AGENDA ITEM
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CARLO TOMAINO
CITY MANAGER
BY: YVETTE AGUILAR
PARKS, RECREATION, AND LIBRARY SERVICES DIRECTOR
THOMAS BEKELE
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
SUBJECT:
title
CIVIC CENTER MASTER PLAN ADOPTION
summary
Summary:
Last year, the City began working on the Civic Center Master Plan (CCMP). The purpose of the CCMP is to work with our community to reimagine the Civic Center and incorporate desired amenities that will serve future residents. In December 2023, the City Council selected “The Campus” as the desired alternative which emphasizes the construction of a new amphitheater, active and passive recreational elements, and a new Community Center. Given the large scope and related cost associated with developing the project, the CCMP is divided into three primary phases. Phase 1 of the CCMP, which includes the amphitheater and expanded parking lot along 21st street, is in the pre-development phase. Phases 2 and 3 include a new community center, sports courts, playground, improvements to Jessie Nelson Circle, and accessibility improvements. The purpose of this discussion is to provide the City Council with an opportunity to provide additional feedback regarding the final Civic Center Master Plan as well as the proposed funding and phasing plan. As the project continues developing, staff will return to update the City Council regarding progress on various elements including final design, bidding, construction, and funding opportunities.
Strategic Plan Goal(s):
Goal No. 1 Financial Stability: Ensure the City’s long-term financial stability and resilience.
Goal No. 4 Infrastructure: Maintain and improve the City’s physical infrastructure, water system, and recreational spaces.
Goal No. 5 High-Functioning Government: Strengthen internal communication, recruitment, retention systems, and processes to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of City services.
recommendation
Recommendations:
1. Adopt the Civic Center Master Plan substantially in the form presented.
2. Discuss the proposed Phasing and Funding Plan associated with the Civic Center Master Plan and provide staff with additional direction as desired.
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Fiscal Impact:
Funding for the preparation of the Civic Center Master Plan in the amount of $250,000 is included in the FY 2023-24 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget (Project No. 90.24001). Funding for future phases of the CCMP would come from a variety of sources be presented at a future date as the project continues to advance through its phased approach.
Background:
John Kaliski Architects, Incorporated (JKA) began working on the Civic Center Master Plan (CCMP) in August 2023. During the initial phase of the project, JKA and City staff worked collaboratively on a community engagement effort that included workshops, design charrettes, online surveys, and outreach at various City events. These community engagement efforts enabled the design team and the City to incorporate key community feedback related to park design, amenities, accessibility, parking, traffic circulation, as well as active and passive recreational elements. The City also incorporated important feedback regarding key infrastructure such as the proposed amphitheater, community center, and improvements for City Hall that collectively informed and continued to shape the final CCMP options.
City staff and JKA developed three conceptual design options presented to the City Council in December 2023. The City Council selected “The Campus” as its desired alternative. The Campus option is designed to make meaningful improvements to the Civic Center Campus with the least amount of physical change to the site. The Campus option avoids adding further complexity and cost to the project, such as requiring extensive grading or utility relocation compared to other alternatives while also ensuring the amphitheater and the community center remain in focus as key deliverables. The Campus also emphasizes recreational components, including additional new sports courts, to accommodate the existing demand for basketball and other sports, in a way that complements existing aspects of the site.
Overall, The Campus plan enables the City to enhance its ability to program concerts, cultural events, festivals, as well as other events for children, teens, adults, and seniors as expressed by our residents throughout the community engagement process. Over the next ten years, as the City implements the CCMP in phases, a series of improvements will bring enhanced activities to the campus.
Analysis:
One of the primary goals of the CCMP is to establish a long-term vision for the future of the Civic Center Campus and provide for a phased framework in which to develop the site according to the City Council’s priorities and the City’s ability to fund the proposed improvements over three phases. Based on the City Council’s direction, staff and JKA continued working to refine various aspects of The Campus conceptual design plan to develop two additional iterations of The Campus that further refined the initial concept. The design team worked with staff to develop concepts behind the programming of the new Community Center and Amphitheater back-of-house as well as recommendations regarding landscaping, pedestrian accessibility, parking needs, traffic circulation, and infrastructure. The work that occurred over the past several months also enabled the development of more specific construction costing estimates which informed the proposed phasing and funding plan.
