TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Brian Crawford, Municipal Services Director
PREPARED BY: Brian Crawford, Municipal Services Director
SUBJECT:
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Increase Construction Contingency for Glen Arbor Dog Park Project
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RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Amend the Fiscal Year 2025/26 Capital Improvement Plan to provide an additional budget appropriation for Capital Improvement Project No. 8273 in the amount of $92,427.70 using the Park Development Impact Fee Fund Unassigned Fund Balance; and
Approve the First Amendment to the Agreement with Voltaire Engineering, LLC, and
authorize the City Manager to approve change orders to P04763 totaling no more than 25% of the original construction contract amount for Glen Arbor Dog Park, Capital Improvement Project 8273.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
On March 18, 2025, the City Council awarded a construction contract for Glen Arbor Dog Park Project, Capital Improvement Project (CIP) No. 8273, to Voltaire Engineering, LLC, in the amount of $924,277, plus a 15% contingency (Vote 5-0).
CITY COUNCIL GOAL
Coordinate and deliver responsive, effective community services.
DISCUSSION
Work on the construction of the Glen Arbor Dog Park Project (Project) began on April 23, 2025. Planned improvements include enclosed areas for large and small dogs with play features, shade structures with seating, water fountains with separate outlets for owners and dogs, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant switchback style concrete walkways with handrails to allow visitors to travel down the large slope at the park, a 12-space parking lot, ADA improvements to the curb ramp at Nutmeg and Via De Gemma Linda and the designated path of travel for park access, and landscape improvements.
The construction environment at Glen Arbor Park presents several challenges due to its hilly terrain, limited developable space, significant vertical grades, existing mature trees, and vegetated slopes. The project was designed to minimize impacts and preserve the park's natural aesthetic in most of the park.
Additional constraints include existing trail connections on the northern end and protection of a blueline stream that borders the Project space to the west. Based on public outreach, the community preferred a gated dog park and a 12-stall parking lot, including accessible parking with accessible routes that would connect the two features. These factors necessitate steeper-than-ideal accessible routes, including pathways, handrails, and landings that adhere to accessible design standards and City requirements.
The design constraints, coupled with other factors found and resolved in the field, made construction significantly more difficult for the Contractor, especially when the Contractor was given very little room for adjustment to complete walkway slopes that would be ADA compliant. Instead of pouring concrete switchback walkways in large sections, the work needs to be done in a series of smaller sections to ensure the slopes are ADA compliant. This constraint added significant labor costs for the Contractor. The Project team was able to negotiate those additional costs. The Contractor has agreed to proceed with construction "at risk" while the City Council considers the additional contingency, since the additional change order costs are above the 15% contingency that was approved with the original contract.
These constraints posed design challenges, but the plans did not detail some requirements. The enclosed dog park areas at the base of the slope were riddled with roots from adjacent trees. The soil in that area needed to be worked and recompacted to provide a stable base for the finished decomposed granite surface and the concrete pads for the shade structures. However, the soil was much more expansive than anticipated, which required more mitigation measures to make it suitable as a subbase. The result is that several trees needed to be removed. Many of the trees removed were not healthy, and new trees will be planted in locations more appropriate for long-term growth.
The addition of the parking lot into the design process did not consider the relocation of an irrigation main line in the middle of the area that needed excavation. To keep construction moving, the Project team determined that the mainline had to be cut, capped, and removed between the point of connection by Nutmeg Street and a valve box at the base of the slope. A new mainline, with irrigation wiring, would need to be installed along a new route later in the Project. Unfortunately, cutting the main line also prevented the irrigation system from being used for all park areas. Watering would need to be done by a water tender truck on a time and materials basis, an additional, unaccounted-for expense for the Project.
The following table summarizes all the change orders for the Project, and the cumulative percentage of the original amount of the construction contract:
|
Change Order Description |
Cost |
Approved? |
Cumulative % |
|
Wattle straw to meet water quality requirements |
$3,434.98 |
Yes |
0.37% |
|
Regrade slopes to minimize grading export |
$18,799.05 |
Yes |
2.41% |
|
Recompact soil for shade structure foundation |
$22,871.85 |
Yes |
4.88% |
|
Wire mesh for shade structure foundation |
$1,732.44 |
Yes |
5.07% |
|
Tree removals |
$27,193.00 |
Yes |
8.01% |
|
Field watering (not to exceed amount) |
$29,704.50 |
Yes |
11.22% |
|
Water main line relocation |
$48,818.87 |
No |
16.51% |
|
Adjustment of work for slope tolerance (negotiated) |
$65,000.00 |
No |
23.54% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
$217,555.69 |
|
|
If the City Council approves increasing the construction contingency to 25%, the First Amendment will be executed and the two (2) change orders not yet approved will be processed. The remaining $13,513.56 can be used for any further unanticipated costs, if any.
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff recommends that the City Council amend the Fiscal Year 2025/26 Capital Improvement Plan to provide an additional budget appropriation for Capital Improvement Project No. 8273 in the amount of $92,427.70 using the Park Development Impact Fee Fund Unassigned Fund Balance.
The construction contract award for the Glen Arbor Dog Park project is $924,277. The $92,427.70 represents an additional 10% contingency bringing the total contingency amount to $231,069.25 or 25% of the construction contract amount.
ATTACHMENTS
1. First Amendment to Contract with Voltaire Engineering, LLC