DATE: February 1, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dominic Lazzaretto, City Manager
By: Michael Bruckner, Deputy City Manager
Paul Cranmer, Director of Public Works Services
SUBJECT: DESIGN OPTIONS FOR A MEMORIAL COURTYARD AT THE MUSEUM
EDUCATION CENTER IN HONOR OF CAROL LIBBY
Recommendation: Select Design Option
SUMMARY
At the October 20, 2020, City Council meeting, the City Council approved the naming of the Courtyard between the Gilb Museum and the Lauber Museum Education Center in honor of Ms. Carol Libby, and authorized the City Manager to allocate $25,000 to upgrade the courtyard area to include new drought tolerant landscaping, similar to the improvements done recently at the Arcadia Public Library.
Subsequently, the City received three designs from its landscape architect, ranging in complexity and detail, from a full enhancement (Plans A & B) to a more modest design (Plan C). Staff solicited bids from various vendors, and it was estimated that the existing appropriation of $25,000 was not enough to complete the project , and the project was tabled temporarily. In accordance with City Council direction, the plans and cost estimates have been updated and this item is being resubmitted for consideration. I t is recommended that the City Council s elect Design Plan B for the Carol Libby Memorial Courtyard and direct staff to carry out the project.
BACKGROUND
Public facilities are often dedicated in recognition of prominent members of a community whose generosity, contributions, or achievements created a permanent and lasting impact on the community. To that end, the City has a process to acknowledge and memorialize individuals that have advanced the values and heritage of Arcadia by naming a public facility or space in their honor.
In July 2020, Council Member Beck submitted a request for the commemorative naming of the courtyard in front of the Gilb Museum of Arcadia Heritage and Floretta K. Lauber
Consideration of Landscaping Options for Carol Libby Memorial Courtyard February 1, 2022
Museum Education Center ( “MEC”) in honor of prominent Arcadia resident Carol Libby who passed away in the summer of 2020. Council Member Beck requested $25,000 from the General Fund Reserve to complete the project.
At the October 20, 2020, City Council meeting, the City Council approved the naming of the Courtyard in honor of Ms. Libby and authorized the City Manager to allocate $25,000 to upgrade the courtyard area to include new drought tolerant landscaping, similar to the improvements done at the Arcadia Public Library. Subsequently, staff met with Armstrong & Walker Landscape Architecture (“Armstrong”) to discuss the project and retained their services at a significantly discounted rate.
Armstrong was asked to provide a range of propos als that were not only within the authorized appropriation amount, but general ly followed the design criteria provided by the City Council to include:
The area includes both grass areas in front on the Museum and MEC, along with the lawn area next to the parking lot
Drought tolerant landscaping similar to what is at the Library Utilization of decomposed granite
A memorial to honor Ms. Libby including a plaque
Use of in-house labor and other contracts to offset costs Remove the metal fencing around the Hugo Reid statue to improve the aesthetic
Armstrong provided three conceptual drawings that are discussed in further detail below.
After several rounds of discussion, the final conceptual drawings were submitted to three landscape contractors for bid. The City encountered some difficulty finding contractors that were willing to submit proposals for the project and those that did submit bids provided extraordinarily high proposals. Staff spent several weeks working with bidders to fine tune their proposals to align with the City’s experience and expectation of costs for similar projects. P roposals ranged in cost from $77,000 to $157,000, with the City’s existing landscape contractor, Mariposa, providing the most comprehensive proposals .
This item was scheduled to be discussed in March 2021 but was tabled pending further deliberations of the City Council.
At the November 30, 2021, Goal Setting Study Session, the City Council directed the City Manager to bring forward this item for further City Council discussion.
DISCUSSION
Armstrong provided the City with three conceptual landscape plans. The proposals range in complexity and detail, from a full enhancement (Plans A & B) to a more modest design (Plan C) , as described below . It is important to note that these options are for the courtyard area only to provide an apple to apples comparison. The parking lot area is listed separately should the City Council elect to complete the work in phases.
