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Motion to approve the Schematic Design of the Orange Memorial Park Aquatic Center (Project No. pk2310). (Philip Vitale, Deputy Director of Capital Projects)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council motion to approve the Schematic Design of the Orange Memorial Park Aquatic Center Project (Project No. pk2310) authorizing staff to move forward with the Design Development phase of the project.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Orange Pool is South San Francisco’s only indoor municipal swimming pool. Opened in 1970, it continues to serve as a community-wide destination for residents of all ages. Despite the City’s attentive custodianship of the building, overall, the building’s age and heavy use have resulted in very worn condition of the shell and interior. The facility is well beyond the point of meriting replacement.
In April 2021, staff presented to the City Council Budget Standing Committee the Wong and Logan Feasibility Study with recommendation of the construction of a new two-pool facility. In May 2021, staff engaged Group4 Architects from the City’s on-call architecture firm list to explore alternative Aquatic Center locations within Orange Memorial Park and validate construction costs.
Working from the two-pool facility approach identified in the Wong and Logan study, Group4 refined the program to include an 8-lane 25-meter lap pool, separate teaching pool, swimmer’s lounge, rentable multi-use/party room, staff offices, locker rooms and support spaces for mechanical equipment within a 28,500 square-foot single-story facility.
In February 2022, City Council authorized the execution of a professional services agreement with ELS Architecture and Urban Design for design, construction documentation and construction administration for the project. In April 2022, City Council authorized the execution of a consulting services agreement with Swinerton Management and Consulting for project and construction management services for the project. Community engagement for the Aquatic Center commenced in April 2022, with three workshops and online surveys. Conceptual Design of the project was completed in September 2022.
In October 2022 Schematic Design commenced, detailing the size and function of the two pools as well as the layout and size of the natatorium. The Schematic Design Phase concluded in December 2022 with review of the construction budget for the project, with both Swinerton and ELS providing independent construction cost estimates based on the Schematic Design Documents. Both estimates were reviewed and reconciled with City staff, Swinerton and ELS. The reconciled construction cost estimate is $39.6 million, which was 9% above the City’s budget of $36.0 million. City Staff, Swinerton, and ELS have met several times to develop a list of design revisions which maintain the Aquatic Center program while reducing cost to meet the $36 million construction budget.
The City’s geotechnical engineer, Ninyo and Moore, identified a soils issue, advising that the site soil conditions have a high liquefaction factor resulting in a requirement to amend the soils to support the foundations of the pools and the building. Solutions include over-excavation at the depths needed for the pool and building foundations with the addition of geotech fabric and rock to reinforce the bedding for the foundation. Piers and/or mixing the soils with concrete and steel to stiffen the soils to support the foundation are also under review and consideration. Once the most cost-effective solution has been agreed to by the geotechnical, structural and civil engineers, the cost for this additional effort will be estimated and performed as part of the base project scope of work.
Design Revisions / Cost Savings
City staff, Swinerton, and ELS developed a list of potential design revisions which maintain the Aquatic Center program while reducing cost to meet the $36 million construction budget. Design revision options to reduce the overall project cost included the following:
• Reduce width of indoor swimming pool lanes from eight feet to seven feet. Current pool widths are seven feet.
• Reduction in size of the natatorium (indoor pool building, if lane widths are reduced)
• Delete the canopy trellis at perimeter of outdoor deck
• Delete outdoor terraced seating (sloped lawn and bleacher seating instead)
• Reduce area of new landscaping to the north and west of the project
In January of 2023, staff and the project team presented the Schematic Design to the South San Francisco Parks and Recreation Commission. The presentation provided an overall project update, explored potential cost saving measures noted above, examined potential locations for relocating the Veterans Memorial, an operations cost and fee study and a study to develop an all-electric facility.
Staff also presented the Schematic Design and project update to City Councilmembers through individual update meetings.
The Commission and members of the public provided comments that support an all-electric facility, prioritized maintaining 10-lanes with both 25-yard as 25-meter lengths at the outdoor pool, maintaining seven-lanes and beach-entry at the indoor pool. While the multipurpose room would be nice to have, there was a preference for including aquatics serving elements over the multipurpose room.
