City of Gonzales
PUBLIC WORKS / CITY ENGINEER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: January 17, 2023
FROM: Patrick Dobbins, Public Works Director/City Engineer THROUGH: Carmen Gil, Interim City Manager
SUBJECT: Updates on the Funding and Delivery of the Community Center Complex Project
RECOMMENDATION
Receive a presentation from city staff with updates on the funding and delivery of the Community Center Complex Project, direct staff to issue the Request for Proposals to the Short-Listed Design/Build teams and provide any feedback.
BACKGROUND
The Community Center Complex will be constructed on a city-owned parcel at Gabilan Court/Fifth Street, just east of the Fairview Middle School and will comprise of the following elements:
1. A Community Center, with a large multi-purpose room, indoor/outdoor stage, flexible meeting rooms, restrooms, offices, fitness room, and a teaching or catering kitchen
2. Monterey County branch library relocated from the Gonzales Shopping Center
3. Teen Innovation Center.
4. On-site parking, landscaping, and areas for outdoor activities As the Council’s aware, the project will be delivered through Design/Build contracting. At the February 22, 2022, Council Meeting, the Design Criteria Documents (prepared by Group 4 Architects) were approved and the three top ranked Design/Build teams out of the seven teams that submitted Statement of Qualifications were “short-listed” to receive the project Request for Proposal. The Design Criteria Documents are comprised of 98 sheets of plans, a three-volume set of technical specifications and other guidance documents.
This staff report is comprised of the following sections:
• Funding/Financing Updates
AGENDA
ITEM
11 • Request for Proposals to the three top ranked Design/Build teams which includes phased construction
FUNDING/FINANCING UPDATES
The Community Center Complex is estimated to cost $34,800,000 for the Base Project consisting of the Community Center, Teen Innovation Center, County Library, and all site work. An additional $8,000,000 is the estimated cost for the stand-alone Gymnasium. Design & construction of this significant project will be funded by a variety of sources including the following:
• Measure X (local sales tax)
• $5.0 M State grant secured by State Senator Anna Caballero • Community Development Block Grant (CDBG FY 2022/23 and FY 2023/24) • County contribution to relocate existing library from the Gonzales Shopping Center • Various grants
• Capital Campaign with a $10.0 million goal
Details on some of the funding sources are as follows:
Local Sales Tax Measures - Measure X is the local 0.5% sales tax approved by Gonzales voters in November 2020 that will provide $7,500,000 of project funding. Measure P (a 20-year extension of Measure X) was on the November 8 ballot and would have provided an additional $3,500,000 for the project but failed to receive the simple majority needed to pass. $5.0M State grant secured by State Senator Anna Caballero – This grant is for the Teen Innovation Center. On February 22, 2022, the City Council adopted Resolution 2022-17 to accept the State grant funds and the grant agreement was fully executed on August 31, 2022.
Grants – To date, staff with very proactive support from Swinerton staff submitted applications on five grant opportunities and the City received approval on two grants totaling $2,111,955. The successful grant applications were:
• Electric Vehicle Charging Station Grant from the California Energy Commission - $400,000 of the $1,041,955 grant is for the Community Center, the remaining grant funds are for EV charge stations at City Hall and 5th Street/US 101 Shopping Strip. This grant was approved at the 12/14/2022 California Energy Commission Board Meeting • Building Forward Library Infrastructure Grant Program - On September 12, 2022 we learned the project was approved for a $1.07M grant from the Building Forward Library Infrastructure Grant Program.
The current funding for the project is in the below table:
SECURED FUNDING
1 Teen Innovation Center Grant (State funding) $5,000,000 2 Measure X (Local funding) $7,500,000
3 Community Development Block Grant (Federal monies) $810,000 4 County Library Contribution $1,800,000
5 Electric Vehicle Charging Station Grant $400,000
6 Building Forward Library Grant Program $1,067,430
7 Capital Campaign Contribution (private contributions) $5,800,000 Total Funds available as of 1/10/2023 = $22,377,430
Base Project Cost Estimate = $34,800,000
Funding Gap = $12,422,570
Capital Campaign/Private Contributions
Over the last year, city staff and Armanasco Public Relations have been working on a Capital Campaign for the project with a goal of raising $10 million. Several significant contributions have been made and the campaign was publicly launched on 12/08/2022. To date, the city has received pledges or contributions totaling $5.8 million.
