Attachment 5 (2)N
ios aag COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DATE: FEBRUARY 29, 2012
MEETING DATE: 03 -05 -12
ITEM NO: 11
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: GREG LARSON, TOWN MANAGER . c/
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND PROCESS FOR CONSIDERING
OPTIONS FOR THE RE -USE OF THE FORMER LIBRARY FACILITY
RECOMMENDATION
Approve Guiding Principles (Attachment 1) and a process for considering options for the re -use of the
former library facility.
BACKGROUND
On February 11, the new Los Gatos library opened to the public. With the opening of the new library,
the former library in Town Hall is no longer needed for library services. This presents an opportunity
for the Town to consider options for re -use of the facility.
The Mayor appointed an Ad Hoc Council Committee to provide guidance to staff in the development of
draft guiding principles for the facility re -use. The Ad Hoc Committee was initially comprised of the
Mayor and Vice Mayor. Due to scheduling conflicts, the composition of the Committee was changed to
include Vice Mayor Barbara Spector and Council member Diane McNutt.
DISCUSSION
Guiding Principles
The Committee is recommending the guiding principles included as Attachment 1. As stated in the
opening paragraph of the document, the principles provide a framework for considering the options for
deciding on the best use of this community asset.
PREPARED BY : PAMELA JACOBS
ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER
Reviewed by: Assistant Town Manager Town Attorney Finance
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NAMMManaaemenfStaff\PJacobs \Special ProjectsUbrary Re- Use \Staff report 3- 5- 12.doc
ATTACHMENT 5
PAGE
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND PROCESS FOR CONSIDERING
OPTIONS FOR THE RE -USE OF THE FORMER LIBRARY FACILITY
FEBRUARY 29, 2012
Facility Information
Built in 1965, the former library space includes approximately 5,100 usable sq. ft on the top floor and
6,800 usable sq.ft. on the lower floor, for a total of 11,900 usable sq, ft. "Usable" square footage is the
amount of total space minus the space allocated to stairwells, mechanical rooms and the elevator. Floor
plans for the facility are included as Attachment 2. More in- depth condition analysis will need to be
performed as use options are considered; however, preliminary assessments indicate the following
conditions and issues.
General Conditions
At present, the top floor of the former library consists of a large assembly area with an adjacent smaller
set -back assembly area, a medium -sized assembly area, a small enclosed room and an individual use
restroom. The interior walls could potentially be removed between the set -back area and the small
enclosed room to make a slightly larger space. Tlie large assembly area is light and open, owing to the
large windows and two sets of glass doors. This space could accommodate about 275 people in a theater
style setup. The set -back area does not have natural light, and the medium-sized assembly area has
natural light owing to two sets of large glass doors and adjacent windows.
The lower floor consists of a large open area, a smaller semi - enclosed area, six office areas of varying
sizes, two individual use restrooms and a "break room." Interior walls associated with four of the
offices could potentially be removed. The walls dividing the large open area from the smaller one
cannot be removed; however, the wall between the smaller area and the break room could be removed.
This floor has low ceilings owing to the overhead duct -work. Natural light is available only through
windows associated with three of the office areas. The lower floor is connected to the rest of the Civic
Center complex via a door into the Council Chambers lobby.
Since the Civic Center was built in 1965, it was constructed in accordance with 1961 Uniform Building
Code (UBC) design criteria. Both the UPC and the California Building Code have been updated since
this time, and both require higher life safety design levels. If the building occupancy does not change
significantly, however, it is likely that no mandatory code upgrades would be required. Since the
previous use was considered an "assembly" use, this means that similar assembly uses would not likely
trigger upgrades. Civic achninistration uses would be permitted, as this use has lower -level safety
requirements than assembly uses.
ADA Access
ADA access does not appear to be a limitation for the re -use of the facility. The Civic Center provides
access to the top floor through ADA- accessible doors, and the elevator provides access to the lower
floor. The elevator in the former library was upgraded to comply with ADA standards, although the size
limits occupancy to one wheelchair at a time.
