05 Desk Item.Item # 5 - Civic Ctr Upgrades
Reviewed by: Interim Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Parks and Public Works Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 10/15/2024 ITEM NO: 5 DESK ITEM
DATE: October 14, 2024
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Katy Nomura, Interim Town Manager
SUBJECT: Approve the Following Actions Related to Civic Center Improvements:
a. Authorize the Town Manager to Award and Execute a Contract with Alex
Kushner General Inc., for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Restrooms and HR Offices Project (CIP No. 821-2117) in an Amount of
$450,000;
b. Authorize Staff to Execute Change Orders in an Amount Not to Exceed
Twenty Percent (20%) of the Contract Award Amount; and
c. Approve the Project Construction Plans with Addenda
REMARKS:
On Friday, October 11, 2024, comments were received from the New Museum of Los Gatos
(NUMU) in the form of a letter dated October 9, 2024. Those comments were shared in the
Addendum distributed on Friday, October 11, 2024. On Monday, October 14, 2024, the Town
received comments from a NUMU Board member dated October 13, 2024. Those comments
are included as Attachment 4 to this Desk Item. Staff offers the following response to the
comments received.
During the initial project development and design, Parks and Public Works (PPW) staff was in
communication with the former NUMU Executive Director to review the plans and discuss the
changes that would occur. In early 2023, the project experienced a delay when it was
determined that the replacement of the exterior accessibility ramp needed to be added to the
project scope to satisfy Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. No changes have been
made to the renovation of the office space since fall 2022, including the plan to transition a
conference room currently used by the Town’s Human Resources Staff to exclusive use by
NUMU. By summer 2024, the project was ready to bid for construction and Parks and Public
Works staff re-engaged with the new NUMU Executive Director to discuss the timeline.
The Director of Parks and Public Works has had three meetings with the current NUMU
Executive Director, two of which included the Facilities Operations Manager who has overseen
the design and will oversee the contractor. At each of these meetings, the issues presented in
the letter from NUMU dated October 11, 2024 were discussed and the following outlines PPW’s
understanding of their statuses.
PAGE 2 OF 4 SUBJECT: Authorize the Town Manager to Award and Execute a Construction Agreement for the Base Bid Associated with Improvements to Human Resources Offices and the Exterior Ramp of Civic Center (CIP 821-2117) DATE: October 10, 2024
1. Timeline. PPW has discussed with NUMU that the contractor will provide a schedule and
work plan following execution of the contract. This is standard practice in public
contracting. Based on our experience, staff does not expect the construction of the wall to
separate the NUMU space from the future Human Resources offices to take more than four
to six weeks; however, that could change if unforeseen conditions are encountered. At this
time, staff expects the contractor will start work in mid- to late-November 2024 and this
schedule was shared with NUMU at meetings on October 2, 2024 and October 8, 2024.
NUMU has indicated this timing is optimal for them since programming and events are very
limited during the holiday season. PPW has requested from NUMU a schedule for any
planned events and programming scheduled from December 2024 to February 2025. This
will help PPW staff work with the contractor to program the construction in ways that have
the least impact on NUMU and/or arrange for work to not be in process during their events
to the extent possible. To date, the schedule of events and workshops has not been
provided by NUMU.
In terms of logistics, staff has informed NUMU that the contractor will need to enter the
NUMU space in the first few days of work to allow for a connection to be made between
the two spaces. After that, PPW staff expects all work to be performed from the Town
offices side of the walls.
2. Security. NUMU has expressed concern about the ability for Town contractors and staff to
access their space and the potential risks this could present to their art and artifacts. In their
current configuration, the Town space and NUMU space are not isolated from each other.
PPW has assured NUMU staff that it is in the interest of all parties, including the Town, to
ensure the contractor does not have unnecessary or unescorted access to the NUMU space
and staff will work with the contractor to prevent this. To further mitigate this issue, staff
has offered to work with the contractor to make separation of the spaces a priority in early
phases of the work. This would mean altering the work plan to complete the new wall
between the two spaces in the initial phases of work. While this may have a cost to the
Town, this work schedule would allow NUMU staff to return to their office space as outlined
in the lease agreement more quickly than if the wall completion were to occur in later
phases. As PPW has communicated to NUMU, this work plan would need to be discussed
with the contractor after the contract is signed. Execution of the contract is the subject of
the requested Council Action.
3. Logistics. NUMU and PPW staff discussed the logistics of moving the NUMU office
furniture. PPW indicated that they could consider helping NUMU move and relocate those
pieces of office furniture that would be impacted by the construction, but that NUMU staff
would need to move non-furniture items such as personal effects. PPW staff has had further
internal discussion on this issue and recognizes that movers will likely be needed to move
the office furniture of the Human Resources staff. As such, having the moving company
move the impacted furniture for NUMU would be reasonable and we intend to offer that
PAGE 3 OF 4 SUBJECT: Authorize the Town Manager to Award and Execute a Construction Agreement for the Base Bid Associated with Improvements to Human Resources Offices and the Exterior Ramp of Civic Center (CIP 821-2117) DATE: October 10, 2024
support. However, not all furniture and office materials must be removed from the current
NUMU offices to accommodate the construction. The NUMU office houses an extensive
amount of furniture, much of which can be stacked against one wall, away from the
construction. Dismantling, moving and resetting all the furniture in a new room is
unnecessary, particularly given the anticipated short duration of the project. Requiring
movement of all furniture is an unnecessary cost for the Town to bear.
