Title
Presentation and discussion regarding the Bohls House Renovation Project.
Summary
This item has been included on the agenda to allow for a presentation and discussion regarding the Bohls House Renovation Project.
Status
The Bohls House Renovation Project has been bid and was discussed at the November 28, 2017 City Council worksession. The award of the construction contract has been placed on this evening's regular meeting agenda, but questions and concerns raised at the November 28 worksession require additional discussion.
The Bohls House Renovation Project involves the renovation of an existing house and the paving of an existing gravel parking lot in Heritage Park to provide office space for Parks & Recreation staff. Included in the scope of work are structural improvements, complete replacement of the electrical and plumbing systems, addition of an HVAC system, ADA improvements and abatement of both lead and asbestos.
The Bohls House is a two-story farmhouse of approximately 2,656 square feet in size that was constructed in the first quarter of the twentieth century. As such, it contains both lead and asbestos materials that must be abated prior to construction. This abatement is included in the general contractor's bid and is almost $50,000. An additional $15,000 is the cost of required monitoring that is not included in the general contractor's bid and will be handled by a third party vendor. The house will also require completely new building systems (water, electrical and HVAC). These systems represent approximately 30% of the total lump sum line item for the house renovations. The bid amount for the house renovations including the alternate is $496,440, which is a cost of approximately $187 per sq ft ($168 per sq ft without lead & asbestos abatement). These costs are not out of line with typical renovation costs. The parking lot work for approximately $135,000 is below the engineer's estimate and is a great value.
Staff has evaluated the operations & maintenance (O&M) requirements for this structure and has determined that since the renovations include complete replacement of windows, installation of insulation to meet energy code requirements and completely new building systems (water, electric and HVAC), the annual costs for O&M are not substantially greater than other options. There are long-term maintenance costs such as exterior painting and roof replacements that may not be required with a more typical type of commercial construction, but those will have to be made anyway if the City is to retain the structure for any use.
The completion of this project is important as it will facilitate the moving of Parks & Recreation staff out of the Recreation Center, which allows the expansion of the Senior Center portion of the Recreation Center. This is only possible by relocating the babysitting area of the Recreation Center to the space currently occupied by Parks & Recreation staff and will result in almost double the amount of space available for the Senior Center and its programs. Parks & Recreation staff has also outgrown the available space at the Recreation Center, which has resulted in staff members officed in inadequate areas in the Recreation Center and other places off-site. There will also be an additional staff person that was added with the approved FY18 budget that will begin work with the City at the beginning of 2018, which will further squeeze the already cramped work space. This project accomodates all of this staff, will allow a small growth of staff in the future and also makes good use of the house while preserving a small part of Pflugerville's farming heritage.
Deadline for Action
No action to be taken on the worksession item.
Fiscal Impact
None.
Staff Recommendation
Discuss only.
Drafter
James Hemenes
Parks and Recreation Director