HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/16/1993, C-6 - FRENCH PARK COMMUNITY ROOM MEETING DATE:
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COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT ITE"''NUMBER:
FROM: Ken Hampian, Assistant City Administrative Officer 1
Prepared By: Deb Hossli, Administrative Analysti".`
SUBJECT: French Park Community Room
CAO RECOMMENDATION: Approve the revised approach for completing French Park
as set out in this report and, by motion, approve an appropriation in the amount of$94,000
($50,000 from available funds in the existing French Park project and $44,000 from the
General Fund, fund balance available) to construct restrooms at French Park.
DISCUSSION:
Existing Situation
As the Council is aware, the City is nearing completion of French Park. To date, nearly all
of French Park's planned improvements have been installed and the landscaping completed.
The only portion of the project that has yet to be completed involves the construction of a
community room at the Park. For several reasons that will be described in this report, the
budget to develop the Park does not contain sufficient monies to construct the community
room as originally envisioned. As such, staff has been working with the French Park
Advisory Committee of the Santa Lucia Hills Master Homeowner Association to develop
an alternative approach for completing French Park. The purpose of this report is to
present the City Council with this alternative approach for completing French Park and
obtain Council approval to proceed forward.
Background
In the early 1980's, the City adopted the Edna-Islay Specific Plan for the phased
development of the Edna and Islay areas of San Luis Obispo. One component of the plan,
"Parks,Open Space and Recreation Areas",called for the development of two neighborhood
parks to serve the proposed subdivision's residents. The first of the two proposed parks,
subsequently named French Park, was to be constructed in phases that paralleled the
development of the Edna section of the subdivision.
Consistent with the Specific Plan, preparations for French Park began in the mid-1980's.
With construction of the Edna subdivision underway, the developer worked with City staff
to produce a plan for the construction of French Park. Under the approved plan, the Park
was to be developed in five phases and designed to include facilities such as a basketball
court, a play area with equipment, barbecue pits with a picnic area, a volleyball court, a
softball field, a soccer field, horseshoe pits, a forested area, and a community room.
With respect to paying for the park, the developer, the homeowners and the City agreed to
share equally in its costs, and as such, each have contributed approximately $250,000 toward
its total estimated budget of$750,000. Under this cost-sharing arrangement, the developer
has taken responsibility for the infrastructure-related park improvements (e.g., grading and
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COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
paving, etc.), plans and specifications for each phase of park construction and the design of
the community room. The City and homeowners have taken responsibility for the passive
improvements (e.g., landscaping, irrigation, etc.), the active improvements (e.g. basketball
courts,volleyball courts, etc.), and the construction of the community room. The developer
has carried out his required park improvements independently. The City has taken
responsibility for carrying out both our own and the homeowners portion of the project.
Community Room Bud eg tart/Problems
In early 1993, the architect hired by the developer to prepare the design plans for the
community room presented preliminary plans to the City for approval. In staffs review of
the preliminary community room plan, it became apparent that while it was very functional,
it far exceeded the original scope and budget available for the community.room. This
situation was further complicated by a review of French Park's remaining budget which
showed that less monies were projected to be available than originally anticipated for the
community room construction. Unfortunately, this budgetary information was discovered
after the preliminary plans were shared with the Parks and Recreation Commission and the
homeowner representatives.
Specifically,under the original plan to develop the Park, the community room was projected
to cost approximately $159,000. The current preliminary plan produced by the architect for
staffs review, however, it is estimated to cost in the range of $289,000. Staff estimates that
only $98,000 will be available to build the facility ($84,000 from remaining construction
monies and $14,000 from the developer for design), creating a construction shortfall of
approximately $191,000.
In analyzing the projected shortfall in available funding to construct the community room,
staff has determined that there are several contributors:
N. Addition of Tennis Courts to Project Scope
At the request of the homeowners, the City added tennis courts to the project scope.
Because the tennis courts were not included in the original project scope, this added
$43,000 in additional unbudgeted costs to the Park project.
► Changes to Community Room Project Scope
Because the Specific Plan discussion on the community room and the initial budget
prepared for the project were both conceptual in nature, it is difficult for staff to
definitively assess the original "vision" of the community room. In evaluating the
available budget and the plan for the Park it does appear, however, that the original
concept for the community room was far less ambitious than what has been
preliminarily designed by the architect.
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COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Specifically, the current preliminary design is based on a functional "neighborhood-
size" community room capable of serving the recreational programming needs of the
Edna subdivision (e.g., child care program, youth recreation programming, etc).
Whereas, the original project budget, seems to suggest a facility more along lines of
a neighborhood meeting room with restrooms. Because this budget information was
not clearly communicated to the architect, the current preliminary design far exceeds
the project budget by $130,000.