4. Dust Mitigation. PPW staff has assured NUMU that the work area will be protected by the
placement for temporary plastic sheeting. The sheeting will be affixed to the floor, ceilings,
and walls to prevent migration of dust into the spaces where work is not being performed.
This is standard practice for interior construction.
5. NUMU Office Door to Conference Room. The planned work scope includes installation of a
new door between the existing NUMU offices and the existing conference room used by the
Town Human Resources Department. The new door is included in the project plans that
were bid and staff has no reason to believe this work will not be completed.
6. Carpet and Interior. PPW staff intends to mitigate any impacts that may occur to the
NUMU office space if they are caused by the Town’s contractor. This intention was shared
with NUMU staff during coordination meetings.
7. Security Door. PPW staff and NUMU at our most recent meeting discussed construction of
a new door between NUMU and Civic Center to enhance the long-term security of both
spaces, while allowing Town Staff to access the restrooms. This will require a change order
to the contractor’s scope and, if approved, will present additional cost to the Town. It will
also require approval from the Building Official and Fire Marhsall. Staff is willing to consider
and possibly recommend that change as it may be in the best interest of both parties.
Staff does not believe the construction impact mitigation fee requested by NUMU is necessary
as many of the construction impacts can be addressed by the Town as outlined above. If Town
Council does decide to provide a fee to NUMU, the cost would need to be paid out of the
capital project. If any fee is provided, all requested costs would need to be substantiated with
invoices, receipts, and payroll records, if applicable, to justify the expenses.
Attachment Previously Received with the Staff Report:
1. Contract
Attachment Received with Previous Addendum:
2. Public Comment Received after Publication of the Staff Report and before 11:00 a.m. Friday,
October 11, 2024.
PAGE 4 OF 4 SUBJECT: Authorize the Town Manager to Award and Execute a Construction Agreement for the Base Bid Associated with Improvements to Human Resources Offices and the Exterior Ramp of Civic Center (CIP 821-2117) DATE: October 10, 2024
Attachments Received with this Desk Item:
3. Staff Presentation
4. Public Comment Received after 11:00 a.m. Friday, October 11, and before 11:01 a.m.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
Civic Center Improvements
CIP No. 821-2117
Town Council Meeting
October 15, 2024
Item 5
ATTACHMENT 3
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Consider the following:
a.Authorize the Town Manager to Award and Execute a Contract with Alex
Kushner General Inc., for Capital Improvement Project No. 821-2117 in an
Amount of $450,000;
b. Authorize Staff to Execute Change Orders in an Amount Not to Exceed
Twenty Percent (20%) of the Contract Award Amount; and
c.Approve the Project Construction Plans with Addenda
PROJECT PLAN / LAYOUT
APRIL 2020 LEASE AMENDMENT – Exhibit B
NEXT STEPS
•Execute Agreement with Contractor
•Receive Project Schedule from Contractor / Discuss Change in Phasing to Complete NUMU
Wall First
•Evaluate Potential New Door Between Spaces (Architect, Building Official, Fire Marshall,
Contractor)
•Hold Pre-Construction Meeting (Contractor, PPW, HR, NUMU)
•Hire Moving Company and Coordinate Moving of Necessary Furniture
•Establish Work Area (Staging Outside, Plastic Sheeting Inside)
•Complete Construction (Demolition, Framing Walls, Electrical, HVAC, Sheetrock, Paint)
•Clean Work Areas
•Coordinate Move-In with Moving Company
Anticipated Schedule for Base Work (New Door May Extend Past This Timeline): Mid-November 2024 through February 2025
Randi Chen
Los Gatos, CA 9505
Los Gatos Town Council October 13, 2024
110 E. Main St.
Los Gatos, CA 95030
Dear Council –
I am writing to you regarding Consent Item #5 – Civic Center Improvements, on behalf of the Board
of Directors for NUMU, New Museum Los Gatos.
While we understand the need for improvements to the Town’s HR office, we feel that the needs of
NUMU have not been taken into consideration. In addition to what is on the agenda before you, we
ask that you grant us $50,000 as outlined in Kimberly Snyder’s letter, to compensate for the
reconfiguration of our offices, lost income, and additional staff time to accommodate the move.
The terms of our lease are stated below, which outline that The Town will be responsible for all
costs associated with the new configuration on the lower level. The lower level includes NUMU’s
offices, which must be moved during construction, and then reconfigured with 139 square feet
less.
As a matter of process, in your tenant/ landlord relations going forward, I would like to point out
that there was a lack of communication in this process. There is a 2-sentence clause in our 2020
lease which mentions the reconfiguration. NUMU has not been kept apprised of the progress of
this project, though our directors have always questioned the status with the Town Manager in
their quarterly meetings. We were told it was in progress but with no dates or timeline. Finally this
past July, only after Kimberly asked, was she informed that the bid documents were in progress
and was going to be awarded in the fall, and ADA Ramp would need to be done first. After meeting
with Town Staff in August, the RFP was sent out a week later. However, never in the process of the
RFP, was NUMU asked how this would affect the museum and its operations, and how our needs
would be met. Only over the past two weeks was the museum given a timeline and some logistics,
and were able to begin the conversation of our needs. I don’t feel that this is a fair or considerate
treatment of your tenant, although it may not be against the law.
With that said, I hope you will keep any and all of your tenants better informed of ongoing changes
to their space, and I hope that you will approve a one-time construction mitigation fee of $50,000
so that NUMU can reconfigure our offices to best use the new space.
Thank you.
Randi Chen
NUMU Board Member
ATTACHMENT 4