Staff Report
City Council
Item No. {{section.number}}.B
Meeting Date: September 11, 2024
From: John A. Corella, Director of Public Works
Title: Downtown Dog Park - Design Update September 2024 RECOMMENDATION:
The Downtown Dog Park design update September 2024 is for the City Council's information and discussion only.
BACKGROUND:
On November 9, 2022, the City Council approved an agreement with Verde Design, Inc. to prepare a conceptual design plan for the Downtown Dog Park project. The conceptual design was completed in March 2023, and included fenced large and small dog park areas with fabric shade structures, pet waste stations, trash receptacles, benches, drinking fountains with pet bowls, a walking path, drought-tolerant landscaping and trees, lighting, renovation of the existing restroom/storage building, and proposed four (4) pickleball courts as an additional park amenity providing more functionality to the limited space.
The conceptual design was used to prepare a request for qualifications/proposals (RFQ/P) for professional landscape, architect, design, and engineering services for the final design and construction documents of the Downtown Dog Park project. This RFP/Q was advertised on July 19, 2023.
The city received multiple responses from professional landscape architects to the above mentioned RFQ/P, and On October 25, 2023, the City Council approved a professional service agreement with David Volz Design (DVD), for professional landscape, architect, design, and engineering services for the Downtown Dog Park project.
A project kickoff meeting was held on November 28, 2023, between city staff and David Volz Design to start with the design of the project.
DISCUSSION:
Since the design kickoff meeting, DVD and city staff have continued to hold meetings and discussions to evaluate design alternatives, meet project milestones, and incorporate city staff feedback from experiences with the recently designed and constructed parks. DVD has performed multiple site visits and provided an assessment report with findings on the existing site conditions and the existing restroom/storage building.
DVD’s assessment report concluded that the existing restroom storage building has seen significant rotting and deterioration and provided an estimated cost of approximately $680,000 for the renovation of the existing structure. DVD recommended the demolition of the existing restroom/storage building and construct a new restroom. The estimated cost for a new restroom building will be in the order of $440,000 based on the recent purchase of the new restroom storage facility at Esperanza Park.
With the demolition of the existing restroom/storage facility, city staff recommended the conceptual design be changed to move the proposed new restrooms to an optimal location for park users. This change also allowed the additional space left by the demolition of the existing restroom building to be used for one additional pickleball court.
City staff also recommended to evaluate the possibility of replacing the proposed above ground retention basins with an underground retention system to maximize the useable space within the park property.
Considering the above-mentioned recommendations, DVD submitted the 60% progress design documents on August 20, 2024, for city staff to review and comment. Below is a summary of the items included in the submittal package:
•Fenced large and small dog park
•Fabric shade structure over the large and small dog park sitting areas •Benches
•Drinking fountains with bottle filler and dog bowl
•Restroom/storage facility
•Five (5) pickle ball courts
•Park lighting
•Litter receptacle with integrated recycle bins
•Drought-tolerant landscaping and trees
•Underground drainage system
•Park signage
As of this 60% design submittal, DVD’s estimated cost to construct the park is $4,350,000.
While DVD continues with preparation of the project’s plans, specifications, & estimate (PS&E), city staff continue to monitor potential funding grants for constructing the project.
At today’s City Council Study Session meeting, Engineering staff will provide a design update on the Downtown Dog Park and its amenities and features for City Council information, comment and discussion.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact for this Study Session meeting. Prior authorization from the City Council includes an encumbrance in the amount of $413,376 from the Parks and Recreation Facilities Fund 271 for the professional service agreement with David Volz Design (DVD), for professional landscape, architect, design, and engineering services for the Downtown Dog Park project.
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
GOAL B: COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
Objective: Cathedral City roads, gateways, public spaces, and other city infrastructure are well planned, designed, constructed, and maintained.
ATTACHMENTS:
None