Phasing and Funding Plan:
This section of the agenda report outlines the three primary phases of the CCMP. As noted, the City Council previously appropriated funding for Phase 1. For the two subsequent phases, staff and JKA outlined the goals and proposed deliverables with an understanding that the associated timing and funding is contingent upon various factors outside the City’s control. Nonetheless, staff believe it is valuable for the City Council to provide further feedback to confirm a course of action. Staff will bring back to the City Council progress reports that will provide additional clarity regarding efforts to advance design, construction, and secure funding sources for Phases 2 and 3. The CCMP will continue to be an iterative and evolutionary project informed by site specific conditions, construction activities, and economic variables that will require adaptation over time. The phases described below provide a general overview of the process and will later be broken down into subphases over the lifecycle of the project. As part of this report, staff provides a conceptual visual representation of each phase, describing its constituent elements, and discussing the associated funding plan.
Phase 1: Civic Center Amphitheater and Parking Lot
The first phase of the Civic Center Master Plan will focus on constructing the amphitheater and back-of-house, surrounding amphitheater seating area, landscaping, and expanding the existing parking lot along 21st Street to accommodate parking and loading for the amphitheater and its adjacent uses. The amphitheater is positioned on the Civic Center Site so that Phase 1 construction can commence without impacting the existing Community Center, Library, or City Hall. As of the writing of this report, Public Works has started pre-development work including a geotechnical analysis, engineering studies, and a required environmental analysis. As noted previously, because a portion of the funding associated with this project includes a State grant, staff has advanced pre-construction activity to ensure the project remains on schedule.
Civic Center Amphitheater Design
The Civic Center Amphitheater is an acoustically tuned and dedicated outdoor performance shell that can accommodate a full range of performing arts. The shell and back wall are designed to enhance natural acoustics, incorporate artistic elements, and complement the existing Civic Center buildings. For larger events, the shell has built-in speaker towers and additional outlets and electrical conduits for the expansion of audio-visual systems. Night lighting is provided from both the ceiling of the shell as well as from towers set to the rear of the seating tiers. This performance venue is nestled into the existing park slope with accessible parking at the expanded lot along 21st Street. The stage is large enough for a high school band and its scale and site lines are designed to optimize the viewing and hearing of even a single speaker. Landscape tiers provide informal seating for both events and daily enjoyment, allowing for approximately 400 people on blankets and lawn chairs and up to 600 people on folding chairs. Larger events can spill onto sloped lawns to the north and east of the site. A dropped and flat apron between the landscape tiers and the shell allow for more accessible seating, an informal dance area, or a temporary extension of the stage utilizing portable platforms.
The amphitheater also includes a green room with an additional 570 square feet of outdoor overflow space between the back-of-house and stage, restrooms for performers, a storage area for operations, and public restrooms serving the whole of the park in an approximate 2,600 square foot back-of-house structure located behind the stage. Along the same building’s west face, a snack bar provides a food and beverage service that can serve both the intermittent cultural events and the daily users of the adjacent sports courts.
Phase 1 Funding Plan:
In May 2022, the City received an award of $5 million from the California Arts Council for design and construction of a new amphitheater. The grant’s timeline calls for completion of the project by June 2026. As part of the budget adoption process last year, the City Council allocated funding to the Civic Center Master Plan Reserve for the remaining balance; therefore Phase 1 of the CCMP is fully funded. Depending upon the final pre-development, design, and construction costs, staff recommends that any remaining allocation for this phase be redistributed to the Civic Center Reserve Fund for use on a future phase of the project.
