Desk Item
PREPARED BY: MATT MORLEY
DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND PUBLIC WORKS
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 04/16/2019
ITEM NO: 4
DESK ITEM
DATE: APRIL 16, 2019
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CERTIFICATE OF
ACCEPTANCE AND NOTICE OF COMPLETION FOR THE WORK OF
ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS, INC. AND AUTHORIZE THE RECORDING BY THE
TOWN CLERK FOR PPW JOB NO. 17-831-3104 BACHMAN PARK
REHABILITATION LANDSCAPE UPGRADES
REMARKS:
The following question was received from a Councilmember after distribution of the staff
report; staff responses follow in italic font:
On the Bachman Park budget, there is $76,000 for staff costs. Does that mean $76,000 will not
be in the Operating Budget and how does this compare to the plan for the year? Did we save
Operating Budget or were these staff hours not planned to be paid out of Operating?
We track the staff costs of project delivery as an important element to ensure that all of our
expenses for each project are in line with what we expected and budgeted. In addition, we use
several techniques to deliver capital projects given the limited Capital Improvement Program
staff in the Town. In the case of Bachman Park, we mixed a number of these techniques.
First, we hired a temporary, part time project manager to work in house and manage this
project. He was hired just for this project and once the project was complete, we discontinued
his assignment with the Town. This technique helps us to increase staffing to address workload
peaks.
In addition, a portion of the construction of this project was handled by our in-house crews. This
allowed us to take advantage of circumstances when we had capacity to do the work in house
PAGE 2 OF 2
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CERTIFICATE OF
ACCEPTANCE AND NOTICE OF COMPLETION FOR THE WORK OF ECOLOGICAL
CONCERNS, INC. AND AUTHORIZE THE RECORDING BY THE TOWN CLERK FOR
PPW JOB NO. 17-831-3104 BACHMAN PARK REHABILITATION LANDSCAPE
UPGRADES
DATE: APRIL 16, 2019
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2019\04-16-19\Bachman Park Landscaping\Desk Item Final.docx
4/16/2019 1:42 PM SH
REMARKS (continued):
at a more affordable rate even though there was a tradeoff with completing other day to day
work in Town.
All of these staff costs hit the Department’s Operating Budget and are absorbed in the Budget
as originally approved by the Town Council.
The Parks and Public Works Department has explored with the Finance Department the
possibility of shifting capital project dollars to the Operating Budget to cover project delivery
costs for capital projects. This would allow the Parks and Public Works Department to deliver
operating obligations through, for example, additional part time hours on the operating
side. However, if the Department's budget is tracking within budgeted allocations, a transfer of
funds is not needed, and the Department can absorb these costs. Any unspent capital funds for
a completed project goes back to the GFAR for the Council to re-budget in the next budget cycle.
Attachment previously received with Staff Report:
1. Certificate of Acceptance and Notice of Completion (Ecological Concerns Inc).