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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/09/1993 Adjourned Meeting 1 497 CITY OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON NOVEMBER 9, 1993 ADJOURNED MEETING The City Council met on this date at 7:00 a.m. in the Police Conference Room, 2nd Floor of City Hall, Yakima, Washington for informal discussion. Council Members present were Mayor Pat Berndt, presiding, Henry Beauchamp, Bill Brado (present after 7:30 a.m.), Lynn Buchanan, Skip Semon, and Bernard Sims. Council Member Clarence Barnett was absent and excused. City staff members 'present were City Manager Zais, Assistant City Manager Rice, Assistant City Attorney Paolella, and Deputy City Clerk Skovald. Before the presentation and discussion began about the proposed Police Station /Legal Center, Council members briefly discussed CRF projects determination, which will be established through the process of public hearings and public input. It is important that the process is started this year so that new major development projects can be included. Mel Blackstone, with John Graham Associates, Seattle, and Ron Cullen, with Architecture Associates, Yakima, were available to answer questions about the Design /Build process, the project proposals, and the conclusions of the Design Team concerning the proposed Police Station /Legal Center facility. Mr. Blackstone referred to the Design /Build process that the City initiated this past spring. There were three proposals on multiple sites, or really site proposals from three different proposers, received for the new facility. The process was followed to the letter. After going through the grading, as was called for in that process, Mr. Blackstone recommended the hiring of the Opus Corporation for the Kiwanis Park Site as being the Selection Committees recomendation. He explained that the Design /Build process is a little different from a standard bid process in that the low bid is not necessarily what is recommended. The recommendation is based on the Cost Per Quality Point score that is acheived by looking at the cost proposal on the base bid and the quality points which were warranted based upon the criteria in the RFP. Mr. Blackstone described one of the most important criteria aspects of the facility. In response to a concern expressed by Council Member Beauchamp, Mr. Cullen explained the Design /Build process is different than the traditional bid process in that there are no traditional construction documents with all the ground rules set forth; - therefore, what is submitted is an actual design. Mr. Zais emphasized the importance of deciding on a site, and if a site had NOVEMBER 9, 1993 - ADJOURNED MEETING 498 been chosen, then the traditional bid process could have been used. The Design /Build process was used because the Council could not decide on where the site should be, nor did they know what the cost would be. He also explained that it was thought that this process would be less expensive than the traditional bid process. Council Member Semon explained he was supportive of the Design /Build process because of the location issue, but the building industry community showed absolutely zero creativity in regard to locations. They didn't come up with anything that wasn't already discussed. Council Member Buchanan commented that we thought we could solve it by letting the builders come up with a good site. Council Member Beauchamp asked whether the proposal would fit the Wikstrom site. Mr. Cullen explained he did an analysis of that, and based on the criteria set forth, it was found that there would not be enough parking available on the Wikstrom site, but parking could be facilitated by an adjacent piece of property. Council Member Semon voiced an objection to providing parking spaces for public employees, particularly when it affects the cost of the project. Responding to a comment from Council Member Brado concerning allowing extra points in the RFP for location as well as for local developer participation, Mr. Cullen explained they actualy allowed zero because the proposals were "blind." At this point, there was a considerble amount of discussion concerning the need to decide on a particular site for the facility, bearing in mind the desires of the public and combining the technical aspects of the project, with development of a facility reflecting those qualities. Next in the discussion was the subject of parking requirements at the Wikstrom /Armory location. The same parking requirements apply to this location as with other commercial uses on the block; however, that doesn't mean they can't be changed. A handout was provided concerning Land Acquisition Evaluation of the Wikstrom /Armory site and surrounding properties. There was a considerable' amount of discussion about whether it was doable in light of the additional $2 million cost involved for the Wikstrom /Armory site. Mr. Zais explained the options available to Council and what the next step would be if Council decided to reject all bids; that being to decide on a location and come up with the financing to pay for it. Council members continued discussion about the funding for the facility and the fact that the new facility needs to be built. There was discussion about starting all over using the traditional bid process, financing possibilities, the timeframe of the project, and how it could affect the state match. Also briefly mentioned were the lease option quotes submitted and how extraordinarily expensive they would be over time. 2 NOVEMBER 9, 1993 - ADJOURNED MEETING Mayor Berndt suggested the tax package be put in place, along with the available portion of the one -tenth percent sales tax that has been accummulating, with a guarantee to the public that the money will solely be used for building the facility. A totally unrelated issue, that of supporting the reinactment of the state fire marshall position with possible consideration of funding the position with help from the Fire Districts, was briefly discussed. After a brief lull in the discussion, Council Member Semon suggested the possibility of phasing in some of the components of the facility so that there would be money available for site acquisition. Discussion followed concerning this suggestion. There was discussion concerning the impacts that crime is having on the business community far outweighing what the impacts of financing the new facility would be on the businesses. The topic of the City Hall location was introduced with reference being made to the operating and maintenance budget of the building. The fact that the building has outlived its usefulness and that no amount of rehabilitation could make it cost effective were reasons given why perhaps it should be torn down, the City offices moved to rented office space, and the location considered as a possible site for the new facility. There was discussion concerning the reasons why the site was determined to be unsuitable, in particular, the stacking concept of a multi - story building to fit the City Hall site. Mayor Berndt suggested a subcommittee of the Council be established with the inclusion of some private sector folks to move forward with the project. Mr. Zais indicated that if the decision today at the Business Meeting is to reject all proposals, then perhaps the direction to be taken would be to announce that a Council Building Committee should be formed to move forward with representatives from the Council, staff, and the private sector to begin the process anew on evaluation of site, funding choices, and design leading a new process for bid in 1994 on a traditional bid project. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY f J.J..LL/94(1 4/ COUNC I0, ME R DATE 410 2 � 3-'/ 9 COUNC L MEMBER DATE ATTEST: CITY CLERK MAYOR 3