US Department of Agriculture loan
To obtain debt financing for the project, the City project team submitted a preapplication with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a 38-year loan that would be secured by long term City revenue sources. The USDA loan program is available to rural communities and offers the lowest interest rate as well as the longest repayment period, both of which are advantageous for the city.
The preapplication was hand delivered to USDA staff at their Salinas office on 10/12/2022. On 10/27/2022 USDA staff requested some additional materials that city staff provided on 11/07/2022. On 12/13/2022 USDA staff sent city staff a letter requesting additional information and city staff replied on 1/13/2022.
PROJECT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
As mentioned at the 9/19/2022 Council Meeting, given the funding gap and deadlines to use the grant funding on the Teen Innovation Center and Library buildings, there is a compelling reason to move forward with a phased project approach.
The Teen Innovation Center, Library, community room, courtyard and a portion of the parking lot can be designed and constructed as Phase 1, at a cost estimate of $21M to $22M.
Swinerton staff prepared the Request for Proposals (RFP) to be issued to the three “short-listed” Design/Build Teams. Swinerton also coordinated with the City Attorney on the Design/Build Agreement.
There are two sections in the RFP that allow the Design/Build Teams to provide their thoughts in their Proposal on adjustments to the Design Criteria documents for the project, which are:
• Opportunities for Innovation
• Quality Enhancements
The Innovation section is where the teams are allowed to depart from the Criteria Documents. Items can include:
1. Cost savings: allow them to vary from the Criteria Documents to achieve a specific cost savings reduction, or to “free up” dollars for enhancements
2. Design changes, such as a different approach to a design element (roof design, elevation, site design)
3. Schedule expediting: ways they can improve upon or accelerate the schedule The Enhancement section is where the teams can include additional scope within the stipulated contract sum. Items can include:
1. “Nice to haves” that were taken out of the project during design
2. Additional program elements not included in the design
3. Phase II scope
4. Local subcontractor participations
PROJECT SCHEDULE
TASK COMPLETION BY
1. Issue RFP to the three shortlisted Design/Build teams End of January 2023
2. USDA loan approval & Execution May 2023
3. Select and Award Design/Build Contract June 2023
4. Design and building permit (10 months) July 2023 - May 2024
5. Construction & commissioning (14-16 months) April 2023- November 2025
6. Grand Opening of Phase 1 December 2025
How Recommendation Supports the Vision
Gonzales will continue to be a safe, clean, family-friendly community, diverse in its heritage, and committed to working collaboratively to preserve and retain its small-town charm.
Explain: Constructing a Community Center will provide residents with a facility for a wide variety of public and private functions, recreation programs and other activities which will enhance the quality of life of Gonzales residents.
Explain how the Recommendation Directly Implements the Mission The City Council and Staff of the City of Gonzales will realize our Vision by providing the leadership, commitment, and resources necessary to provide excellent services that enhance the quality of life of our diverse community. X Yes ____ No____ N/A
Explain: Please see explanation above for the Mission.
City services will be delivered in a cost-effective, respectful and friendly manner to ensure the safety and well-being of the residents and the promotion of business, recreational, housing and employment opportunities in an environmentally sustainable manner. X Yes ____No ____ N/A Explain: See Vision explanation above.
Strong fiscal policies allow us to provide appropriate infrastructure for:
• Public Safety Yes X No ___ N/A
• Housing Yes X No ___ N/A
• Recreation X Yes ___ No ___ N/A
• Environment X Yes ___ No ___ N/A
• Education X Yes ___ No ___ N/A
ALTERNATIVES
Not applicable as this is a progress report on the Community Center Complex Project.
BUDGET IMPACT
There is no budget impact to this evening’s presentation.
CONCLUSION
Receive a presentation from city staff with updates on the funding and delivery of the Community Center Complex Project, direct staff to issue the Request for Proposals to the Short-Listed Design/Build teams and provide any feedback.
Attachments:
1. Phasing Diagram