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(1) Discussion of Design Concept “A” and the Related Budget for the Rehabilitation of the Playground for Children Ages 2 - 5 at Syd Kronenthal Park; and (2) Consideration of Directing the City Manager to Include in the City Council Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2015/2016 a Budget Adjustment of $75,523.80 from the General Fund to Augment the Remaining $62,051.20 in Proposition A Cities Excess Grant Funds to Fund the Project in the Aggregate Amount of $137,575.00 Subject to Receipt of Final Grant Funding Approval by the County of Los Angeles Regional Park and Open Space District.
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Contact Person/Dept: Martin R. Cole, Assistant City Manager
Dan Hernandez, PRCS Director
Phone Number: 310-253-6000/310-253-6655
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date:
Public Notification: (Email) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (06/18/15); (Email) Meetings and Agendas - PRCS Commission (06/18/15); (Email) Parks, Recreation & Community Service Department Updates (06/18/15); (Email) Syd Kronenthal Park/Culver City East Neighborhood (06/11/15 and 06/16/15); (Email) PRCS Commission (06/18/15).
Department Approval: Dan Hernandez (06/11/15)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council: (1) discuss Design Concept “A” and the related budget for the rehabilitation of the playground for children ages 2 - 5 at Syd Kronenthal Park (SK Park) and (2) consider directing the City Manager to include in the City Council Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2015/2016 a budget adjustment of $75,523.80 from the General Fund to augment the remaining $62,051.20 in Proposition A Cities Excess Grant Funds to fund the project in the aggregate amount of $137,575.00, subject to receipt of final grant funding approval by the County of Los Angeles Regional Park and Open Space District (RPOSD).
BACKGROUND
On June 2, 2015, concurrent meetings were held by the City Council and the Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) Commission at the Recreation Building at Syd Kronenthal Park. The purpose of the meetings was to (1) discuss the Syd Kronenthal Park Playground Rehabilitation Project and (2) solicit comments from the Syd Kronenthal Park/Culver City East Neighborhood related to the Project and the other playground site in Syd Kronenthal Park. The staff report and attachments for this Agenda Item are provided as Attachment 1. At the concurrent meetings, staff provided meeting participants with five alternative 2 - 5 age playground conceptual designs to review (Attachment 2). These designs were rated by the public on yellow comment cards distributed at the meeting as to their first and second design preference. After the meeting, the results and related public comments from these yellow comment cards were summarized, and along with photocopies of the cards, are provided as Attachment 3. In addition, the webcast of the meeting was reviewed by staff and the comments made by the public speakers at the meeting were compiled and are provided as Attachment 4 (Please note: This is not an official record of the meeting; some comments are paraphrased.).
At the conclusion of the meeting, the City Council adopted the following motion:
A [design] concept [for the Syd Kronenthal Park Playground for Children Ages 2 - 5] will come back and will have in it a budget for a concept that will include the County’s portion [of the funding] and [the Project] will only move forward if the County’s portion gets approved at a later date (phrases in brackets were added by the City Clerk to lend clarity to the motion).
(Moved by Mayor O’Leary; second by Council Member Sahli-Wells; the motion passed, 3 ayes, no one in opposition; 2 absent.)
Based upon the above direction, this item appears on tonight’s agenda for the City Council’s consideration.
DISCUSSION
At the June 2 concurrent meetings, members of the Syd Kronenthal Park neighborhood stated that they would hold a community meeting to gather more public input on the preferred design option for the 2 - 5 age playground rehabilitation. This meeting was held at Echo Horizon School on Tuesday, June 9, 2015. Additional information as provided by the community (Attachment 5) indicates that Design Concept “A,” with the option of one bucket swing and one traditional (flat) swing is the neighborhood’s preferred design choice. In order for the two different types of swings to be incorporated into the design, the configuration of the equipment must comply with the playground safety requirements outlined in California State Health and Safety Code Section 115725-115735.