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MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND PROCESS FOR CONSIDERING
OPTIONS FOR THE RE -USE OF THE FORMER LIBRARY FACILITY
FEBRUARY 29, 2012
Restrooms and Plumbing
As noted above, the top floor has one individual use restroom (not ADA accessible) and the lower floor
has two (these are ADA accessible). It is recommended that these facilities be upgraded and expanded
prior to re -use of this facility. Expansion of the restrooms is possible on both floors; however,
additional restrooms elsewhere on the floors would only be possible with a large investment to re -plumb
the area. The recommended expansion of the restrooms would utilize some of the square footage
currently included in the assembly areas to which they are adjacent.
The room previously used as a break room for library staff has a sink. This area could continue to have
a sink; however, it would be cost - prohibitive to put a sink elsewhere on either of the floors runless it was
adjacent to restroom walls.
Utility Systems
Due to the pending move to the new Library, the air handler system for the former library was not
replaced at the time this was done for the remainder of the Civic Center. The system is inefficient and
unreliable, and it is recommended that it be replaced while this facility is vacant. Replacement of this
equipment will require expansion of the utility room housing the equipment, which will utilize some of
the downstairs open area space.
The electrical system is generally sufficient in terms of location of connections and capacity.
Parking Requirements
The greatest limiting factor regarding the re -use of the former library space is the requirement for
parking. With the building of the new Library, the relocation of police patrol to the Police Operations
Building, and the lease of the Adult Recreation Center to Los Gatos- Saratoga Recreation, the Civic
Center site is currently at capacity for parking. Options for re -use of the former library will need to take
into account the impact on parking. Uses that will significantly increase the weekday demand for
parking may be difficult to accommodate.
Previously - Identified Municipal Operations/Services Needs
The availability of the former library space presents an opportunity to consider the space needed to
provide municipal services in the short terns and into the future. The Civic Center Master Plan,
approved in 2007, identified space needs for municipal services, in general, and prioritized the need for
space for police and library services. With the opening of the Police Operations Building (POB) and the
new Library, these needs have been addressed for the most part.
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MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND PROCESS FOR CONSIDERING
OPTIONS FOR THE RE -USE OF THE FORMER LIBRARY FACILITY
FEBRUARY 29, 2012
Over the years, the Town's space needs have fluctuated with changes in staffing and services. Prior to
building the POB and new Library, Town staff occupied two of the rental homes and used one for
storage due to limits on space available for Town operations. Prior to leasing the ARC to Los Gatos -
Saratoga Recreation, staff occupied several offices and utilized two conference rooms and the large hall
on a regular basis, and storage areas.
Currently, Town staff occupies two offices (Human Resources), one conference room and storage space
in the ARC, totaling 800 sq. ft. The lease with Los Gatos Recreation calls for the Town to relinquish
use of these rooms by December 31, 2013; however, Los Gatos Recreation is interested in renting these
rooms at the earliest opportunity.
Municipal space needs include the following:
Office space for three staff currently located at the ARC. Since these are Human Resources
staff, private offices and/or areas are needed to relocate them. While these are the specific staff
who will be relocated, staff would evaluate space to identify the optional locations from an
operational perspective, and thus, may relocate other operations to the former library space if
space were available.
Meeting room(s). On -site meeting areas available subsequent to the move out of the ARC will
include the new Library conference room, the Council lobby and the Council chambers. The
new Library conference room is a great space for some meetings, but competing bookings and its
size will limit its use for all meetings. The Council chambers and lobby have been used for years
for meetings due to the lacy of designated meeting space; however, neither space is ideal for
meetings owing to the configuration of the rooms.
Council spaces, including constituent meeting areas, ADA accessible Council chambers,
Council meeting overflow area, and closed session area. While designated space for Council
members to meet with constituents is not available, Council members are able to use the new
Library conference room and other locations throughout the library (although these other
locations areas are not schedulable and some have limited privacy). The ADA access in the
current Council chambers is limited to space at the back of the room with a microphone for
public comment. This limits the use of the room for some meetings that include individuals who
use wheelchairs. In addition, the Council chambers has limited adjacent space for overflow
crowds, although the need for this is infrequent. While the Town Managers office is available
for closed sessions, it is sometimes too small to accommodate the number of participants.
Closed session space close to Council chambers is also desirable.
