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Home My WebLink AboutCSD-14-053 - Forest Heights Collegiate - Pool - Library - Sportsfield - Tennis Court Parking Lot Renovation Staff Report I rTC'.�► t .R Community Services Department wmkitcheneaa REPORT TO: Community & Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: June 9, 2014 SUBMITTED BY: Mark Hildebrand, Director Community Programs and Services, 519-741-2200; extension 7687 PREPARED BY: Mark Hildebrand, Director Community Programs and Services, 519-741-2200; extension 7687 WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward 7 DATE OF REPORT: April 22, 2014 REPORT NO.: CSD-14-053 SUBJECT: Forest Heights Col leg iate/Pool/Library/Sportsfield/Tennis Court Parking Lot renovation RECOMMENDATION: That an additional $67,400 be allocated to fund the City's portion of the Forest Heights Col leg iate/Pool/Library/Sportsfields/Tennis Court parking lot renovations scheduled to be undertaken by the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB). That the additional funding required for the City's portion of this project be re- prioritized from existing City capital budgets as outlined in report CSD-14-053. BACKGROUND: During the 2012 budget deliberations, issue paper, "C07 — Forest Heights School /Pool /Library Parking lot" (attached), was brought forward by staff requesting funding for the City's portion of renovation costs for the parking lot located at Forest Heights Collegiate and pool. At that time, the actual costs of the project still needed to be finalized however staff recommended, and council approved, $50,000 as an initial contribution, from the City and Library portions of the renovations. Upon the review of tenders, if additional dollars were required, staff was to return to council with additional information and an accompanying recommendation. REPORT: The City of Kitchener and the Forest Heights branch of the Library use a parking lot owned by the Waterloo Region District School Board (Forest Heights Collegiate). There is significant deterioration to the parking lot and as a result, the WRDSB is interested in making repairs and modifications. Originally scheduled to be completed in 2012, 7 - 1 challenges with the project, compounded by the small window of opportunity to complete it without significant impact to the school and other programming, caused delays. Although the WRDSB own the parking lot, City of Kitchener operates 4 facilities at this site, each of which requires its use throughout the year. These City facilities include the Forest Heights Pool, Forest Hill sports-fields (2), Forest Heights tennis courts and Fischer Ball Diamond. The Forest Heights branch of the library also operates from this location and uses the lot. Given the significant number of facilities on this site and the City's parking requirements for those facilities, the WRDSB asked that the City of Kitchener and the Library contribute to renovations of this lot. No formal cost sharing agreement for renovations of the parking lot is in place at this site. However, considering usage, in terms of time and number of parking spaces utilized, it was estimated that the City and Library together would look at contributing 28% to the costs of this project, which equates to 75 spaces. For comparison purposes, 75 spaces is similar in size to the parking lot located at the Doon Pioneer Park Community Centre/Library. The Community Centre/Library lot also services some mini-fields, but does not service the extent of amenities (e.g. tennis courts, soccer fields and baseball diamond) which are serviced at the Forest Heights site. The scope of the project is much more than a simple repaving of the parking lot. Given the number of amenities on site, the lot size is substantial (268 spaces in total) and is often very busy throughout the year. The full cost for the project includes a significant re-design and renovation to the lot, including lighting, curbing and sidewalks through the site, to allow for better flow of vehicles and to make it safer for pedestrian traffic. Considering lighting specifically, currently there is no dedicated lighting for the existing parking lot but rather evening users (who are most often using City facilities vs. the high school) depend on light cast from standards at the entrance to the pool/library, from the tennis courts or the ball diamond. The addition of lighting through the site will deal with specific concerns of safety for our patrons who use the site in the evening. The WRDSB conducted a competitive process and received four tenders for the completion of the parking lot. The tender that was awarded the project was the low bid and came in at $472,850 in total, taxes included. The City and Library portion, together, equate to $132,400. Staff is suggesting that this project be made a priority, and to re- prioritize the necessary additional funding of $67,400 from City accounts, and to also receive $15,000 from the Library, to ensure its completion. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: Community Priority: Quality of Life — "Our shared vision is for Kitchener to be a community that invests in maintaining basic services, in addition to amenities such as community centres, museums, theatres, art galleries, and leisure facilities ..." 7 - 2 Foundation: Efficient and Effective Government Goal: Asset Management "A solid corporate asset management program ensures the availability and sustainability of existing and future assets for the City of Kitchener" FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Staff from Community Programs and Services, Facilities Management and Finance met internally to see if funds could be reprioritized to assist with the parking lot project. Library staff was also consulted to see if there was any opportunity for their contribution to the additional costs of the project. In addition to the $50,000 approved for the project as part of the 2012 budget process, staff recommend $45,000 be reprioritized from the Community Programs and Services capital budget, which will delay some equipment purchases and small maintenance items at various facilities for 2014, and $22,400 be allocated from capital contingency. In addition, the Library has confirmed they will contribute $15,000 from their general provision capital account. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: To minimize program disruption on the site, the paving and construction will be completed in stages. Staff will work with the School Board on a plan to keep site patrons informed of the work being completed, where they can park on site, and how they can access amenities during this time. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, DCAO, Community Services 7 - 3 CITY OF KITCHENER 2012 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER ISSUE: C07— Forest Heights School/Pool/Library Parking lot FUND: CAPITAL DEPARTMENT: COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT—COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES PREPARER: MARK HILDEBRAND, DIRECTOR COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES BACKGROUND: The City of Kitchener and the Forest Heights branch of the Library share a parking lot with the Waterloo Region District School Board (Forest Heights Collegiate). There is significant deterioration of the parking lot and as a result, the Waterloo Region District School Board is interested in making significant repairs and modifications to the lot in 2012. RATIONALE/ANALYSIS: The Waterloo Region District School Board is interested in completing a significant re-design and renovation to the Forest Heights Collegiate parking lot to allow for better flow of vehicles and to make it safer for pedestrian use (school and recreation/library users). The Board is asking the City of Kitchener and the Library to share in the costs associated with this project. The City of Kitchener operates 4 facilities at this site, where patrons access this parking lot. This includes the Forest Heights Pool, Forest Hill sports-fields, Forest Heights tennis courts and Fischer Ball Diamond. The Forest Heights branch of the library also operates from this location and uses the lot. Given the joint use of the parking lot, it does make sense for the City of Kitchener and the Library to contribute to the project in some capacity. There is no formal cost sharing agreement in place at this site, so contribution levels for this project need to be agreed upon by the respective parties. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Although final costs have not been confirmed, nor a contribution split between the three parties been agreed upon, staff have included $50,000 in 2012 as an initial contribution amount for this project. It is possible, depending on the cost of the project, that the school board will ask for a larger contribution. More information will be brought forward as it is obtained. RECOMMENDATION: That the Forest Heights parking lot capital account be approved as presented in the 2012 capital forecast. 2014 05 28 7 - 4