City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: August 22, 2023
Agenda Item: 5.D
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Architecture Services Subject: Approval to enter into an agreement with SMC to pay for Memorial Park design services and approve the Design-Build RFB
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of Statutory Exemption pursuant to Section 15262, Feasibility and Planning Studies, of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Direct staff to proceed with a Request for Bids for design and pre-construction services of phases 1 and 2 of the Master Plan, as described herein;
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Payment Agreement to accept an amount not to exceed $2,750,000 with Santa Monica College (SMC) for preparation of the environmental impact analysis, geotechnical engineering, and design and pre-construction services of phase 1 of the Master Plan of the Memorial Park Redevelopment and Expansion Project, as described herein;
4. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a reinstatement and fifth modification of agreement #9910 (CCS) in a reduced contract amount not to exceed $149,000 (including 10% contingency) with WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure, Inc. (formerly Wood Environmental & Infrastructure Solutions Incorporated and AMEC Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure, Inc.) for environmental consulting services in compliance with CEQA. This will result in a 2-year extension for an 11-year amended agreement with a new total amount not to exceed $149,000, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval;
5. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts and Budget Actions section of this report.
Summary
The City of Santa Monica’s Memorial Park Redevelopment and Expansion Project (Project) would combine the existing 10.3-acre Memorial Park with the former Fisher Lumber site (a City-owned, 2.9-acre property adjacent to the existing park) into a 13.2- 2 of 10
acre newly renovated and expanded community park that meets the increasing demand for recreational activities. The combined site is bound by Colorado Avenue to the north, 16th Street to the east, Olympic Boulevard to the south, and 14th Street to the west.
The Project would integrate components of the Pedestrian Action Plan and Bicycle Action Plan and require the relocation of the City’s Public Landscape Division (PLD). An extensive community outreach process guided the development of a Master Plan layout and park program for the future renovation and expansion of Memorial Park that would include additional diamond sports fields and other highly desired community amenities.
A subsequent community outreach effort identified potential relocation sites for PLD.
Staff will return to City Council with options for the relocation of PLD at a future meeting.
Staff recommends the Council provide direction to staff to proceed with a Request for Bids (RFB) for professional design and pre-construction services for phases 1 and 2, as described herein; authorize the City Manager to negotiate a payment agreement with Santa Monica College (SMC) that would facilitate a funding contribution in an amount not to exceed $2,750,000 for the preparation of the environmental impact analysis, geotechnical engineering, and design and pre-construction services of phase 1 of the Master Plan, as described herein, of the proposed renovated and expanded facilities at Memorial Park; and authorize the reinstatement of and fifth modification to WSP’s existing contract not to exceed a reduced contract amount of $149,000 (including 10% contingency) to provide environmental impact analysis of the proposed Master Plan consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and prepare CEQA compliant documentation for the project. This modification will result in a 2-year extension of the contract term resulting in an 11-year amended agreement with a new total amount not to exceed $149,000, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Background
The City of Santa Monica parks system includes 32 parks encompassing more than 130 acres. Memorial Park was established in the 1950s and is geographically located in the center of the City. It is important to the overall park system, serving as the primary park 3 of 10
for baseball and softball, offering a space for pickleball and tennis, and being the home of the City’s only public gymnasium and skate park.
The Project would combine the existing 10.3-acre Memorial Park with the former Fisher Lumber site (a City-owned, 2.9-acre property adjacent to the existing park) into a 13.2- acre newly renovated and expanded community park that meets the increasing demand for recreational activities. An extensive community outreach process guided the development of a Master Plan layout and park program with an estimated cost of $100- $116 million, for the future renovation and expansion of Memorial Park that would include additional diamond sports fields and other highly desired community amenities.
In 2019, following Master Plan approval, staff coordinated with SMC and the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) to develop the original phase 1 of the project at an estimated cost of $30 million, with proposed funding of $20 million from SMC Measure V funds, and $5 million each from SMMUSD Measure SMS bonds and City of Santa Monica Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget funds, conditioned on programmed joint use of the completed facilities. The City moved forward with a designbuild contract award in February 2020, but never executed the design-build contract when the project was suspended later that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staff returned to Council in fall 2022 for a study session to consider next steps for the Memorial Park Expansion Project. Staff presented a reduced scope of work for phase 1 in consideration of limited funding and increased construction costs. Of the previously identified $30 million, only the $20 million dedicated to park redevelopment from the SMC bond measure remained available. Council directed staff to proceed with the proposed revised scope and to return with next steps, to reengage SMC and SMMUSD in negotiations for potential fiscal and use agreements, and to present a recommended alternate site for the temporary relocation of the PLD operations yard.
