Project Activity Blog

Project Update Notes - May 21, 2019

During the week of May 13, tree work completed and work on the pedestrian pathway began. The unimproved, decomposed granite pathway connects Ashfield Road to the temporary library at Maple Avenue along the southeast border of the parcel. SJ Amoroso also conducted pre-construction video and photo logging of the entire site and adjacent properties. Lastly, the contractor began preliminary tree protection efforts. These efforts will be finalized once control of the site passes from the Town to the Contractor on June 3. 

During the week of  May 20, the contractor will finish the decomposed granite pathway, survey the entire project site, and begin to locate final utility markers. 

Town staff, except the Police Department, will complete their relocation to the Park on May 31 and June 3. Town services will be closed on those two days to facilitate the relocation. 

On Tuesday, May 21 at 5:30 pm in the Town Council Chambers, staff and the contractor will host a neighborhood meeting for those living in the immediate area of the project. Staff and the contractor will address general questions regarding the project and work to be done over the next 27 months. 

Beginning June 3, the contractor will mobilize to the project site and begin to install perimeter screened fencing and bring in their construction management trailers (2). 

During the week of June 17, it is expected that the contractor will begin demolition of the Administration building (portion of the main building only - the Police building will remain active), Permit Center, and Police Garage. Temporary fencing will be installed to recreate the secured parking for the Police Department providing gated ingress/egress to Fair Oaks and Ashfield. 

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April 29, 2019

Project Update Notes

Ground Breaking was held on April 23 at 3 pm. The event was well attended. Speakers included Mayor Widmer, Vice Mayor DeGolia, Council Member Lewis, Atherton Now Chair Sandy Levison, Civic Center Advisory Committee Chair Steve Dostart, Friends of the Library Representative Joan Sanders, and CEO of S.J. Amoroso, Dana McManus.GroundBreaking TreeWorkThis week, the Town will begin preliminary tree removal work. Those trees that have been slated for removal will be removed in advance of the Contractor beginning their initial site work. West Coast Arborist is on site beginning that work. 

While full construction will begin in early June, a Conditional Notice to Proceed has been issued to the contractor to initiate some preliminary work. This work will include Tree Protection, finalizing site survey points, locating utilities (utility markings), installing stormwater protection measures, and installing a pedestrian pathway to Maple (tentative). 

In late May, the Town will host a neighborhood meeting for the most impacted residents on Maple, Ashfield and Fair Oaks to go through construction scheduling, timing, access, noise, deliveries, and other details that will affect the day-to-day activity on site. Following that meeting, on June 3, the final Notice to Proceed will be issued and construction fencing will go up!

April 19, 2019

Project Update Notes

  • Ground Breaking is scheduled for Tuesday, April 23 at 3 pm. Ashfield will be closed at City Hall for the event. 
  • Following the Ground Breaking, tree crews will enter the site and begin removal of site trees.
  • The last City Council meeting in the Historic Council Chambers will be on May 15. Future meetings of all Committees, the Planning Commission and the City Council will occur at the Park either in the Pavilion, the Carriage House, or the Main House. 
  • We will be closing off the entirety of the project site in order to allow the contractor full and secure site control. That means that Ashfield Road will be closed off and there will not be pedestrian or vehicle access through to Dinkelspiel or Station Lane. We are trying to work with Caltrans to clean up the route along El Camino Real from Ashfield to Maple and we are working with the contractor to see if there are other on-site alternatives. If identified, these will be presented to the Council for consideration as both will come at a cost. 
  • Revised Move Schedule
    • City Hall Office Clean Out Days - May 2 - 3 (the Post Office will be Closed)
    • Temporary Permit Trailer will be delivered and setup at the Park - May 15 - 20
    • Temporary Admin Trailer will be delivered and setup at the Park - May 22 - 24
    • Final Preparations to Complete for Move-in - May 25 - 30
    • Staff to Move to Park - May 31 - June 3 (City Hall and Building/Planning Offices Closed Friday, May 31 and Monday, June 3)
  • A Limited "Notice to Proceed" will be issued to S.J. Amoroso to begin preliminary work (tree protection, site staging, cameras, layout, etc.)
  • A full "Notice to Proceed" will be issued on June 3. Following that date, the contractor will have full access to the site and construction will begin.

Save-The-DateMarch 29, 2019

Save the Date!

