station by providing adequate space for other reserve and/or active apparatus, which now are stored/located at Station 1.
City Aquatic Complex
The City of Manhattan Beach does not currently have a municipal pool. However, through a shared agreement with the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Begg Pool is available for city programming and community use. This site was evaluated for developing a municipal aquatic complex on the existing Begg pool site that would accommodate current and future programming needs. All three options presented are similar, and include a parking deck that would be accessible from Peck Ave., additional at-grade parking, one competition pool, one training pool, one splash pad, locker rooms and an office building. The primary differences between the three options are in the layout of the facilities within the usable space.
On August 2, 2016, a status update was provided to City Council with special focus given to potential revenue streams that could pay for these facility upgrades should City Council decide to pursue any of them. The first study included with this staff report was completed in September, 2016, and the supplemental study for Fire Station 2 was completed on April 20, 2017.
In addition to these most recent facility assessments, in June of 2006, the City began a community driven process, called the Facilities and Open Space Strategic Plan (FSP). A final master plan was adopted by City Council on March 4, 2008 which addressed many city facilities (see Attachment 3: Community Facilities Strategic Plan Executive Summary, January 2008). Following completion of the FSP, the highest community priority for a facility improvement, a new library, was ultimately constructed and reopened in 2015. Another high priority, the Joslyn Center, was renovated in 2012 for approximately $3.6 million. And, most recently the Skate Spot was constructed at Marine Complex. And, in the near future (2019), a new Scout House is anticipated to be constructed in its current location.
To date, there have been no significant assessments completed for existing City facilities at Live Oak Park, Manhattan Heights, the Cultural Arts Center, Sand Dune Park and the Public Works Yard.
DISCUSSION:
Based on the assessments provided in this report, staff seeks direction from City Council on how to proceed with renovation and/or replacement initiatives for various city facilities. Options include:
• Determine which City facilities are the highest priority for consideration to renovate and/or replace.
• Conduct facility assessments for some or all of the older City facilities which have yet to be comprehensively evaluated.
• Consider whether to proceed with next steps for the three facilities highlighted in this staff report. Next steps would include selecting one of the options presented and further refining a design and probable cost estimate.
• Consider directing the Finance Subcommittee to evaluate potential revenue sources as part of the Financial Master Plan currently being developed that could fund construction or renovation of any City facilities under consideration for renovation and/or replacement.
• Consider developing a new public input/outreach strategy and seek public comment before proceeding with some or any new facility initiatives.
• Defer the conversation until some future date.
Once staff has received direction from City Council, we will develop a timeline, budget and scope of work for those facilities selected for further action and/or analysis.
POLICY ALTERNATIVES:
ALTERNATIVE #: 1
Receive and file the report and take no action.
PROS:
No additional funds will be spent for further project consideration. Staff will continue to pursue building maintenance and renovations approved in the CIP.
CONS:
Fire Station No. 2 still does not meet current seismic standards as a first response
facility, and operational efficiencies and opportunities will not be available. Significant
resources will be spent to reconfigure City Hall to better meet operational demand and
mechanical/electrical/plumbing deterioration, but will still be substandard toward
meeting the current needs of staff and the public. And enhanced aquatics opportunities
and programming will not be available to Manhattan Beach residents.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
Since 2006, there has been a significant amount of community outreach about the need and/or desire to improve various community facilities. In addition, many presentations have been made to user groups, committees, commissions and to City Council.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
“General Rule” Exemption. The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment; therefore, pursuant to Section 15061 (b) (3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
Attachment/Attachments:
1. The 3 Top Priority CIP Study Report (September 21, 2016)
2. Fire Station No. 2 Existing Condition Assessment Conceptual Option Plans and Probable Cost Estimates (2017)
3. Community Facilities Strategic Plan, Executive Summary (January 2008)
4. PowerPoint Presentation