Environmental Contract
Council authorized a contract with WSP (formerly Wood Environmental and Infrastructure Solutions Inc. and AMEC Environment & Infrastructure, Inc.) in May 2014 4 of 10
in the amount not to exceed $378,000 for environmental consulting services related to the Memorial Park Neighborhood Plan. Services related to the Memorial Park Redevelopment and Expansion were not included in the original scope of work and were added by Council approval of a fourth modification to the agreement in the amount of $149,000 (including 10% contingency) resulting in a total contract amount of $527,000 in October 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Memorial Park Redevelopment and Expansion Project was suspended and the agreement for environmental consulting services expired on June 30, 2023. Staff recommends reinstating the agreement with WSP for the previously approved scope of work and contract amount for the Memorial Park Redevelopment and Expansion Project, excluding the scope related to the Memorial Park Neighborhood Plan, with a 2-year extension resulting in an 11-year total contract term and contract amount of $149,000 (including a 10% contingency).
Discussion
Memorial Park is the City of Santa Monica’s primary public park for hosting diamond sports activities. Youth baseball, youth fast pitch softball, high school baseball, and adult softball leagues use the fields at Memorial Park. The park also houses the only public gymnasium and skate park in Santa Monica.
The existing park includes six baseball/softball fields – four of which have limited playability due to overlapping outfields, a skate park, four tennis courts striped for pickleball, a children’s play area, on-site surface parking, restrooms, a small concession building, an off-leash dog run and three City-owned and operated community buildings.
The existing buildings house the Santa Monica Police Activities League (PAL), community meeting rooms, staff offices, a small fitness gym and the Memorial Park gymnasium.
Along the park’s northern boundary sits the former Fisher Lumber site, which currently houses the City’s Public Landscape Division offices, vehicles, and equipment. Options for the relocation of PLD will be presented at a future Council meeting. 5 of 10
The feasibility study and Master Planning process included an examination of existing conditions and park program elements and the completion of an extensive community outreach process. The result is a single, cohesive Master Plan layout that would address long-standing issues at Memorial Park, including but not limited to inadequate field functionality, restrictive perimeter and edge conditions, poor connections to the surrounding neighborhood, and misused restrooms and other amenities. The existing condition and approved Master Plan are shown below in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Existing Memorial Park and Approved Master Plan Layout The Master Plan always envisioned a phased approach that would be implemented over time as funding was available. The original phase 1, with a project budget of $30 million, is shown below in Figure 2 and was originally conceived as the northern half of the park, including four synthetic turf baseball/softball combination fields, a temporary natural turf practice field, the covered parking lot, elevated pickleball/tennis courts, the Community Hub building, and the playground.
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With a reduced project budget of $20 million and significant increases in construction costs since 2019, phase 1 of the Project now includes construction of fields 1-2, the covered parking lot, and the elevated pickleball/tennis courts. Mobility and streetscape improvements on 14th Street and Colorado Avenue will be included to the extent the budget allows.
Figure 2. Original Phase 1/Current Phase 2 and Reduced Phase 1 of Memorial Park Master Plan Layout 7 of 10
The reduced scope of phase 1 aligns with the objectives that were outlined in the development of the feasibility study and Master Plan layout for an expanded and redeveloped park and, in September 2022, Council directed staff to proceed with the revised phase 1 scope. The remaining scope of the original phase 1, including fields 3- 4, the temporary natural turf practice field, the Community Hub building, and the playground are included in phase 2 of the Project.
Funding Agreements
Currently, the only project funds available may be up to $20 million dedicated to park redevelopment from the SMC bond Measure V that have been preserved for this park expansion since the project was suspended by the City as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. With Council authorization from September 2022, staff has reengaged in and is actively negotiating Fiscal and Use Agreements with SMC and SMMUSD for capital improvement construction costs and their associated programmed joint uses for implementation of phases 1 and 2.
