REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
February 27, 2020
FROM: TJ MILLER, Director
Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services Department
BY: KRISTINA CHAMBERLIN, Assistant Director
Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Approve a professional consultant agreement in an amount not to exceed $90,000 with Community Works Design Group, a California corporation, to prepare a Master Plan for a new park to be located at Milburn and Dakota Avenues (Council District 1).
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council approve the consultant agreement with Community Works Design Group (CWDG) for the purpose of preparing a Master Plan for a new park located at Milburn and Dakota Avenues for a total fee not to exceed $90,000 and authorize the PARCS Director or designee to sign all related documents.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In January 2018, the City Council adopted the Parks Master Plan. As part of the process, park sites were evaluated and conditions of existing amenities were assessed and categorized as poor, fair, and good. In addition, strategies for prioritizing park improvements were identified to better meet the needs of the community. These strategies were categorized into three levels: critical, strategic, and visionary. Developing new parks falls within the visionary strategy.
On January 31, 2019, City Council approved and appropriated $100,000 of the one-time $1 million general fund appropriation toward the Master Plan design of developing a new 4-acre park at the Milburn/Dakota Avenues vacant park site.
The City recently solicited a Request for Qualification seeking the services of a landscape architect or other qualified firm for this purpose. The scope of work includes: (a) community engagement activities for the purpose of building community consensus on the programming and park amenity needs of the neighborhood; (b) preparing a detailed and developed design plan with programming, park design, and site character based on public comment; (c) preparing two (2) formal and comprehensive concept designs; and (d) providing an engineer’s estimate of probable costs for both designs.
BACKGROUND
The city owned 4-acre park site is located in District 1 at Milburn and Dakota Avenues adjacent to John Steinbeck Elementary School and across the street from St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
In accordance with Administrative Order 6-19, staff published the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) on the City’s Website and advertised in the Business Journal. Six RFQs were received and reviewed by a screening committee, comprised of staff members from Planning and Development, Public Works, Facilities, and Parks. Based on the results of the screening, CWDG was deemed the most qualified with the resource capacity to meet the scope and timelines necessary to complete the work as outlined in the agreement.
Staff is recommending approval of the agreement with CWDG for consulting services not to exceed $90,000, and authorize the PARCS Director or designee to sign and execute the contract agreement on behalf of the City of Fresno. The Scope of Work tasks total $87,885 and staff has included a small contingency to allow for the ability to add or expand the scope of work to address any unforeseen items. The consultant agreement has been approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office.
When the Consultant Services Contract has been initiated, it is anticipated that the timeline for completing the prescribed consultant work is within six months.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Approval of this agreement is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Pursuant to FMC 4-109(b)(2), this meets local preference as CWDG has formed an association with 4 Creeks and Orchid Translation, both of which are local firms and collectively represents more than 15% of the total contract price. 4 Creeks will assist with environmental tasks and general master planning for a total cost of $13,125 (14.93%) and Orchid will assist with translation services associated with written material and community engagement for a minimum of $1,000 (1.14%).
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for this consultant services agreement will be paid from general fund monies appropriated through the one-time $1 million designated for park projects as approved by Council on January 31, 2019.
Attachments:
Consultant Service Agreement Community Works Design Group