Given the desire of the City Council to consider this issue prior to adoption of the City Council Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2015/2016, staff obtained an estimate from a construction firm that the City has contracted with for similar playground rehabilitation projects. The detailed estimate of the project budget indicates that the total cost for the project may be $137,575.00 (Attachment 6). Please note, should the City Council direct staff to move forward with this project, the actual costs for this project would be determined by any applicable competitive bidding process. Such actual costs could be higher or lower than the estimate provided.
Status of the RPOSD (County) Proposition A Grant
In the May 11, 2015 staff report requesting that the City Council accept the work performed by R. E. Shultz Construction and authorize the filing of the Notice of Completion for the 5 - 12 age playground, staff informed the City Council that there was an unexpended grant amount of approximately $60,000 which staff hoped to use toward additional eligible playground/park-related amenities at the Syd Kronenthal Park Playground, pending receipt of approval from the RPOSD. It was around this time that, staff, the PRCS Commission, and the City Council first became aware that there was some neighborhood concern regarding the installation of the new 5 - 12 playground equipment.
Step 1 - Extension of the Grant Performance Period
Irrespective of the use of the unexpended grant funds, the City needs to file an extension of the grant’s performance period, which period is currently scheduled to end on June 30, 2015. The request for an extension of the performance period to December 30, 2016 was submitted to the RPOSD on Monday, June 8, 2015. Staff expects the RPOSD to contact the City regarding the request for performance period extension by the end of June. Performance period extensions are common requests, and staff anticipates a favorable response from RPOSD.
Step 2 - Approval of Modified Project Description by RPOSD
The Proposition A grant was approved for “The Syd Kronenthal Park Playground Rehabilitation Project.” The Project Description on the grant application is:
A development project consisting of the refurbishment of an existing playground within a community park. The City of Culver City proposes to: (a) replace the outdated playground equipment with sculptural elements that are both physically and mentally challenging; (b) replace the sand surfacing using 100% engineered wood fibar; (c) incorporate needed features such as an accessible ramp; and (d) provide a path of travel to and from the parking area to the playground area that will bring the entire playground into 100% Federal ADA compliance.
In the application packet, the Grant Boundary Map indicates that the Project is located at the Playground for Children Ages 5 - 12. The Project Site Plan is a schematic of the playground equipment that was subsequently installed at the 5 - 12 Playground.
Per the Proposition A Procedural Guide (page 23):
III.D.2. Modifications of the Project Description
The Grantee must request, in writing, any proposed modification of the Project Description and provide justification for the request. The District will review the proposal to determine if Board approval is required for the modification.
If Board approval is not required for the modification, the District will initiate an amendment into the Project Agreement.
If Board approval is required, the governing body of the Grantee must adopt a Resolution authorizing the modification and submit the Resolution to the District. The District will then submit the modification to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
Staff contacted the RPOSD Program Manager who administers the grant for the County and was informed that in order to use the unexpended grant funds for any purpose that is not specifically listed in the original Project Description, the following documents must first be submitted and approved by the County:
• An Amendment Request Form for a “Project Scope Change”
• A new Site Plan
• A new Cost Estimate
• A new Timeline
• A new “Anticipated Funding Needs Form”
Depending upon the direction provided this evening by the City Council, staff is prepared to submit a Project Scope Change and the related required documents to the RPOSD. As noted in the May 11, 2015 staff report: “[After releasing all of the eligible costs for the Syd Kronenthal Park Playground Rehabilitation Project, PZ831], this leaves an unexpended grant amount of approximately $60,000 which staff intends to use for additional eligible playground/park-related amenities at the Syd Kronenthal Park Playground, pending approval from the Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District.”
Staff had initially intended to use the unexpended Proposition A grant funds for a shade structure, new barbeques and trash receptacles at the 5 - 12 Playground. However, rehabilitation of the 2 - 5 Playground (as supplemented by additional funding), or any other eligible improvements at the Syd Kronenthal Playground(s) that the City Council desires are all potentially eligible uses of the remaining grant funds (subject to approval by the RPOSD). Early indications are that the Scope Change can be approved administratively and will not require approval by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (nor would a City Council Resolution be necessary), but the final determination will be made by the County once the request is submitted. If Board approval is not necessary, it should take approximately two to three weeks to get a response from the County after all of the required documentation has been submitted.