Community Room. The original planning for the new Library included a community room for
use by both the Town and by the public. For the Town, this space is needed to accommodate
meetings or events for large numbers of people in theater and /or table configuration. Space
currently available for these meetings include the ARC big hall and the POB community room.
The ARC big hall is programmed a vast majority of the time, and the POD community room is
not large enough to accommodate a number of these types of meetings.
Storage. Storage space for on -site retention files and for supplies and materials is limited in
Town Hall. In addition, the Town maintains retention files off site, which is inconvenient and
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MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND PROCESS FOR CONSIDERING
OPTIONS FOR THE RE -USE OF THE FORMER LIBRARY FACILITY
FEBRUARY 29, 2012
costly if files need to be retrieved. It is not required to house these retention files off-site, Space
is needed for storage on an ongoing basis. It should be noted that another need that could not be
incorporated in the new Library was storage space for the Friends of the Library, the non- profit
that provides program funding for the library. The Friends organization needs significant space
to store books beyond the space available in the new library.
Development Services Center. This is a "one -stop shop" combining engineering with building
and planning for more convenient access for Town customers. Currently, homeowners and
developers typically need to go to both the Community Development Department and the
Engineering division on Miles Ave. to obtain permits for projects. If the Town desired to
establish a Development Services Center, additional space and/or a significant space
reconfiguration would be needed.
Future service needs. The Town has reduced staffing over the years due to budget challenges.
The rental housing and doubling up in existing spaces acconunodated the additional staff
associated with Town Hall services. While significant growth in Town operations is not
expected, the Town may want to plan for potential limited growth. At present, space is not
available to accommodate any growth in planning and building staffing.
Funding Availability
The Civic Center Re -Use Project in the FY 2012/13 — 2015/16 Capital Improvement Program identifies
fimding of approximately $1.9 million (in GFAR funds), including approximately $80,000 from CDBG
for ADA purposes. At this time, it is uncertain if these funds will be available for this project, with the
exception of the ADA funds which are already available and $100,000 of the GFAR funds. The
Facilities budget includes "seed funds" of $30,000 for the replacement of the air handling system. This
system is likely to cost between $100,000 and $130,000. Costs associated with reconfiguring/
remodeling the space for various uses are not known at this time.
Process for Considering 0 Lions
Several organizations have expressed an interest in re -use of the former library staff. Others may be
interested, as well. The Ad Hoc Council Committee is recommending that Council approve a process
that provides an opportunity for interested parties to make proposals for use of the space. This process
would include the submission of a proposal using a consistent form. A draft template of a proposal form
is attached (Attachment 3). Organizations would be permitted to submit additional materials, if they
wish.
As noted on the form, the proposals should include information about untended uses, tenant
improvements needed, and funding sources for capital /tenant improvements and
operations /maintenance.
A meeting will be scheduled with the Council to consider the community's proposals. Proposing
organizations will be invited to participate, It is expected that this meeting will occur in April, to
provide organizations sufficient time to prepare their proposals.
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MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND PROCESS FOR CONSIDERING
OPTIONS FOR THE RE -USE OF THE FORMER LIBRARY FACILITY
FEBRUARY 29, 2012
CONCLUSION:
The vacant former library space provides an opportunity for the community and the Town to consider
options for its re -use. The Ad Hoc Council Committee recommends the adoption of guiding principles
to provide a framework for deciding on the best use of this facility, and a process to solicit and consider
proposals from the community.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
Establishing guiding principles and a process for considering options for re -use of the facility is not a
project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
FISCAL IMPACT
The costs associated with remodeling the former library space for re -use by the Town and/or by others
are not known at this time. The cost associated with replacing the air handling system is estimated at
$100,000 to $130,000. An assured funding source for these needs has not been identified.
Attachments:
1, Library Re -Use Guiding Principles
2, Floor Plans for Former Library
3. Re -Use Proposal Form
Distribution:
John Agg, Executive Director, Museums of Los Gatos
Carol Hamilton, President, Friends of Los Gatos Library
Valerie Wainwright, Friends of Los Gatos Library
Brian Houg, Artistic/Managing Director of Los Gatos Youth Theater