Fremont City Council Meeting: 06/11/24 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Landscape Architecture
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Acceptance of Donations
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5129) DOC ID: 5129 C
Updated: 6/5/2024 4:24 PM by Dina Lewis C Page 1
ACCEPT DONATIONS FOR THE ROSE GARDEN PROJECT AT CALIFORNIA NURSERY HISTORICAL PARK - Accept and Authorize City Manager or her designee to execute grant agreements for $400,000 from Mr. Hemant Gupta and $250,000 From the Fremont Bank Foundation Toward the Construction and Maintenance of the new Rose Garden Project at California Nursery Historical Park, PWC8837C; Appropriate Donated Funds; Find the grant acceptance exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), each on a separate and independent basis, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections: (1) 15162 and 15163, (2) 15304 and (3) 15378(b).
Contact Persons:
Name: Roger Ravenstad Kim Beranek
Title: Parks Planning and Design Manager Community Services Director Div/Dept: Landscape Architecture Community Services
Phone: 510-494-4723 510-494-4330
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: Staff recommends the City Council accept and appropriate two private grants to the City of Fremont and authorize the City Manager or her designee to execute grant agreements. The first grant is from Mr. Hemant Gupta in the amount of $400,000 and the second grant is from the Fremont Bank Foundation in the amount of $250,000, for a combined contribution of $650,000 toward the construction and maintenance of the new Rose Garden at California Nursery Historical Park. A companion item on tonight’s City Council agenda recommends the award of a construction contract to build the rose garden and entry plaza.
BACKGROUND: The California Nursery Historical Park Master Plan was adopted by the City Council on December 12, 2017, and it included an entry plaza and ornamental garden, which would create a grand entrance to the park and future interpretive center. The new formal garden was also intended to fully function as a stand-alone facility to support small events and gatherings. This project is funded as part of the California Nursery Master Plan project (PWC8837) that was initially funded in the FY 2013/14–2017/18 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), with additional funding allocated in the FY 2017/18–2023/24 CIP.
In 2021, Hemant Gupta and Fremont Bank Foundation approached the City with a desire to participate in the creation of a new rose garden in a City park. After consideration, staff and the donors agreed that California Nursery Historical Park would be the ideal location for a new rose garden and that the formal garden concept was already contemplated in the adopted Master Plan as a new entry feature at the park. The location has the added advantage of being adjacent to the existing smaller historic rose garden and would serve to expand on the notion of promoting the history of California Nursery and the type of plants available during the heyday of the nursery’s operations. The project will also serve as a contemplation space for visitors and an educational offering at the park for people to learn about and appreciate the many different varieties of roses.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5129) Meeting of June 11, 2024 Updated: 6/5/2024 4:24 PM by Dina Lewis C Page 2
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The two grantees have proposed to donate their respective amounts over two calendar years, with the first half in 2024 and the second half in 2025.
The grants will support construction and will provide funding for the City to contract with a professional rosarian to manage the roses for many years. The amounts with be granted according to the following schedule:
Donor 2024 2025
Total
Donation(s)
Fremont Bank Foundation $125,000 $125,000 $250,000
Mr. Hemant K. Gupta 200,000 200,000 400,000
Total $325,000 $325,000 $650,000
The grant will be memorialized through grant agreements. The grant agreements will include recognition of the grantees by installing a plaque at the Rose Garden with the grantees’ names for thirty years.
A separate City Council item is on tonight’s agenda recommending the award of the construction contract. This separate item outlines the project scope, schedule, and financing for the Rose Garden at California Nursery Historical Park.
FISCAL IMPACT: The recommended actions would increase the estimated revenues and appropriations for the California Nursery Master Plan project by $650,000.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The grants to supplement funding for the Rose Garden at the California Nursery Historical Park are exempt from further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per, without limitation, each on a separate and independent basis, (1) the proposed Rose Garden is part of the project analyzed in the California Nursery Historical Park Master Plan EIR (SCH# 2015062024) and none of the circumstances necessitating preparation of a subsequent EIR pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162 and 15163 are present; (2) CEQA Guidelines Section 15304, Class 4, as a minor alteration to land by adding additional plantings to an established park; and (3) CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b) as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that accepting the grant application may have a significant effect on the environment.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Find that accepting grants to supplement the budget for the Rose Garden at the California Nursery is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per, without limitation, each on a separate and independent basis, (1) CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162 and 15163, (2) CEQA Guidelines Section 15304 and (3) CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b).
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to accept the grant, execute an agreement with the Fremont Bank Foundation to grant $250,000 toward the construction and maintenance of roses at the Rose Garden at California Nursery Historical Park, and deposit and appropriate the donated funds to PWC8837-502.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5129) Meeting of June 11, 2024 Updated: 6/5/2024 4:24 PM by Dina Lewis C Page 3
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to accept the grant, execute an agreement with Mr. Hemant K. Gupta to grant $400,000 toward the construction and maintenance of roses at the Rose Garden at California Nursery Historical Park, and deposit and appropriate the donated funds to PWC8837-502.