City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: September 8, 2025
Report #:2506-4870
TITLE
Approval of 1) Amendment No. 8 to Contract No. C16163034A with Cumming Management Group, Inc. to Add $208,528, Increasing the Not-to-Exceed Amount to $10,683,771, for Additional Construction Management Services; 2) Professional Services Contract No.
S26195542 with 4Leaf, Inc. in the Amount of $150,579 to Provide Inspector of Record Services; and 3) Amendment to the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Appropriation for the Capital Improvement Fund to Support the New Public Safety Building Capital Improvement Program Project (PE- 15001); CEQA Status - Environmental Impact Report for the New Public Safety Building and New California Avenue Area Parking Garage (Resolution No. 9772)
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Amendment No. 8 to Contract No. C16163034A with Cumming Management Group, Inc. to add $208,528, increasing the not to exceed amount to $10,683,771 for Construction Management Services for the New Public Safety Building project (PE-15001);
2. Approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Professional Services Contract No. S26195542 with 4Leaf, Inc. in the Amount of $150,579 to Provide Inspector of Record services for the New Public Safety Building project (PE-15001); and
3. Amend the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Appropriation for the Capital Improvement Fund by (requires a 2/3 vote):
a. Decreasing the Infrastructure Plan Reserve by $1,200,000; b. Decreasing the Capital Fund Infrastructure Reserve by $2,000,000; and c. Increasing the New Public Safety Building project (PE-15001) appropriation by $3,200,000.
BACKGROUND
Now with move-in and final construction-related activities underway, the New Public Safety Building (PSB) is one of ten key projects included in the 2014 Council Infrastructure Plan. The PSB was identified as the plan’s highest priority project, and its environmental impacts were analyzed with the 350 Sherman Avenue parking garage project for the purposes of complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The parking garage opened in December 2020. On February 1, 2021, Council approved the award of the construction contract for the PSB to Swinerton Builders (Swinerton) and authorized execution and delivery of one series of Certificates of Participation in an amount not to exceed $120 million to finance PSB construction; ultimately, only $101 million in debt was issued.1 On June 13, 2016, Council authorized a contract with Nova Partners, Inc. (Nova) for program management and construction management services for the Infrastructure Plan projects implementation.2 Several amendments were subsequently approved for additional services and time for completion. 3, 4, 5, 6 In July 2024, Nova merged with Cumming Management Group, Inc. (“CMGI”) and CMGI assumed all duties and obligations of Nova. On December 9, 2024, Amendment No. 8 to CMGI’s contract added construction management services for the PSB.7 On February 26, 2020, the City released a formal Request for Proposal (RFP177994) for on-call contract administration services by Development Services and 4LEAF was one of six contracts approved by Council on June 22, 2020.8 4Leaf, Inc. (4Leaf) has served as the City’s primary inspector of record for the PSB since construction began. That contract has now expired, and all available funds have been exhausted. However, inspection services are still required to complete the project and obtain final building permit sign-off. In November 2024, the City Manager approved an exemption to competitive solicitation for design services with 4Leaf, Inc. under PAMC Section 2.30.360(b).
ANALYSIS
1 City Council, February 1, 2021; Agenda Item #3, SR #11752 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=97913&repo=r-704298fc 2 City Council, June 13, 2016; Agenda Item #5, SR #6809 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=51191&repo=r-704298fc 3 City Council, November 27, 2017; Agenda Item #7, SR #8561 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=50867&repo=r-704298fc 4 City Council, December 10, 2018; Agenda Item #15, SR #9688 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=99464&repo=r-704298fc 5 City Council, February 1, 2021; Agenda Item #3, SR #11752 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=97913&repo=r-704298fc 6 City Council, February 26, 2024; Agenda Item #6, SR #2310-2130 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=70485&repo=r-704298fc 7 City Council, December 9, 2024, Agenda Item #11, SR#2410-3658 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=115880&repo=r-704298fc 8 City Council, June 22, 2020, SR# 11255
https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=213809&repo=r-704298fc The PSB is one of the most complex projects that the City has constructed to date. Since the construction contract was awarded in early 2021, a series of change orders have been necessary to address unforeseen site conditions, owner-directed modifications, design clarifications, and revisions required by the authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ), which are agencies that are responsible for enforcing codes and regulations.
Due to the extended construction timeline, additional funding is needed to continue construction management and inspector of record services provided by the City’s consultants, CMGI and 4Leaf. Staff recommends approval of Amendment No. 8 to CMGI’s Contract No.
C16163034A (Attachment A), which would provide funding for construction management services through project close-out. This amendment includes $189,571 for base services and $18,957 for additional services. Staff also recommends approval of Professional Services Contract No. S26195542 with 4Leaf (Attachment B), which allocates funding for inspector of record services. The contract includes $136,890 for base services and $13,689 for additional services.
Construction-related activities at the Public Safety Building are nearly complete, with final building items and inspections in progress. Initial building occupancy has begun, with full operational use to follow.
In addition to the recommended contract approvals, supplemental funding is necessary to complete the remaining scopes of work including items requested by the AHJ, including dual sump pumps, additional smoke detection and miscellaneous items to be completed by contractors other than Swinerton. Additional legal services are also needed to represent the City in complex construction claims. The City Attorney’s Office is separately bringing forward an amendment to the agreement with Diepenbrock Elkin Dauer McCandless to provide for these legal services. Staff recommends a budget amendment to support all of these final project needs, as outlined in the Fiscal Impact section below.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Staff recommends increasing the Fiscal Year 2026 budget appropriation for the New Public Safety Building project (PE-15001) by $3.2 million, of which $2.0 million will be funded by the Capital Fund Infrastructure Reserve and $1.2 million will be funded by the Infrastructure Plan Reserve. The $2.0 million from the Capital Fund Infrastructure Reserve consists entirely of FY 2025 savings from bids coming in under the engineer’s estimate for the Newell Road/San Francisquito Creek Bridge Replacement project (PE-12011). This additional appropriation will allow the City to award the attached contracts and additional contracts needed to complete the remaining work. The $1.2 million from the Infrastructure Plan Reserve will support a contract with Diepenbrock Elkin Dauer McCandless for outside counsel services (Report #2508- 5109) and will reduce available funds in that reserve from $5.0 million to $3.8 million. If the recommended budget amendment is approved, the revised project budget for the New Public Safety Building (excluding salaries and benefits) will total $122,632,064.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Public Works has coordinated with key staff from departments involved with the PSB.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
An Environmental Impact Report for the PSB and the New California Avenue Area Parking Garage was prepared and certified by Council on June 11, 2018 (ID #8967), by adoption of Resolution No. 9772.9
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Cumming Management Group, Inc. Contract No. C16163034A Amendment No. 8 Attachment B: 4Leaf, Inc. Contract No. S26195542
APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer
9 Resolution 9772
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/city-clerk/resolutions/reso-9772.pdf?t=40475.53