Consideration of Landscaping Options for Carol Libby Memorial Courtyard February 1, 2022
Landscape Plan A
This plan (Attachment No. 1) includes the use of river rock and boulders to create two dry streambeds on both sides of the concrete pathway through the courtyard, with bioswales at both ends of the beds . The courtyard area is slightly sloped so streambeds will provide a natural and contoured look. The plan also features an 18” high sitting wall that can be brick or tiled. It sits directly across from the memorial area for Ms. Libby and can include a standalone feature like a bird bath or other small ornamental feature. The grass area will be replaced with drought tolerant ground cover, in addition to other drought tolerant and native plantings throughout. This is the most lavish option.
Landscape Plan B
This plan (Attachment No. 2) also includes the use of river rock and boulders to create two dry streambeds; however, they are smaller in scale. This plan adds additional decomposed granite walkways through the grass area. The memorial area will be featured in the middle of courtyard and connected by a pathway. Like Plan A, the grass area will be replaced with drought tolerant ground cover in addition to other drought tolerant and native plantings throughout. This option is less expensive than Plan A, but still provides for a dramati c change to the entire area between the buildings.
Landscape Plan C
This plan (Attachment No. 3) is the most modest of the proposals. This plan was requested to better align with the existing budget appropriation for the project. In this plan, the grass area will be replaced with drought tolerant ground cover, in addition to other drought tolerant and native plantings throughout. The existing bench remains in the courtyard and is directly across from a memorial area that can include a standalone feature as described in the other proposals . The plan also incorporates a single bioswale with medium size boulders along the planting’s boundaries.
Museum Parking Area (Potential Add-On)
This area (included with Attachment No. 2) replaces the grass along the parking lot for the Museum with drought tolerant ground cover, in addition to other drought tolerant and native plantings throughout. It also features a dry stream bed and boulders to tie into the design elements in the courtyard. This can be incorporated into any of the Plans should the City Council wish to expand the project boundaries.
The Public Works Services Department (“PWSD”) contacted Mariposa in December 2021 to see if they would still honor their original bid pricing; however, Mariposa indicated that Consideration of Landscaping Options for Carol Libby Memorial Courtyard February 1, 2022
they could not honor the original pricing and ultimately declined to offer a revised proposal.
Given the situation, the PWS D carefully evaluated the plans and determined the costs utilizing in-house services. The PWSD confirmed that all work described in the conceptual landscape plans can be performed by City employees and at a substantially lower cost than the bids previously provided.
For each proposal, the PWSD has provided the full cost of the work to be performed; however, the City Labor costs listed will generally be routine staff costs that are already included in the Department’s budget.
CITY
LABOR MATERIALS TOTAL
LANDSCAPE PLAN A $26,100 $9,400 $35,500
LANDSCAPE PLAN B $18,300 $7,600 $25,900
LANDSCAPE PLAN C $3,800 $7,500 $11,300
MUSEUM PARKING AREA (ADD-ON) $9,100 $3,500 $12,600
While all of the options would be fitting to honor Carol Libby, Plan B provides the best balance of function, water efficiency, and cost consciousness while still creating a dramatic visual change for the area. For this reason, Plan B is recommended, along with the Museum Parking Area Add-on, either as part of this project, or as part of the FY 2022- 23 Budget. This could bring the total Materials cost to $11,100 and Labor to $27,400, for an overall project cost of $38,500.
Project Timing
While there will be a significant cost savings to complete the work in-house, it will require more time to complete the project in order for staff to complete this task along with routine duties. Upon selection of the design proposal, PWSD will begin to make preparations for the work this Spring. It is imperative that all sod is appropriately removed below the surface, and that the area is irrigated and then sprayed with a herbicide when the grass comes up to prevent the grasses from returning later. This will require for work to continue well into Spring and will ensure that the temperatures are high enough to get a good growth to eradicate all existing turf. The project would then be able to proceed, with work being completed by the end of the Summer 2022.
