CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
August 20, 2024 {{section.number}}d
WINN ROOM RENOVATION PROJECT – CITY COUNCIL WINN ROOM SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive a final report from the City Council’s Winn Room Subcommittee and consider the Winn Room renovation project, including selection of a remodel option and amenities, and direct staff to initiate design work and environmental review, or provide other direction as appropriate.
BACKGROUND:
The Winn Room at the Coronado Library is the City’s flagship public space for library programming, community events, and local, non-profit and community group use. Built in 1973, the Winn Room has received minimal renovations since its construction. In 2005, the kitchen was built (replacing a kitchenette), the restrooms expanded, blinds, coffee cart door, A/V, projector and screen and track lighting installed, and the existing stacking chairs and tables purchased. In 2011, the carpet was removed and the flooring replaced. In 2015, a wireless microphone, projector and screen were installed on the Orange Avenue side of the room. In its present state, the Winn Room’s dated audio/visual and information technology systems, subpar lighting and acoustics, and worn interior finishes diminish its functionality for users. In addition, the HVAC system, roof, electrical, furnishings, and adjacent restrooms all require replacement or significant updating. Some room users have encouraged the expansion of the space to accommodate larger events. Current seating capacity of the Winn Room is 135 within 1,680 square feet of programmable space.
In 2021, the City Council established a subcommittee to explore options for the remodel of the Winn Room. The Winn Room Subcommittee (with members Councilmember Tanaka and thenCouncilmember Heinze) first convened on August 24, 2021. Councilmember Downey was appointed to the seat vacated by Councilmember Heinze in December 2022. The Subcommittee met nine times up to November 2023, conducting a needs assessment, evaluating external venue options and refining remodel options. On December 12, 2023, the Subcommittee presented its report to the City Council (found in Attachment 3). At the conclusion of the discussion, the City Council directed the Subcommittee to reconvene and address a set of additional questions.
The Winn Room Subcommittee developed a workplan (Attachment 2) to accomplish the additional scope and met four times in the Spring of 2024. All meetings were noticed and open to the public, and members of the public, including former Councilmember Heinze, were invited to participate. To ensure robust community engagement, the Subcommittee directed staff to use the City’s website, social media and printed materials to promote participation in the Winn Room Subcommittee meetings. Direct emails were sent to community groups previously involved in the Winn Room Renovation project as well as frequent user groups of the Winn Room.
This report summarizes the Subcommittee’s work and presents the refined Winn Room remodel options for City Council deliberation and direction.
For a summary of the Winn Room Remodel Options:
OPTION 1: Interior Upgrades
Remodel of interior finishes and new audio/visual systems. Room size remains the same at 1,680 square feet.
OPTION 2: Interior Upgrades + Elevated Ceiling
Remodel of interior finishes and new audio/visual systems and raising the drop ceiling for improved sightlines. Room size remains the same at 1,680 square feet.
OPTION 3: Internal Expansion
Reconfigures and increases the size of the Winn Room to 2,316 square feet with the elevated ceiling, interior remodel and new audio/visual systems.
OPTION 4: Larger Expansion
Reconfigures and increases the size of the Winn Room to 2,931 square feet, with an optional deck extending into Library Park, adds a lobby, with the elevated ceiling, interior remodel and new audio/visual systems.
ALTERNATE / OPTION 5: Merged Use of Winn Room / Grand Room Provides for upgrades to audio/visual systems in Grand Room. Removes the Grand Room center partition. Would pair with Council-selected remodel of Winn Room (Options 1 or 2).
A full comparison of costs, amenities and features is included in Attachment 1. Estimated costs include furniture, fixtures, and equipment such as A/V systems.
ANALYSIS:
In the December 2023 City Council discussion of Winn Room remodel options, the Council directed additional research on five key topics:
(1) External venues as alternates for events exceeding the capacity of the Winn Room and their costs and scheduling considerations;
(2) Other City facilities as alternates to the Winn Room and their scheduling considerations; (3) Accessibility of the remodel options;
(4) Impacts of the remodel options to Library Park trees; and (5) Acoustic considerations.
