Council Amends Contract for Improvements at Villa Parke Community Center

As part of Monday’s consent calendar, the City Council unanimously agreed to authorize the City Manager to amend a contract with Thomco Construction, Inc. to increase a contract from improvements at the Villa Parke Community Center by an additional $640,000.

After the contract was originally approved, plans prepared by Public Works in coordination with staff from the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, work required enclosure of the existing east courtyard and its conversion into a new reception lobby for the weight room and boxing gymnasium, demolition and replacement of the concrete deck and replacement of mechanical equipment in the pool area, installation of new bleachers and shade structures, and locker room tenant improvements.

However, since then it has been discovered that more work needs to be done.

The condenser units servicing the weight room and boxing gymnasium need to be replaced.

“Making this replacement during the installation of the roof would be the most opportune time and cost-effective. Other significant additions of work will be the repainting of the interior walls and ceiling of the gymnasium, as well as the door and door frames on the first floor; new flooring and improved lighting in locker room areas; and, refinishing of the auditorium stage and stairs.”

The additional $640,000 would bring the contract to $3.6 million.

Here are the other items that passed as part of Monday’s consent calendar.

• A $7.6 million contract with California Professional Engineering for the Union Street Two-Way Protected Bikeway. This project will provide for a 1.5 mile protected bicycle lane along Union Street from Hill Avenue to Arroyo Parkway as an alternative mode of travel connecting Metro Gold Line stations to major institutions and employment centers. Additionally, the project includes a 0.3-mile bicycle boulevard along Holliston Avenue from Union Street to Cordova Street. The project will eliminate a travel lane and install a protected two-way bicycle facility on the south side of Union Street, with raised islands, bollards and traffic signals that separate bicyclists from traffic. The project consists of improvements at 14 signalized intersections including six new traffic signals, traffic signal equipment, conduit, conductors, pull boxes, traffic signal controller and cabinet upgrades, fiber optic communications, Ethernet switches, and splice enclosures; tighter corner radii at intersections, ADA curb ramp upgrades, pavement resurfacing, curb and gutter repairs, striping and signage.

• A $279,400 contract for engineering and design services for seismic retrofit of the Public Works building at the city yard. Last year the Department of Public Works issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for engineering and design services for the seismic retrofit. The building, located at 233 West Mountain St,, was constructed in 1990. The building is a concrete tilt-up structure designed and constructed per the 1988 Uniform Building Code (USC). The building was constructed in two major sections: a one-story 8, 140 square-foot section, and a two-story 35,860 square-foot section with a small stairway that extends up to three stories with a connecting pedestrian bridge to an adjacent staff surface parking lot. The building currently houses the Public Works Department’s Operations Center and the Citizen Service Center, as well as the Parks, Recreation and Community Services department’s operations and maintenance staff.

• The City Council authorized the Director of Planning & Community Development to execute by electronic signature on an agreement with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development for a $75,000 grant to conduct a cannabis equity assessment and assist the development of a local equity program. In February, the city was one of five recipient jurisdictions of a $75,000 grant via the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to conduct a cannabis social equity assessment and/or program development. In October, GO-Biz announced the availability of $35 million in grant funding through the Cannabis Equity Grants (CEG) program for local jurisdictions. The purpose of the program is to advance economic justice for populations and communities harmed by cannabis prohibition by providing support to local jurisdictions as they promote equity and eliminate barriers to entry in the regulated cannabis industry for their equity program applicants and licensees. Jurisdictions that receive the funding can use this funding to either develop their cannabis equity programs or assist their equity program applicants and licensees by providing low/no-interest loans or grants, reduced licensing fees or waived fees, and technical assistance, including one-on-one consulting. . In order to proceed with the grant, an agreement must be executed no later than March 15 between the city and GO-Biz.

• Salary resolutions for non-represented employees and executive management employees. The City Council establishes the salaries and benefits for classifications that are not represented by an employee association or union. The City Council may adopt salary resolutions as necessary in order to make adjustments to wages, benefits and working conditions for non-represented employees. The non-represented employee resolutions are typically reviewed once annually.