A Groundbreaking for the Civic Center Project has been set for Tuesday, April 23 at 3 pm. S.J. Amoroso Construction, Inc. will begin work in mid-May; but Town Administrative, Building, and Planning Offices will be temporarily relocated to the Park prior to their takeover over the project site. The Police Department will remain onsite during construction, but their facilities will altered to allow their continued operation (temporary trailers, storage, parking, and re-aligned ingress and egress to Fair Oaks. Administration, Building, and Planning will be relocated to temporary trailers in the west side of the North Meadow parking lot. 

The Civic Center Project represents the largest capital project undertaken by the Town. Its success is due to the many years of hard work and effort of numerous resident volunteers lending vision to the Project and leading the effort for fundraising, ultimately forming Atherton Now. Atherton Now led the campaign to leverage the many generous donations from the community into a community-led design for a new Town Center, a new Library, and a new Police Station. Donations from the community provided the foundation funding for the initial architectural services and design and provide the kick-off funding for the first phase of construction.

Atherton's new Town Center is moving forward! 

 

March 8, 2019

Award of Bid - Civic Center Project

On March 6, 2019, the City Council awarded the bid for the Civic Center Project to S.J. Amoroso Construction, Inc. for $44,177,000. The Council also selected the Add Alternate for the Project to construct the Council Chambers/Emergency Operations Center at $2,900,000. 

The Project consists of two separate facilities - the new Library and Renovated Historic Town Hall and the new Administrative, Community Development and Police Building with a new Council Chambers/Emergency Operations Center. The total project cost was awarded at $47,077,000. The Engineer's Estimate for the project, as awarded was $50,155,000. It is anticipated that construction of the project will occur over three to four fiscal years, including the current fiscal year. Ground breaking for the project will occur toward the end of April 2019 with work beginning in May 2019. Assuming the project moves along as anticipated, the Project will open at the end of FY 2020/21 or beginning of FY 2021/22.  

Library

The Library portion of the Project is funded entirely from Library Funds. The estimated cost of the Library portion of the Project is approximately $15,148,000 million. The Town will have approximately $14.6 million in Library funds on hand at the end of FY 2018/19 and anticipates an additional $1.5 million at the conclusion of FY 2019/20 and another $1.5 million at the conclusion of FY 2020/21. There are sufficient funds anticipated during the project years to fully fund the Library portion of the Project. 



Fair OaksThe Admin/CDD/PD portion of the Project is funded primarily from the Town's General Fund. Approximately 83% of the Project, total design, project management and construction, will ultimately be funded by the Town's Capital Project savings over the past few years and anticipated revenues during the course of the project. The remaining 17% of the overall project cost has been funded through generous commitments and donations from the community via Atherton Now. Atherton Now has raised approximately $6.5 million in total donations, pledges, and commitments toward the Project.  

The estimated construction-only cost of the Admin/CDD/PD portion of the project is approximately $31,929,000. The Town has approximately $20.5 million remaining, saved from the Town's General and Capital Project Funds. Atherton Now has contributed $1.7 million toward design of the Project and has approximately $4.6 million in remaining commitments and pledges toward the Project. As with the Library portion of the project, the Town anticipates an additional $2.2 million per year in revenue opportunities during the course of the project (approximately $8.8 million). All in, there are sufficient funds anticipated to fully fund the Admin/CDD/PD portion of the project; nevertheless, the Town continues to accept any additional donations and pledges toward this community project. The Civic Center Project is the Town's highest priority project over the next few years and it represents the single-largest project undertaken by the Town since its incorporation. It is anticipated to endure through multiple generations of the community as the civic heart of the Town. 

However, because of the way the Town receives its revenues - major revenues are only received twice per year (December and April) - the City Council will consider the use of a Certificate of Participation (COP) funding tool to assist with cash flow during the course of the Project. A COP will allow the Town to use a consistent stream of funds for the project and use its periodic revenue stream to pay the necessary debt service on the COP. 

Civic Court

Next Steps

Temp Facilities in ParkNow that the contract for construction has been awarded, work begins on relocating Administration, Building & Planning, Finance, and the Post Office to temporary facilities during construction. Like the Library, these functions will be housed in temporary trailers offsite in the Park. Police Operations will remain at their current location during the course of the project as will Public Works Operations. Temporary facilities will be relocated to the North Meadow Parking lot. In anticipation of the relocation, there will be temporary shut down of operations on a couple of days prior to the move. Full services will resume at the Park. 

Project Site Closure


At this time, we anticipate that the project site will be closed off in its entirety at Maple, Ashfield and Fair Oaks once construction begins. The Project Site will be fenced off just beyond the Library Temporary Facility at Maple. Dinkelspiel/Station Lane will be closed to through traffic at that location as well as at Ashfield and Fair Oaks. The site will be fenced at Ashfield at the Library; but public parking and access will remain in front of the Police Department since Police Operations will remain. The Atherton Train Station will also remain operational and the parking along the rail tracks will remain open for public use, accessed via Fair Oaks only.