As detailed in the workplan (Attachment 2), the Subcommittee addressed each topic. The staff reports and minutes for each meeting are included in Attachment 3. The following discussion summarizes the primary findings for each topic.
March 20, 2024 Meeting: Outside Venues
The Subcommittee heard information regarding outside venues that might accommodate events expected to exceed the Winn Room’s capacity.
From May 2022 to March 2024, there were 11 events that exceeded the Winn Room capacity.
Three were moved to the Nautilus Room, Grand Room or Hotel del Coronado, and 8 were hosted at the Coronado School of Performing Arts (CoSA) auditorium, using the City/CUSD Joint Use Agreement. The majority of events that currently exceed the Winn Room’s capacity were speaker events, not musical performances.
Finding:
CoSA is recommended as the best external alternate space for large Library events. With a capacity of 570, auditorium-style seating, a performance-oriented acoustic environment, close proximity to the Library, and an existing Joint Use Agreement with the School District that the City can exercise for free use subject to availability, CoSA is considered the first priority for external alternate space.
April 24, 2024 Meeting: City Facility Scheduling, Costs, Staffing, and John D Spreckels Center Grand Room
The City Council requested a deeper look at the City’s internal meeting room resources as Winn Room alternates, including the concept of a merged use with the John D Spreckels Center Grand Room, whether City facilities would benefit from a single reservation system, and other staffing and scheduling considerations.
Findings:
• The Nautilus Room is the best internal alternative to the Winn Room and is most suited for speaker events. The room lacks quality acoustics and is not suited for musical performances. The combined Nautilus Room can seat 446.
• The Grand Room has acoustical limitations, and the space is used primarily as a multipurpose room. Outside of audio equipment upgrades, impactful treatments to improve the acoustics of the room would require material changes to the functionality of the room. For instance, the room divider causes negative audio and visual impacts, yet is vital to the successful operations of the room as a multipurpose space.
• Staff explored the benefits and costs to manage all City facilities under a single reservation system. The Library and Recreation facilities have unique missions and fee directives for their facilities. Each department’s reservation platform is tailored for their mission and have different functionality and scale. There have been few instances of reservation requests across departments. Accordingly, any marginal benefit of having one single reservation system was outweighed by the cost, logistics and time entailed in merging. For internal room sharing, with the two instances where a reservation moved from one department’s facility to the other (Library events moved to Nautilus and Grand Rooms), Library and Recreation staff effectively managed that transition with minimal effort. Library events may use Recreation facilities at no cost. • All eligible public reservation requests for City facilities have been accommodated, and at the facilities initially requested. There are no documented instances of nonprofit organization reservation requests not being accommodated due to size or availability for either the Winn Room or Recreation facilities. There have been anecdotal reports that members of the community using the online booking system for the Library have not been able to schedule their non-profit event at the time initially requested.
• Recreation allows the rental of its facilities outside of normal operating hours. The reserving entities pays for staff presence during the event. The Library has accommodated some reservations slightly before or after operating hours so long as staff are present in the building. • Staff did not report a significant or ongoing demand for additional access to facilities that would necessitate increasing hours and staffing.
May 16, 2024 Meeting: Accessibility, and Acoustic Properties and Potential Tree Impacts Accessibility Considerations
The Winn Room Subcommittee examined the physical and audio/visual accessibility for each of the remodel options. For audio, the City maintains portable audio systems for attendees with hearing impairment, which would be available in any of the remodel options. Sightlines to screens, for access to subtitle or close captioning text, was a major consideration in evaluation of the remodel options. All but Option 1 (Interior Upgrade) resulted in much improved screen visibility, as measured from the back row.