In order to advance the project while negotiations for construction funding are ongoing, staff recommends that Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate a Payment Agreement with SMC that would facilitate a funding contribution in an amount not to exceed $2,750,000 for the design and pre-construction services of phase 1 of the Master Plan, including Environmental Analysis and Geotechnical Engineering, of the proposed renovated and expanded facilities at Memorial Park. In addition, staff recommends appropriation of available Park and Recreation Impact Fee resources for the design of phase 2 improvements.
Advancing the design of both phases 1 and 2 of the Project now will enable the City to proceed with construction of phase 1 with the remainder of the available $20 million from the SMC bond measure or phases 1 and 2 if the SMMUSD contribution has been negotiated, enabling implementation of both phases concurrently. 8 of 10
Next Steps
If directed to proceed, staff will issue a Request for Bids for a two-phase design-build agreement to provide design and pre-construction services for phases 1 and 2 of the Master Plan and enter into a Payment Agreement with SMC for the design and preconstruction services of phase 1. The first phase of the design agreement will be concept design (up to 30%) for the Master Plan (phases 1 and 2) and pre-construction services for phase 1. Upon completion of the environmental analysis, any required mitigation, if any, will be incorporated into the second phase of design for the Master Plan and for construction of phase 1 of the Master Plan. Staff will return to Council by January 2024 for approval to negotiate an agreement with the selected design-build team.
Environmental Review
Upon authorization to reinstate, negotiate, and execute a fifth modification to agreement #9910, Staff would work with WSP to preparate the environmental impact analysis in compliance with CEQA. The payment agreement with SMC would allow the City to solicit bids for design of the Memorial Park Redevelopment and Expansion project but under state law, final design cannot begin until CEQA is completed. Council is being asked to enter into the recommended payment agreement with SMC and contract for design services, prior to CEQA completion. This action would allow for the initial design of the project to commence and is statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15262 (Feasibility and Planning Studies) of the CEQA Guidelines. In compliance with Section 15004 of CEQA Guidelines, final design and approval of the project would not begin until CEQA completion, and as such, the City would not be bound to a specific action, nor would it prohibit the City from considering any feasible mitigation measures and alternatives as required by the CEQA process. It is anticipated that CEQA documentation for the project will be presented to Council in Winter 2023, prior to commencement of final design.
Geotechnical Engineering
If directed to proceed with the Payment Agreement with SMC, staff will issue a separate RFP for Geotechnical Engineering services upon execution of the Payment Agreement. 9 of 10
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
01/23/18 (Attachment A) Award of Design Agreement for the Memorial Park Feasibility Study and Master Plan
10/15/19 (Attachment B) Memorial Park Redevelopment and Expansion Master Plan Review
02/11/20 (Attachment C) Design-Build Contract for Memorial Park Expansion 09/27/22 (Attachment D) Memorial Park Expansion Study Session Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Payment Agreement with SMC that would facilitate a funding contribution in an amount not to exceed $2,750,000 for the design and pre-construction services of phase 1 of the Master Plan, including Environmental Analysis and Geotechnical Engineering, of the proposed renovated and expanded facilities at Memorial Park and approve a portion of that funding from the General Fund to reinstate and modify agreement #9910 in the amount of $149,000 with WSP for environmental impact analysis services.
Award of this contract requires the following budget changes:
FY 2023-24 CIP Budget Changes
Establish Revenue Budget Appropriate Funds
Account Number Amount Account Number Amount
01500010.409380 $2,750,000 C0107060.689000 $2,750,000
Total $2,750,000 Total $2,750,000
Agreement Modification Request
Agreement #
Current
Authorized
Amount
FY 2023-24 Budget
Modified Request
Amount
CIP Account #
Total Revised
Contract
Amount
9910 $0 $149,000 C0107060.689000 $149,000
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
In addition, staff recommends appropriation of available Park and Recreation Impact Fee resources for the design of phase 2 improvements.
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FY 2023-24 Budget Changes
Release Funds Appropriate Funds
Account Number Amount Account Number Amount
10.370334 – Park Impact Fee $500,000 C1007060.689000 $500,000 Prepared By: Amelia Feichtner, Capital Program Manager
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Staff Report 1/23/2018: Award of Design Agreement for the Memorial Park Feasibility Study and Master Plan
B. Staff Report 10/15/2019: Memorial Park Redevelopment and Expansion Master Plan Review
C. Staff Report 2/11/2020: Design-Build Contract for Memorial Park Expansion D. Staff Report 9/27/2022: Memorial Park Expansion Study Session E. Oaks Initiative Form - WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure, Inc.