SJ Amoroso anticipates construction to begin in May 2019. The Administration, Post Office, and Building and Planning Offices will be demolished once relocated to the Park. In advance of construction work, the Town's Tree Services will enter the site and remove non-protected trees prior to construction start. The contractor will protect all remaining onsite trees during construction. Initial work by the contractor will be demolition work of the old facilities (historic Town Hall will remain and be renovated for Library use). Once demolition and site clearing is complete, the contractor will move to utilities and foundations. The contractor may work on both buildings simultaneously or may construct in phases. Construction will occur Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. Consistent with other major projects in Town, permission may be granted occasionally for monolith concrete pours or other necessary activity on the occasional Saturday. Consideration of after-hours utility work will also be given to utility shut-offs that affect the surrounding neighborhood to limit inconvenience.

February 27, 2019

Bid Results of the Civic Center Project

Fair OaksOn February 27, 2019 the Town received four (4) competitive bids for the Civic Center Projects. Bids were received from SJ Amoroso Construction, BHM, Sausal, and Stronghold Engineering. The Engineer's Estimate for the project was $48,500,000. 

This amount is broken down to the various components of the project with Admin/CDD/PD at approximately $28.5 million and the Library at approximately $20 million. The cost of the site work is divided amongst the two buildings and included in the estimates for both. A bid alternate was included for construction of the new City Council Chambers/Emergency Operations Center. The Engineer's Estimate for the bid alternate was $1,655,000. The total estimated cost for Admin/CDD/PD, Library, all site work and new Council Chambers was $50,155,000. 

The bids received were:

  • S.J. Amoroso (lowest responsive bidder) - $44,177,000
  • Stronghold Engineering - $44,400,000
  • BHM Construction - $44,963,800
  • Sausal Corporation - $55,440,000 

On March 6, 2019, at the Study Session (4 pm) the City Council will consider award of bid to S.J. Amoroso as the lowest responsive bidder for the project and will consider inclusion of the bid alternate for the Council Chambers in that award of bid. 

S.J. Amoroso's bid is broken down as follows:

  • Admin/CDD/PD Building - $24,277,000
  • Library Building - $12,700,000
  • Site Work - $7,200,000
  • Bid Alternate - Council Chambers - $2,900,000

Total bid cost, inclusive of the bid alternate is $47,077,000 (Engineer's Estimate - $50,155,000).

Project Funding

Funding for the project has been identified from saved funds, grants/donations, and available revenues over the anticipated project construction period. Once awarded, it is anticipated that the project construction period will cover portions of four fiscal years (27-28 months). Over that time period, the Town has existing funds and anticipated revenues that provide sufficient funding for the Project. However, the timing of those future revenues may not exactly correspond to the cash flow needs for the Town and project. Depending on the timing of those future revenues, the City Council may consider use of short-term funding via a Certificate of Participation. Additional grant or donation funds received over the project timeline will reduce the funding need for the project.  

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In an effort to keep everyone updated on the progress of the Town’s Civic Center project, the following are some recent key accomplishments:

December 19, 2018

January 3, 2019

  • Staff posted the Civic Center bid documents to begin the public bidding process on the Town’s website: http://www.ci.atherton.ca.us/bids.aspx?bidID=64 and numerous other contractor sites. Bids are due on Wednesday, February 13, 2019. Staff and the design team will be responding to requests for information (RFI’s) until one week prior to bids being due.

January 16, 2019

January 23, 2019

January 28, 2019

  • Central Valley Environmental (CVE) the contractor that demolished and removed the Library, began demolition and removal of the old Permit Center trailer, Public Works metal office building and removal of the emergency generator. This work was completed on January 31, 2019.

January 30, 2019

  • At the At the request of 3 potential bidders, staff extended the bid response deadline from February 13th to 2 PM on February 27.

Contact for this project is:

Marty Hanneman, P.E.