Findings:
All remodel options were fully evaluated and will meet Americans with Disability Act and California Building Code requirements for physical and audio accessibility and all but Option 1 results in improved screen visibility, as measured from the back row.
Acoustic Properties
The acoustical consultant ranked each of the five design solutions in descending order from best to least favorable as follows:
• Option 4: Larger Expansion
• Option 3: Internal Expansion
• Option 2: Interior Upgrades and elevate ceiling
• Option 1: Interior Upgrades
• Option 5: JDSC Grand Room A/V Upgrades
The relatively low ranking of the Grand Room is due to the existing room divider wall, which has an upper header that creates a significant sound barrier for the rest of the space. If removed, subdividing the room for concurrent events would no longer be possible, reducing the flexibility of the space at JDSC.
Finding:
Room configuration inherently impacts acoustics and the remodel options are ranked as shown above. With any option, the City can design and add sound dampening or enhancing tiles, treatments and window drapes to improve acoustics.
Potential Tree Impacts
Two remodel options (3 and 4) will impact trees in Library Park.
Design Option 3 (Internal Expansion) would require the removal and/or transplant of one tree, a Canary Island Pine. Removal or transplant would be necessary because this concept expands the Winn room to fill the existing gap between the two buildings in which the pine tree resides.
Design Option 4 (Larger Expansion) would require the removal and/or transplant of five trees, with the room footprint as currently drawn. The trees are an Evergreen Coral, two New Zealand Christmas, a Canary Island Pine, and a Cajeput/Melaleuca tree. The proximity of the expansion would directly impact the nearby trees’ root systems and encroach on their canopies.
An expanded discussion of transplant locations and recommendations, selection of replacement trees and costs can be found in the May 16, 2024 Subcommittee staff report (found in Attachment 4).
June 6, 2024 Meeting: Public Input on Design Options
Each Winn Room Subcommittee meeting was well attended with 20-30 participants and public comments received throughout the topical discussions. The June 6, 2024 meeting was solely dedicated to hearing public input. An overview of the remodel options and large-scale graphic story boards were stationed around the Nautilus Room for review by community members. Members of the public were then asked to comment on each of the five options as well as provide general comments. A copy of the meeting minutes with a summary of public comment is included in Attachment 3.
Library Board of Trustees
In its regular meeting of July 9, 2024, the Library Board of Trustees considered the Winn Room remodel options to formulate a recommendation for the City Council. There was Board discussion on a wide variety of topics including cost, trees, public and private funding sources, space for community building, community growth, ADA compliance, and restrooms.
The Library Board voted on three different motions:
• With a 3-2 vote, the Library Board recommended City Council adoption of Option 4. • With a 5-0 vote, the Library Board informs the City Council it does not support Options 1, 2 or 5. • Failing with a 2-3 vote, a third motion recommended City Council adoption of Option 3.
A copy of the Library Board meeting minutes can be found in Attachment 4.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Cost estimates range from $3.3 – $9.72 million depending upon the plan option and associated amenities chosen for integration into the project. Costs to date for design development, architectural services and acoustical analysis are $99,997 and are budgeted in account 40070000–97320–19005. Depending upon direction from City Council, staff will ensure that any renovation project supported for the Winn Room will be coordinated with HVAC/roof repairs currently slated for the Winn Room in the Fiscal Year 2024-25 CIP to ensure that duplicative costs are minimized or eliminated.
ALTERNATIVE:
The City Council could direct staff to research additional planning options and/or provide additional direction on the renovation of the Winn Room.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT:
Once a project has been defined, the City will conduct environmental review.
PUBLIC NOTICE:
No public notice is required.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Winn Room Remodel Options as Presented June 6, 2024
2. Winn Room Subcommittee Spring 2024 Workplan
3. Winn Room Subcommittee Reports and Minutes: March 20 - June 6, 2024
4. Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 9, 2024 (draft) Submitted By: City Manager’s Office on behalf of the Winn Room Subcommittee