No. Delays in Project Completion
For a variety of reasons, construction of French Park has not proceeded as quickly
as originally intended. For example, a significant portion of the amenities planned
for the Park were put on hold for nearly three years (e.g., a ball field, a soccer field,
landscaping etc.) due to the drought. The state of the economy has also slowed
completion of the final phases of development (resulting in slowed collections of
expected contributions from the homeowners). Finally, weather conditions and
contractor delays with the Park's current construction phase have added almost a
year to the project. In combination, these delays have added inflationary costs to the
project.
Community Room Options
When staff determined that a problem existed with carrying out the community room as
originally intended, we began meeting with the Homeowner Association to advise them of
the situation. As expected, the homeowner representatives were disappointed with the
information on the community room as their expectations for the facility had been raised
significantly after review of the preliminary plans during the Parks and Recreation
Commission meeting. Several meetings were subsequently held with the homeowner
representatives to clarify the responsibilities of each participant in the project and confirm
the budget. Once this process was complete, staff began sharing with the homeowner
representatives the range of options that were available to the City for completing the
project: (1) constructing the community room as set out in the preliminary designs at a cost
of $289,000 (requiring a $191,000 augmentation to cover the project's shortfall); (2)
redesigning the community room for so that it could be built for the original budget of
$159,000(requiring a$61,000 augmentation to cover the project's shortfall); or (3)using the
remaining project budget to construct a restroom facility and holding off on the community
room portion of the project until funding becomes available in the future.
It is important to note that in discussing the options with the homeowner representatives in
the late spring of this year, staff attempted to be as candid as possible on the City's financial
condition (at the time we were preparing the 1993-95 Draft Financial Plan that called for
laying off thirty positions and cutting the City's General Fund capital budget in half). As
such, staff pointed out the advantages of option 3 and explained that pursuit of option 1 or
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COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
2 were only, in the best circumstances, viable if there was a willingness to develop a cost-
sharing arrangement for funding the shortfall. Staff then requested that the homeowner
representatives share these alternatives with their general memberships and prepare a
formal position for the City Council to consider.
Homeowner Association Position
In response to staff's request, the French Park Advisory Committee of the Santa Lucia
Master Homeowner Association has taken the position that the community room should be
built as originally promised. However, in light of the financial constraints facing all parties
involved in the project, the homeowners are willing to support a compromise arrangement
that works toward achieving this goal over a longer period of time. Under our original plan
for the Park's development, the community room was supposed to be constructed in concert
with the final phase of the subdivision's development (which is taking place now). Instead,
the homeowners are proposing that the City agree to build a restroom facility at the Park
as soon as possible with the remaining monies available in the project. The homeowners
would then be willing to wait to add the community room portion of the project until either:
(1) the City's financial position improves or (2) an outside grant can be secured.
Specifically, they want a commitment from the City that it will formally consider the French
Park community room project in the bi-annual development of the capital project budget
and aggressively pursue outside grants until funding is secured to complete the community
room.
Recommendation
Staff supports the Homeowner Association's recommendation and requests Council
approval. Staff agrees that this represents the most reasonable option available to the City
for completing the project. It allows the City to provide the more immediately needed
portion of the community room project (the bathroom facilities) in the near-term and the
flexibility to add the community room when funding is available in the future.
With respect to timing of the restroom construction, staff believes that design of the facility
can begin in early spring of 1994. It is estimated that it would take a year from that date
to complete the restroom so that it is ready for service.
CONCURRENCES:
The Chairman of the French Park Advisory Committee of the Santa Lucia Hills Master
Homeowner Association has reviewed this report and concurs with its contents.
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COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
FISCAL IMPACT:
! If the City Council adopts staff's recommendation of constructing restrooms only at this
time, it will be necessary to appropriate $94,000 into a capital project ($50,000 from funds
available in the existing French Park project and $44,000 from General Fund, fund balance
available). This represents the City's remaining share of $39,000 to reach our agreed upon
contribution of$250,000, the homeowners remaining share of$45,000 to reach their agreed
upon contnbution of $750 per home in Edna subdivision, and $10,000 of the $14,000 from
the developer to fund the design portion of the facility (the remaining $4,000 from the
design budget will be used to fund a portion of the design costs for the community room
when it moves forward at a later date).
It is important to note that the homeowners portion of$45,000 represents the park fees that
will be collected during the final phase of construction of the Edna subdivision (the $750
is collected from each first time home sale in the subdivision when escrow closes). As such,
the City will be "fronting" the homeowners portion of the $94,000 so that design and
construction of the restrooms can begin as soon as possible.
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