REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: BRIAN BARR, Director
General Services Department
BY: ROBIN O’MALLEY, Facilities Manager
General Services Department, Facilities Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve a consultant agreement with PBK in the total amount of $64,000 plus a not-to-exceed contingency amount of $5,000 to conduct a facility condition assessment of the Tower Theatre property and authorize the Director of General Services or designee to execute all related documents (Council District 1)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council approve an agreement with PBK in the amount of $64,000 plus a not-to-exceed contingency of $5,000 to conduct a facility condition assessment of the Tower Theatre property and authorize the Director of General Services or designee to execute all related documents.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2022, the City of Fresno acquired the Tower Theatre property. The acquisition included the theatre, lounge, adjacent commercial space, and Me-N-Eds. The Tower Theatre property was originally constructed in the late 1930’s and the building construction is reflective of that era. Due to the age of the facility, the General Services Department needs to conduct a condition assessment of all building components including: ADA paths of travel, fire life safety systems, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems to determine short and long term needs. The consultant shall also provide recommendations for attaining code compliance, to the degree required by the respective codes and City requirements.
BACKGROUND
Located at 815 East Olive Avenue, the Tower Theatre was originally constructed in 1939 and has become an icon for the city of Fresno. In 2022, the City of Fresno acquired the Theatre in an effort to maintain its original purpose of bringing entertainment to the Tower District and the greater Fresno area.
Since the building was originally built in the late 1930’s there are sufficient building systems and components that may require upgrading to bring the Theatre and adjacent buildings up to current safety standards. The Tower Theatre is on the Historical Register, and therefore the Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties will need to be reviewed as well. For this reason, the City of Fresno has obtained the services of a local consulting firm to determine what systems and components require upgrading for safety and functionality.
On May 4, 2020, staff published a Request for Qualifications inviting consultants to submit for services on an “as needed” or “on call” basis for Facilities Management projects. Staff received eight proposals in response to the category of “on-call” Architectural services. An evaluation committee reviewed and ranked the qualifications of each consultant. Staff determined five local consultants were qualified to provide Architectural services. PBK was selected as an “as needed” or “on call” Architectural firm. Staff determined this consultant was best suited to perform this work based upon project requirements, available capacity, schedule, prior experience with similar projects, and cost.
The agreement has been approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA guidelines § 15278.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was taken into consideration and PBK is a local business pursuant to FMC 4-109.
FISCAL IMPACT
This project is funded by the General fund and has been approved as adopted in the FY2023 budget under General City Purpose.
Attachment:
Agreement for Consultant Services