Phase 2: Community Center, Sports Courts, and Kelley Drive
The second phase of the CCMP prioritizes construction of the new Community Center and demolishes the existing Community Center, restroom pavilion, sports courts, and playground. The area where the current Community Center is located would be utilized to expand the current parking lot. The new Community Center would be located directly across the existing Library parking lot. Kelley Drive improvements include a new drop-off area and additional parking, and new sports courts and a children’s playground on Spud Field. Additionally, a promenade starting at the Kelley Drive drop-off area, moving east through the sports complex, meets the amphitheater back-of-house to further connect the Civic Center Campus.
The approximately 24,600 square foot Community Center is a two-story building that expands programming opportunities with dedicated spaces for children, teens, and seniors. The main entrance into the building is accessible from the library parking lot, leading to administrative areas for supporting staff and ground-level children’s rooms which open onto an outdoor children’s playground. A double-height multipurpose hall with an associated commercial kitchen establishes the open identity of the building and provides a place for sit-down events, including large public meetings, ceremonies, and lunches, and dinners for up to 250 people. The Community Center also provides flexible meeting rooms for community groups. Dedicated special-purpose rooms also provide space for recreational programming. Lastly, the Community Center would also provide direct views of the Long Beach skyline with a 2,300 square foot south-facing terrace.
The existing Youth Center would remain operable while the new Community Center is under construction. Upon demolition, the Youth Center site would accommodate additional parking to the east of the new building. A widened and improved Kelley Drive also provides additional parking as well as a vehicular drop-off for the Community Center, children’s playground, and sports courts. The City will also consider establishing the Community Center as a second Emergency Operations Center in Signal Hill. Along with serving the cultural and recreational needs for all residents, the Community Center would be designed and constructed as an emergency response facility and cooling shelter to better serve the surrounding community.
The Community Center programming and related square footages reflect a preliminary needs assessment based on input from staff, the community, and City Council. Changes in the characteristics of current operations, the introduction of new stakeholders, sudden shifts in demographics, or substantial changes in priorities or budget may necessitate the preparation of a formal needs assessment at the time of architectural design and as determined by the City.
Phase 3: Infrastructure and Accessibility Improvements
The third and final phase of the Civic Center Master Plan would focus on further improving pedestrian accessibility throughout the campus and incorporating aesthetic improvements such as decorative landscaping to enhance the natural beauty of Signal Hill Park including commissioned art, shade structures, a City Hall entry garden, Jesse Nelson widening as a plaza space for special events, exhibit coves, interpretive displays, accessible parking stalls adjacent to City Hall, and the potential addition of an elevator at City Hall. Phase 3 of the CCMP would likely occur toward the end of the 10-year development cycle and at a juncture where the City has exhausted various funding options. Therefore, staff designed the final phase of the CCMP with components that could be accelerated, deferred, or removed individually depending on the City’s financial position at that time. Overall, the final phase of the CCMP is distinguished from the other two phases in that its design and construction elements are not strictly tied together but can be undertaken and completed individually if necessary.
Generally, the proposed scope of work includes the addition of pull-in parking spaces closer to City Hall, improved ramps leading to the building, and the installation of an elevator. The area east of City Hall would become an entry garden, while Jessie Nelson Circle could become a pedestrian-oriented plaza that can be closed off to vehicles during major events. The City would also address pedestrian access to the Civic Center Campus by building a speed table on Hill Street to reduce vehicle speeds. To the south of the site, on 21st Street, the City would install a raised crosswalk and pedestrian signal. General Signal Hill Park updates, including new walking paths, additional landscaping, and community garden improvements.
Estimate of Design and Construction Cost and Funding Plan:
As shown below on Table 1 on the following page, JKA and its subconsultants worked with staff to prepare an estimate of probable costs related to each element of all three phases. Importantly, the Civic Center Master Plan phasing plan enables the City to modify elements from each phase to fit within the available funding at the time. Nonetheless, staff chose to keep all sub-elements for each phase of the CCMP because these reflect the total desired project scope based on community feedback associated with the outreach process. At the same time, staff understands there are realistic limitations to the City’s finances, including its bonding capacity; therefore, the estimated construction costs enable future policymakers to decide the best method to finance the constituent components of the two remaining project phases.