• Amendments to the Fiscal Year 2022 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget. Throughout the Fiscal Year (FY), the Department of Public Works in conjunction with other impacted departments review active CIP projects to determine if budgetary changes are needed. Staff has completed this report detailing needed budget adjustments.

• A $2.6 million contract with Act 1 Construction, Inc. for the Washington Park Community House and Restroom project. The City Council approved the adoption of the Washington Park Master Plan (Master Plan) on November 22, 2004. Included in the 2004 Master Plan is the development of a new, approximately 2,000 square-foot “Community House” to be located adjacent to the park’s existing parking lot along Washington Boulevard. The Community House, per the Master Plan, includes a multi-purpose room, space for recreation staff, park storage, and a new larger restroom to replace the existing undersized and deteriorated restroom building. In addition, the Master Plan provides for a reduction in the size of the existing parking lot to accommodate the Community House site.

• A one-time agreement with the City of Hidden Hills to exchange $87,845 of Pasadena’s General Fund dollars currently dedicated for transit services for $117,127 of Hidden Hills Proposition A Local Return dollars to be used for Proposition A eligible transit operations, programs and projects in Pasadena. Proposition A is funded by a half-cent sales tax measure approved by Los Angeles County voters in 1980. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), which administers the funds, allows a city to exchange all or a portion of its uncommitted Proposition A funds for unrestricted revenues from another city. The receiving city must use the exchanged Proposition A Local Return funds for Proposition A eligible transit operations, programs, and projects. Since General Fund dollars are less restrictive than Proposition A Local Return dollars, General Fund dollars are typically exchanged at a premium. The premium is usually negotiated between the respective entities. The city has previously leveraged three such exchange opportunities for capital purchases and to fund transit operations. In February, the City of Hidden Hills contacted staff to express interest in a Proposition A Local Return fund exchange. After discussions, staff proposed $87,845 of Pasadena’s General Fund for $117,127 of Hidden Hill’s Proposition A Local Return funds. The exchange is at the rate of 75 cents on the dollar and would just be a one-time agreement in FY22.

• Quarterly investment report for the quarter ending Dec. 31. The quarterly report shall include the type of investment, name of the issuer, date of maturity, par and dollar amount invested in each security, investment, and money within the treasury; the weighted average maturity of the investments within the treasury; any funds, investments, or programs, including loans, that are under the management of contracted parties; the market value as of the date of the report and the source of this valuation for any security within the treasury; and a description of the compliance with the Statement of Investment Policy.

• A budget amendment appropriating $2,000,000 from the low and moderate-income housing asset fund, unappropriated fund balance, to. fund the proposed city loan through the Housing Department’s FY 2022 Operating Budget for the Heritage Square South Project; approve the business terms of a Second Amendment to Development, Loan and Lease Agreement with BRIDGE Housing Inc. for the development of the Heritage Square South Project, as described in this agenda report. A number of construction industry-wide factors have impacted the financial feasibility of the project, resulting in the need to increase the amount of the city loan. These factors include a general contractor/sub-contractor market that is in very high demand coupled with labor shortages resulting in much higher construction costs across all trades; and increases in materials prices by approximately 15% over the past nine months due to excessive demand and supply chain constraints. This environment has caused the total development cost of the Project to increase by approximately $10 million. In response, the Developer took measures to reduce the funding gap by approximately $8M, with a remaining gap of $2M.

• A three-year $2.3 million contract with Parking Concepts Inc. for the management and operation of the Plaza Las Fuentes valet parking services for the Westin Hotel. The Plaza Las Fuentes parking garage is a City-owned garage that has been managed by Downtown Properties. In order to save costs and streamline operations the City took over the management of the garage on February 1 when a new city-wide parking operator contract began. The City is contractually obligated to provide valet service to the Plaza Las Fuentes Property. Contractually obligated valet operations were not included in the city-wide operator contract as the Westin Hotel had expressed interest in managing the valet operation directly. In December 2021 the hotel decided not to assume control of the valet operation, leaving the City with the responsibility.