Agenda Item: 9
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: November 26, 2024
SUBJECT: CITRUS BUILDING TENANT IMPROVEMENTS, PROJECT F1030 -
DESIGN CONTRACT
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
PRESENTER: Shannon Pickett
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Award the design contract to Wolcott Architecture for the Citrus Building Tenant Improvements, Project F1030, in the amount of $214,790 and authorize a contingency in the amount of $20,210, for a total contract amount not to exceed $235,000.
2. Appropriate one-time funds in the amount of $235,000 from the Citrus Facility Fund (Fund 130) to expenditure account F1030130-516101; increase Transfer Out to Citrus Facility Fund (Fund 130) to expenditure account 1009500-710130 and Transfers In from General Fund (Fund 100) revenue account 130-600100 by $235,000.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contracts and associated documents, subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
On October 10, 2023, the City Council approved the acquisition of an approximately 15,000- square-foot facility located on Citrus Street, as shown on the attached Location Map. The facility was acquired as a long-term investment for the City of Santa Clarita (City) and for the purpose of relocating the operations of public television. The facility is currently subdivided into three units, with two of the units maintaining active 10-year leases. The largest unit, which is approximately 9,500 square feet, was deemed as a suitable site for a new, modern studio that would help meet the current and future demands of public television.
On December 29, 2023, the grant deed transferring ownership of the facility to the City was recorded with Los Angeles County. However, as part of the purchase agreement, the previous owner, Lundgren Management (Lundgren), was authorized to lease back the property in order to cease its operations permanently. Lundgren continued to maintain use of the facility through February 2024. The following is a brief chronology of City staff’s efforts to move forward with the needed tenant improvements for the relocation of public television. Additional details are provided further in the agenda.
• March - June: Conceptual plans developed in collaboration with SCVTV • May - June: Development of a Request for Proposal (RFP) • June - July: RFP was available for submissions
• August: Interviews, discussions, and negotiations with proposers • September - October: Conceptual plans modified to reduce scope of work
City staff worked collaboratively with SCVTV on conceptual plans that would maximize the usability of the unit, while minimizing the potential costs of the tenant improvements. Several design concepts were developed and each would provide public television with an approximately 1,920-square-foot stage, which is substantially larger than the existing 670-square-foot stage at the current site in Newhall. This project supports the Sustaining Public Infrastructure theme of the City's five-year strategic plan, Santa Clarita 2025.
The scope of work for this design contract includes architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design services required to prepare construction documents. These documents will consist of complete plans, specifications, and engineer’s estimates for construction. Bid assistance will also be provided to support the solicitation for a construction contract.
The City conducted a Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit proposals from qualified consulting firms to provide design services for the Citrus Building Tenant Improvements project. The RFP was published and circulated via the City’s e-procurement system, BidNet, on June 11. The City transmitted the solicitation to 1,451 vendors on BidNet, of which 51 vendors downloaded the RFP. A total of two companies provided proposals for consideration.
These proposals were reviewed and evaluated based on each company’s ability to meet the specific needs of the City. An evaluation panel, comprised of staff from the Public Works department and City Manager’s Office, scored the responses using the following categories of weighted criteria:
• Consultant’s qualifications and overall project team experience (30 points) • Proposed methodology and ability to meet the scope of work (30 points) • Proposer’s understanding of the project (20 points)
• References (20 points)
After the initial review, both firms were interviewed. Based on the evaluation and interviews, the evaluation panel scored the responses based on a 100-point scale, with the results outlined below:
Rank Company Location Score
1 Gensler Los Angeles, CA 80
2 Wolcott Architecture Los Angeles, CA 78
During the proposal review process, both submissions were found to be suitable, with Gensler receiving a slightly higher score. However, after reviewing Gensler’s fee proposal, staff observed that it was substantially higher than the “Estimated Contract Value” noted in the RFP. After further discussions with Gensler, City staff concluded that we could not find a mutually agreeable fair and reasonable price.
Following procedures outlined in the City’s Purchasing Policy, staff then engaged the next highest-ranked firm, Wolcott Architecture (Wolcott). After careful evaluation, Wolcott's proposal was found to provide good value and to meet the City’s design requirements, resulting in a successful agreement at a fair and reasonable price.
Wolcott demonstrated an in-depth understanding of the project needs and provided a detailed scope of work and approach to the project. They analyzed the project location and identified key design factors that will need to be addressed in the design. Based on their design and technical experience with similar projects, and the completeness of their proposal for this project, staff recommends awarding the design contract to Wolcott. The proposal is available in the City Clerk’s Reading File.
Design work is expected to begin in January 2025 and a complete set of construction documents ready for bidding is expected to be available by September 2025. The station is anticipated to be ready for occupancy by June 2026.
The requested budget appropriation will provide for a building assessment, utility fees, and staff time.
California Government Code 4526 prescribes the selection of architectural and engineering services to be based on demonstrated competence and professional qualifications necessary for the satisfactory performance of the services required and does not authorize the selection of professional architect and engineering services based on cost. City staff was able to reach an agreement with Wolcott at a fair and reasonable price.
The requested contingency will cover the cost of design constraints and account for potential design modifications requested by the City and other permitting agencies during the design of the project. This includes power and air conditioning improvements to the existing building infrastructure to accommodate the extra lighting and equipment required for broadcast studios.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Upon approval of the recommended actions, $235,000 will be transferred from General Fund (Fund 100) to Citrus Facility Fund (Fund 130) to fund the Citrus Building Tenant Improvements Project F1030130-516101.
ATTACHMENTS
Location Map
Proposal for Wolcott Architecture (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)