Consideration of Landscaping Options for Carol Libby Memorial Courtyard February 1, 2022
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The proposed action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), and it can be seen with certainty that it will have no impact on the environment. Thus, this matter is exempt under CEQA per section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City Council approved a $25,000 allocation from the General Fund Reserve to complete this project at the October 20, 2020, Council Meeting. The total costs for design work performed by Armstrong was $1,700 and was funded separately. Materials costs for any of the alternatives are within the existing appropriation for this project and staff time can be accommodated either within this appropriation or existing staffing budgets .
Therefore, no additional allocation is required regardless of which option is selected, unless the City Council would like to contract this project out.
The City is also researching turf rebates through SoCal WaterSmart to offset some of the costs of the project. Those efforts are still ongoing.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council determine that the project is categorically exempt pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) ; and select design Plan B with the Museum Parking Lot Add- on for the Carol Libby Memorial Courtyard.
Attachments: 1. Landscape Plan A
2. Landscape Plan B
3. Landscape Plan C
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DRAWING NO.
SHEET OF XX
MUSEUM EDUCATION CENTER DESIGN/BUILD PROJECT
DATERCECITY ENGINEER
APPROVAL RECOMMENDED BY:
DESIGNED BY: TERRY RENNER
PROJ ENGR: TERRY RENNER
DRAWN BY: CLAUDIA BUZANI
CHECKED BY: TERRY RENNER
JOB NO:
PROJ NO: E118-02SCALE:
DATE:APPROVEDCHKD BYDRAWN BYDATEREVISION 09/16/13
CITY OF ARCADIA
PUBLIC WORKS SERVICES DEPARTMENT
85% PROGRESS SETADDED SLOT DRAIN AND REVISED GRADES
ARMSTRONG AND
WALKER
280 Mel Canyon Road
Duarte, Ca. 91010
[email protected]
Phone: (626) 357-4599
Landscape Architecture
Plan prepared under the direction of:
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No. 2293
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Attachment No. 1
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DRAWING NO.
SHEET OF XX
MUSEUM EDUCATION CENTER DESIGN/BUILD PROJECT
DATERCECITY ENGINEER
APPROVAL RECOMMENDED BY:
DESIGNED BY: TERRY RENNER
PROJ ENGR: TERRY RENNER
DRAWN BY: CLAUDIA BUZANI
CHECKED BY: TERRY RENNER
JOB NO:
PROJ NO: E118-02SCALE:
DATE:APPROVEDCHKD BYDRAWN BYDATEREVISION 09/16/13
CITY OF ARCADIA
PUBLIC WORKS SERVICES DEPARTMENT
85% PROGRESS SETADDED SLOT DRAIN AND REVISED GRADES
ARMSTRONG AND
WALKER
280 Mel Canyon Road
Duarte, Ca. 91010
[email protected]
Phone: (626) 357-4599
Landscape Architecture
Plan prepared under the direction of:
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RN
RT
P
RM
Exp. 03/31/22
No. 2293
STATE OF CALI FO
SA.MANNA
ACSDNALDERETSI
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ARCHITEC
NG
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Attachment No. 2
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DRAWING NO.
SHEET OF XX
MUSEUM EDUCATION CENTER DESIGN/BUILD PROJECT
DATERCECITY ENGINEER
APPROVAL RECOMMENDED BY:
DESIGNED BY: TERRY RENNER
PROJ ENGR: TERRY RENNER
DRAWN BY: CLAUDIA BUZANI
CHECKED BY: TERRY RENNER
JOB NO:
PROJ NO: E118-02SCALE:
DATE:APPROVEDCHKD BYDRAWN BYDATEREVISION 09/16/13
CITY OF ARCADIA
PUBLIC WORKS SERVICES DEPARTMENT
85% PROGRESS SETADDED SLOT DRAIN AND REVISED GRADES
ARMSTRONG AND
WALKER
280 Mel Canyon Road
Duarte, Ca. 91010
[email protected]
Phone: (626) 357-4599
Landscape Architecture
Plan prepared under the direction of:
E
RN
RT
P
RM
Exp. 03/31/22
No. 2293
STATE OF CALI FO
SA.MANNA
ACSDNALDERETSI
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ARCHITEC
NG
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Attachment No. 3