Project Manager

Town of Atherton

91 Ashfield Road

Atherton, CA 94027

Cell: (916) 804-0336

Email: mhanneman@ci.atherton.ca.us

December 3, 2018

To keep everyone updated on the demolition and abatement of the Library building project, below is the schedule of work and status from the Contractor - Central Valley Environmental (CVE)

•             Mobilize 1 day:  Tue 11/13/18 - Completed

•             Fence Installation & screening 1 day: Tue 11/13/18 - Completed

•             Tree Protection 1 day: Tue 11/13/18 - Completed

•             Library Abatement 4 days: Tue 11/13/18 to Fri 11/16/18 - Completed

•             Structure Separation 1 day: Fri 11/16/18  - Completed

•             Structure Demolition 3 days: Mon 11/19/18 to Wed 11/21/18 - Completed

•             Foundation Demolition 5 days:  Mon 11/26/18 to Fri 11/30/18 - Completed

•             Site Grading 2 days:  Mon 12/3/18 & Tue 12/4/18 - Completed

•             Capping Utilities 2 days: Wed 12/5/18 & Thu 12/6/18 - Completed

•             Site Clean Up 2 days: Fri 12/7/18 & Mon 12/10/18  - Completed November 29th & 30th.

As noted, all work by the Contractor was completed ahead of schedule and within the City Council approved budget.  The straw wattles will remain for erosion protection.  The Town crews will also place some mulch around the bare ground areas for erosion protection.  

November 13, 2018

The anticipated schedule for the abatement and demolition of the library. 

  • Mobilize 1 day: Tue 11/13/18
  • Fence Installation & screening 1 day: Tue 11/13/18
  • Tree Protection 1 day: Tue 11/13/18
  • Library Abatement 4 days: Tue 11/13/18 to Fri 11/16/18
  • Structure Separation 1 day: Fri 11/16/18
  • Structure Demolition 3 days: Mon 11/19/18 to Wed 11/21/18
  • Foundation Demolition 5 days: Mon 11/26/18 to Fri 11/30/18
  • Site Grading 2 days: Mon 12/3/18 & Tue 12/4/18
  • Capping Utilities 2 days: Wed 12/5/18 & Thu 12/6/18
  • Site Clean Up 2 days: Fri 12/7/18 & Mon 12/10/18

There will be no work on Thursday & Friday (Thanksgiving & day after) November 22 & 23. Hours of work will be 8 AM to 5 PM – with no weekend work allowed.

Contacts for this project are:

Town of Atherton Staff Members

Marty Hanneman, Project Manager or David Huynh, Construction Manager

Date: November 5, 2018

Last week some pre-demolition work related to utilities continued on the site.

The on-line auction to sell any equipment, artifacts, desks, etc. no longer needed by the Library and Public Works will end on Wednesday, November 7th with items to be picked up on Thursday and Friday, November 8 & 9th. https://online.auctionnation.com/auction/13778.

On October 30th, Staff held a pre-construction meeting with Central Valley Environmental (CVE), the Contractor that was awarded the demolition contract by City Council to discuss working hours, parking, noise, dust control, schedule, and other project related issues. CVE will begin the abatement work on Tuesday, November 13th with demolition to follow a few days later. Per the contract, CVE will have thirty working days to complete all the work. All project related documents can be found at: http://www.ci.atherton.ca.us/bids.aspx?bidID=61

Date: October 29, 2018

Last week some pre-demolition work related to utilities and clearing continued on the site. The old library was used for a "haunted house" on Friday, October 26 from 3 pm to 6 pm. SMCL opened the temporary library last week at the corner of Dinkelspiel and Maple Ave.

There currently is an on-line suction only going on to sell any equipment, artifacts, desks, etc. no longer needed by the Library and Public Works. https://online.auctionnation.com/auction/13778.

On October 30th, Staff is having the pre-construction meeting with Central Valley Environmental (CVE), the Contractor that was awarded the demolition contract by City Council to discuss working hours, parking, noise, dust control, schedule, and other project related issues. Per the contract, CVE will have thirty working days to complete all the work. All project related documents can be found at: http://www.ci.atherton.ca.us/bids.aspx?bidID=61

Once the demolition of the site begins, there will be construction fencing, trucks, dust and noise. Demolition will take place between the hours of Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.

Date: October 22, 2018

Last week the City Council awarded the contract for demolition of the Library to Central Valley Environmental. This week continues some pre-demolition work related to utilities and clearing of the site. The old library is going to be used for a "haunted house" on Friday, October 26 from 3 pm to 6 pm so demolition work will not begin until the following week. The temporary library opens this week.

Once the demolition of the site begins, there will be construction fencing, trucks, and noise. Demolition will take place between the hours of Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. 


Date: October 15, 2018

Today, work begins to move the Library into their temporary building. Movers will be onsite to assist the Library with the move this week. County IT folks will also be present to assist with the technology move. Wong Electric, AT&T, and PG&E will also be onsite today putting in temporary utilities, capping old utilities, and splicing new communications. Lastly, West Coast Arborists (WCA) and our staff will be onsite doing tree removal, tree protection, and some minor associated work pre-demolition. 

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