Update on the 5 - 12 Playground Project Expenditures
|
R.E. Shultz Construction |
$173,240.00 |
|
California Conservation Corps |
$3,566.30 |
|
Project Management |
$9,912.50 |
|
Playground Inspection |
$1,230.00 |
|
|
$187,948.80 |
|
|
|
|
Prop A Grant Amount |
$250,000.00 |
|
5 - 12 Playground Expenditures |
-$187,948.80 |
|
Unexpended Grant Funds |
$62,051.20 |
Step 3 - Creation of Plans/Specifications and Compliance with RPOSD Formal Bidding Process Requirements
The RPOSD requires a formal bidding process in order to use Proposition A grant funds for capital improvement projects. Such formal bidding process would, at a minimum, require: (1) preparation of the plans and specifications, (2) approval of the plans and specifications by the City Council, (3) solicitation of bids with a reasonable bidding time period, (4) review of the bids and presentation of the recommended contract to the City Council for award, and (5) construction of the project. This formal bidding process is estimated to take from 4 to 6 months.
PRCS Commission Members’ Comments
Attachment 7 is the unofficial transcript of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission Members’ final comments at the June 2, 2015 Concurrent Meetings. To summarize briefly (paraphrasing):
• Four Commissioners felt that the manner in which the Proposition A grant money was spent at the Park conformed with the scope of the Project, as originally proposed.
• Two Commissioners recommended the community members consider organizing a neighborhood group project to raise some of the funding for the Project, in light of the many other pressing financial needs that the City must address.
• Two Commissioners commented on the inadequacy of the public notification process and the need to improve the methods and timing of obtaining community input for future projects.
• One Commissioner said that even though the grant money was spent at SK Park, it should have been spent in a way that benefited all age groups.
• One Commissioner recommended that no action should be taken by the City Council until a definitive budget amount for the Project had been provided by staff.
• One Commissioner stated that she preferred not to comment on whether General Funds should be budgeted for the Project.
• One Commissioner felt that the 5 - 12 playground does not need a shade structure but that the unexpended grant funds should be carried over for whatever the City wants to do next at SK Park.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
If the City Council wishes to approve Design Concept “A” (as requested by the neighborhood residents) and the related budget and timeline for the rehabilitation of the playground for children ages 2 - 5 at Syd Kronenthal Park, a budget adjustment of $75,523.80 from the General Fund is needed to augment the remaining $62,051.20 in Proposition A Cities Excess Funds to fund the project for total amount of $137,575.00, subject to the final approval from the RPOSD.
The City account number for the Proposition A grant funds is 42380000.730100.PZ831 (Grants Capital Projects / Improvements Other Than Buildings / Syd Kronenthal Playground Project).
ATTACHMENTS
1. June 2, 2015 City Council/PRCS Commission Agenda Item J-1 with Attachment.
2. Conceptual Designs “A - E” for the Playground for Children Ages 2 - 5 at Syd Kronenthal Park.
3. Yellow comment cards collected at the June 2, 2015 Concurrent Meetings: results, related public comments, and photocopies of the cards.
4. Compilation of comments made by public speakers at the June 2, 2015 Concurrent Meetings.
5. Additional Information regarding the Syd Kronenthal Park playground(s) as provided by the Community.
6. Design Concept “A” Budget.
7. Unofficial Transcript of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission Members’ final comments at the June 2, 2015 Concurrent Meetings.
MOTION
That the City Council:
(1) Discuss Design Concept “A” and the related cost estimate for the rehabilitation of the playground for children ages 2 - 5 at Syd Kronenthal Park (SK Park); and,
(2) Consider directing the City Manager to include in the City Council Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2015/2016 a budget adjustment of $75,523.80 from the General Fund to augment the remaining $62,051.20 in Proposition A Cities Excess Funds to fund the estimated project costs of $137,575.00, subject to approval of the County of Los Angeles Regional Park and Open Space District (RPOSD); and,
(3) (If the City Council determines to move forward with the neighborhood’s recommended action) Authorize the City Manager to take all actions necessary to submit the proposed project to the RPOSD for approval.