From: Robin P <[email protected]>
Date: June 18, 2024 at 8:35:48 AM PDT
To: Paula Perotte <[email protected]>, Luz Reyes-Martin <lreyes- [email protected]>, Stuart Kasdin <[email protected]>, James Kyriaco <[email protected]>, Kyle Richards <[email protected]> Subject: Goleta City Council June18th Meeting - Item #24-296
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Hello Mayor Perotte and City of Goleta Council Members,
I’m writing regarding consent item #24-296 “the Award of Professional Design Services Agreement for Stow Grove Park” that is on the upcoming City Council agenda tonight June 18th. I’m very excited to see the project move forward as I participated in public surveys and am happy that we will be getting our first all-inclusive playground in Goleta. Though I support this project, I have a few concerns regarding the amount being used for the professional design services.
I’ve been following this project and remember looking at the Master Plan when that was approved last year. I went back to it as I remember cost breakdowns for the park and found that on page 34, the summary of cost scenarios indicated that the assumed amount for consultant/soft costs on the park should be $108,048 for phase 1 of the park improvements. The amount for the consultants is noted as $506,720 for phase 1 in the consent agenda. In the UC system we use a percent amount based on the construction costs and often use a limit of 8% with some exceptions allowing up to 20% for construction projects. The amount charged from the consultant is more than 70% of the improvement costs which are noted as $710,000 in the agenda. At 70% of the assumed construction costs for the entire park, that would be over $6M just for design services. These consultant services seem to be extremely high. What is the reason for this?
It would help if the cost allocated to travel, boarding, and meals were shown as it seems that it may be making up the inflated costs of this project. I hope that some of the taxpayer’s money could be used for other improvements at the park that my family supported such as garden spaces for kids or nature play elements. Is there any chance that the consultant costs could be reallocated for some of these park improvements?
I understand that there is a grant timeline for the playground to be built but would like to see tax dollars spent wisely and efficiently. I will unfortunately not be able to attend the meeting tonight but wanted to share my thoughts and hope you take them with great consideration.
Regards,
Robin P.