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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/27/2009 - Study SessionCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes City Council Study Session October 27, 2009 — 4:00 p.m. I. ROLL CALL Present: Council Member Henn, Mayor Pro Tem Daigle, Mayor Selich, Council Member Gardner Excused: Council Member Rosansky, Council Member Webb Council Member Rosansky arrived at 4:12 p.m. II. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. CLARIFICATION OF ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. In response to Council Member Henn's question regarding Item 6 (McFadden Square Phase II), City Manager Kiff stated that Administrative Assistant Oborny will have overall program responsibility for the McFadden Square Memorial, reporting to the City Manager and being supported by Public Works Director Badum, Public Works, and other departments as needed. Mayor Selich indicated that he will be requesting that the membership of the Task Force on Cycling Safety (Item 7) be further amended to include an additional Council Member, and that he plans to appoint Council Member Daigle to the Task Force. , 2. CIVIC CENTER UPDATE. Mayor Selich highlighted the timeline for the Civic Center project and pointed out the importance of Council input, particularly as it relates to the scope and phasing of the project, City Manager Kiff reported that William Hahn and Robert Shafer of CW Driver are in attendance and are experts in construction management, including estimating costs. He utilized a PowerPoint presentation to highlight the site plan, City office building, parking structure, the three park areas, the library expansion and connection, the pedestrian bridges, and the dog park. He discussed possible surfaces for the dog park and other ground surfaces. He reviewed the spreadsheet and how contingency amounts change depending on the extent of the project. He stated that the annual impact will be discussed at the next meeting but, for today, Council will need to provide direction relative to potential savings, value engineering savings, changing the scope, and phasing the project. In response to Council questions, Public Works Director Badum indicated that closing the Corona del Mar Plaza entrance is not part of this project. He also indicated that they are conducting research relative to how much green signal time will be added due to closing part of the crosswalk near the San Miguel pedestrian bridge. City Manager Kiff reported that the Central Library has about 50 employees; however, 100 spaces will be reserved for library use in the parking structure. Regarding the library expansion, he noted that the idea came from the Board of Library Trustees and also arose due to the need for more space at the library. Mayor Selich noted that doing the expansion in conjunction with the Volume 59 - Page 292 City of Newport Beach City Council Study Session October 27, 2009 City Hall construction would be more cost effective Robert Shafer, CW Driver, noted that many of the costs listed in the spreadsheet are assumptions, and that some of the contingencies can be controlled. He pointed out that the biggest cost surprises occur during excavation and that the risk diminishes as construction moves forward. He also reported on areas that CW Driver was able to save the City money, such as reducing the amount of concrete and steel used in the parking structure, and relative to dirt removal. He also explained how the photovoltaic roof system is installed and the maintenance involved with the system. With the concurrence of Council, Council Member Rosansky emphasized the need to build the central park in conjunction with City Hall, and not have that portion of the park phased in. Mayor Pro Tern Curry added that the project also cannot violate view planes and needs to mitigate lighting impacts. Discussion arose relative to financing $140 million if the project might cost $80 million. City Manager Kiff indicated that there will be contingencies factored in so the project could go out to bid. However, he stated that by the time the project is actually bid, the design contingency will be minimal. Mayor Pro Tem Curry indicated that not all the money will come from debt proceeds and that the City will work to get the Certificates of Participation (COP) issue done in parallel with the construction process. He noted that there are opportunities to phase portions of the project and that it is currently a good bidding environment due to lower interest rates. Council Member Daigle indicated that Council should be provided with explanations for any high contingency needs. Following discussion, it was the consensus of Council to determine the feasibility of relocating the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) to the basement of City Hall; look at options to combine the Council Chambers and the community room by directing the architects to create drawings of the options; possibly re- design the sail feature but not eliminate it since it was the design selected by the committee; investigate LEED certification cost saving opportunities without sacrificing long -term savings but retain "Silver" LEED status; possibly bid the LEED features separate so the City can determine which features to implement; look into receiving grants, public funding, financial support, or subsidies for portions of the project; explore reducing park improvements; possibly phase and bid separate the north park/dog park parcel and pedestrian bridge; determine the appropriate timing for the library expansion and connection; minimize the use of contingencies; continue to explore value engineering savings; and simplify the bridges in the wetlands areas. Council also requested to see how the community room would be used prior to making any decisions. Mr. Shafer noted that phasing the project does not necessarily guarantee cost savings in the long run and concurred that this is the best building environment for large projects in terms of cost, the economy, and interest rates. Jan Vandersloot stated that he has retained a landscape firm and would like to make a presentation to the Building Committee relative to making the landscape plan more consistent with the General Plan by retaining more of the native habitat in the central park. He noted that this would create a cost savings since less grading will be needed. He agreed with simplifying the bridges and encouraged the City to use a photovoltaic system. III. PUBLIC COMMENTS Jim Mosher provided a handout relative to unnecessary cell sites in residential areas, particularly on Private Road. He discussed his concerns and requested Council assistance. Council Member Gardner indicated that Mr. Mosher brought this to the Media and Communications Committee's attention and that the committee will be looking at procedure Volume 59 - Page 293 City of Newport Beach City Council Study Session October 27, 2009 changes relative to the placement of cell phone transmission facilities. She requested that staff come back with suggestions to help the Private Road residents with the impacts. Council Member Daigle stated that a T- Mobile government affairs executive indicated that he would work with the residents to try to make adjustments to address their concerns. IV. ADJOURNMENT - 6:46 p.m. The agenda for the Regular Meeting was posted on October 21, 2009, at 8:05 p.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. r City Clerk Mayor Volume 59 - Page 294