As discussed, all costs associated with Phase 1 are appropriated and ready to be spent on the final design and construction. As noted in the chart below, there is a substantial increase in cost for the second phase of the CCMP. For Phases 2 and 3, staff recommends starting the process by identifying and applying for Federal, State, and County grant opportunities related to emergency operations, community facilities, recreation, park improvements, and related project funding. Once the City has an accurate assessment of grant funding opportunities that could offset design and construction costs, the City could initiate efforts to raise additional funding through a potential General Obligation Bond and/or a Lease Revenue Bond as directed by the City Council. Please note that the CCMP discusses additional funding opportunities, including sources of private funding, enhanced infrastructure financing districts, and other options. However, some of these options may not provide sufficient funding or generate funding within a timeframe that contributes to the project cost. As a result, staff has summarized and discussed below the most viable funding strategies.
Table 1: Estimate of Probable Costs
Federal, State, and County Grants
The City has historically been successful in obtaining grants for a number of capital projects, especially parks and water infrastructure projects. Grants present an evolving set of opportunities that change depending on the availability of funds and the priorities of the granting agency. The City recently hired six on-call grant writing firms that specialize in various fields that would identify and apply for opportunities related to infrastructure, parks, emergency operations centers, recreation, and community centers. Additionally, there may be other grant opportunities that could provide additional funding to offset costs to the General Fund. As noted above, the City would initiate this funding strategy to begin the Phase 2 process and determine how much additional funding is required to complete the CCMP.
General Obligation Bond
A General Obligation Bond is a voter-approved form on borrowing in which property owners agree to a self-imposed tax for a defined period of time for a specified purpose. Residents could approve a bond measure secured by a special or general property tax increase to fund the new Community Center and park improvements. Assuming such a measure was restricted to a specified set of improvements and/or was part of a General Obligation Bond issue, it would need to secure two-thirds voter approval (or 55 percent of November ballot is approved). A General Obligation Bond would provide the largest and most stable source of revenue than any other tax revenue source from the City.
As of the writing of this report, staff has not conducted any polling to determine whether residents support a bond measure to provide funding for the Community Center or any other component of the CCMP. Proposing a bond measure would require the City hire a consultant to assist with this effort including voter education and outreach. Based on direction by the City Council, staff could propose placing a bond measure on the ballot for either 2026 or 2028.
Lease Revenue Bond
Cities often finance public buildings or facilities through credit instruments backed by long-term lease agreements. Under this structure, as a lessee the City executes a long-term lease agreement backed by its full faith and credit as a public agency which serves to underwrite a bond or similar financial instrument. At the end of the lease, the city typically has the option to purchase the facility; this was the approach the City took to finance the
Signal Hill Library.
Given the potentially substantial costs associated with the latter two phases of the CCMP, the City would also need to borrow funding through a lease revenue bond. The City’s estimated borrowing capacity is currently up to $28 million but could increase based on the expected lowering of interest rates as well as additional available City revenues that could be pledged to repay the debt issuance. The amount of money the City would need to borrow in this scenario would be contingent upon a combination of the available reserve funding, grant funding, and a voter-approved bond measure.
Next Steps:
To expedite the design and construction of the amphitheater, staff proactively collaborated with the City’s on-call Geotechnical Engineer and Environmental Consultant, focusing on key design parameters such as soil conditions and noise mitigation strategies. The City plans to issue a Request for Proposals for Architectural and Engineering Design services on August 30, 2024, following the tentative approval of the Master Plan at this City Council meeting. The design phase is set to begin in early October, with an anticipated duration of approximately 8 to 10 months.
At this time, staff recommends the City Council adopt the Civic Center Master Plan, substantially in the form presented and provide additional direction regarding the Phasing and Funding Plan discussed. As noted, staff will continue providing the City Council with periodic updates regarding pre-construction, design, construction, grant funding applications, and other related efforts.
Reviewed for Fiscal Impact:
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Sharon del Rosario
Attachment:
A. Civic Center Master Plan