Considering feedback provided by Councilmembers, Commissioners and community members, staff directed changes to the design that prioritized program, maintain number of lanes, scaled back landscape and building material to produce $4.6 million in saving. The updated the Schematic Design includes the following program:
• Indoor pool with seven (25-yard) lap lanes and beach entry
• Outdoor pool with 10 (25-yard x 25-meter) lap lanes
• Two sets of locker rooms for each pool
• Two individual family locker rooms
• Activity room (26’ x 32’)
• Pool equipment storage
• Mechanical equipment rooms
• Lobby and circulation space
• Drop-off and ADA parking
• Landscaping integrated with Orange Memorial Park
The cost savings not only address program overage, but also solved for developing an all-electric facility. The project will be designed as all-electric as staff works with Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) to understand how much they can fund for installation of photovoltaic and possibly photovoltaic thermal systems.
Budget and Schedule
The project is tracking to the following budget:
• Soft Costs (design, permits, and fees) $ 9,000,000
• Hard Costs (construction) $40,000,000
• Total Budget $49,000,000
The $49 million budget is not sufficient to address the soil mitigation costs estimated between $2-3 million. The approximately $3 million soil issue will likely be funded through the additional bond sale proceeds originally intended for the Colma Creek Pedestrian Bridge Replacement (pk2306) and Orange Memorial Park Main Playground Replacement (pk2301) projects.
The project is tracking to the following schedule:
• Design Documents Complete Summer 2023
• Construction Start Fall 2023
• Opening Spring 2025
While the current schedule reflects construction starting approximately eight months later than anticipated, mostly due to extra time spent on community engagement and design, the project team believes construction will take less than an initially projected, resulting in approximately six-month overall delay compared to the schedule shared in Fall 2021.
Community Engagement
Since completing Conceptual Design in October 2022, the project team continued to engage the community on the project through regular email newsletter announcements, updates to the project webpage (www.ssf.net/newpool) including presentation materials and frequently asked questions (FAQ). Stakeholder meetings were held with coaches from the South San Francisco Aquatics Club to review the pool layout, depth, and amenities. Schematic designs were posted at the lobby of Orange Pool providing opportunities for pool users to submit written and electronic comments.
Environmental Review
As the entity responsible for carrying out the proposed project, the City is also responsible for examining the environmental effects of the proposed project and determining the environmental analysis required for the project to evaluate any impacts. In reviewing the current circumstances and proposed work, City staff is currently conducting additional environmental analysis to determine whether the proposed project may be categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines Section 15302, as a Class 2 “Replacement or Reconstruction” project.
The exemption under Section 15302 applies to the replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced. In this case, the project is proposing to replace the existing Orange Pool with an indoor and outdoor pool, both of which will continue to serve as community swim facilities at the park.
City staff will be working with an on-call environmental consultant to review the project site to confirm if the project meets the requirements for a Categorical Exemption or if further studies are required to comply with CEQA requirements. The facts and circumstances being taken into consideration for this environmental review include the following: demolition of a portion of the existing soccer field at the park site; construction of associated parking lot, locker rooms, activity room and administrative facilities for the new pools; and increase in new pools’ capacity with additional swim lanes and activity room. The environmental analysis will examine among other things, whether the proposed construction is anticipated to produce additional or different impacts from those of the existing facilities.
As the proposed project moves forward with Design Development, City staff will continue to evaluate issues such as noise, traffic, lighting and reflective sources, and other environmental factors to determine whether the project would result in significant environmental impacts. Such evaluation would allow the City to confirm whether the proposed project would be categorically exempt under CEQA, or whether additional environmental analysis such as an Initial Study/Negative Declaration would be required.
Summary
If the approach and amenities presented in this report meet with City Council approval, the design team will move into the Design Development phase. Cost estimates will be refined, and the team will endeavor to maximize pool features wherever possible. Staff will keep City Council apprised as design refinements are made.
FISCAL IMPACT
This project is included in the City of South San Francisco’s Fiscal Year 2022-23 Capital Improvement Program with $49 million from bond sales (fund 524).
RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN
Approval of this action will contribute to the City’s Strategic Plan. It aligns with Priority #2, which is focused on enhancing quality of life by building and maintaining a sustainable city, making the city a great place to live, learn and play.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council review the Schematic Design of the Orange Memorial Park Aquatic Center Project (Project No. pk2310) and authorize staff to move forward with the Design Development phase of the project.