Title
Recommendation to Authorize the Interim City Manager, or Designee, to Negotiate and Execute an Agreement with Artworks Foundry, LLC in the Amount of $156,335 for the Fabrication and Installation of Artwork at Fire Station 3 and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC Public Art Project PLN16-0425); and
Adoption of Resolution Amending the Fiscal Year 2022-23 General Fund Fire Department Operating Budget to Increase Expenditures in the Amount of $156,335. (Fire 10032210)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Art Commission approved the Fire Station 3/EOC Public Art Project (Art Project) in August 2016. The commission considered and approved this Art Project in accordance with Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 30-98 (Public Art in New Commercial, Industrial, Residential, and Municipal Construction). This Art Project is a requirement for new construction associated with Fire Station 3 and the EOC. While the plans and specifications for the Art Project were included in the design of Fire Station 3/EOC, necessary funding for the Art Project was not included in the in the original project budget, nor did the City Council make a finding of exemption from the public art requirement. Construction on the Station 3/EOC was completed in February of 2018, and temporary occupancy was granted pending the completion of the Art Project. Upon approval of the Art Project by the Art Commission, the Fire Department, in coordination with Alameda Collaborative, created the Alameda Fallen Firefighters Memorial Fund to help offset costs associated with completing the Art Project. Approximately $51,000 in donations were collected and utilized to help pay for the artist’s services. To assist the Fire Department with completing the Art Project, available funds in the amount of $156,335, were identified in the Fire Department’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22 Budget to provide for the casting and installation of the Art Commission approved sculptures that Artworks Foundry, LLC, is creating. The Art Project consists of a Firefighter memorial to acknowledge Alameda Fire Department members that have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the community over the past 146 years.
BACKGROUND
In June 2015, the City of Alameda (City) began construction on a new Fire Station 3/EOC, located on the corner of Buena Vista Avenue and Hibbard Street. This firehouse provides first due Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Medical Service to Central Alameda. The new Fire Station 3/EOC replaced the historic old firehouse on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Grand Street that was found to be seismically unsafe. Essential to emergency services and rich with history, Fire Station 3 was completed in December of 2017.
Ordinance No. 2892 was adopted in 2003, amending the Alameda Municipal Code to require that major development projects include on-site public art. AMC Section 30-98 requires that any commercial, industrial, and municipal development projects having building development costs of two hundred fifty-thousand ($250,000) dollars or greater shall include public art in the project scope. Development projects subject to the provisions of this article shall expend not less than one (1%) percent of building development costs acquiring and installing on-site artwork. On-site artwork installations may include Sculpture; such as in the round, bas-relief, mobile, fountain, kinetic, electronic, or other, in any material or combination of materials.
Total project costs for the Fire Station 3/EOC construction project totaled $8,824,770. Unless the City Council made a finding exempting the Fire Station 3/EOC project from the public art requirement in accordance with AMC Section 30-98.3 b.4, the project should have identified and dedicated $88,248 towards public art in accordance with the AMC.
The Fire Station 3/EOC plans and specifications did include the Art Project in the scope, but the funding for the design and construction was not included. Additionally, the construction project exceeded the projected budget due to the identification of contaminated soil early in the project that utilized contingency funds and eliminated the opportunity for construction funds to be committed to the Art Project and occupancy was granted pending completion of the Art Project. The lack of funding did not absolve the City of its responsibilities under the AMC, and as no finding of exemption was requested of or made by the City Council, the Art Project was presented and approved by the Public Art Commission on August 31, 2016. The Art Project includes a memorial at the front of the new Fire Station 3/EOC (facing Hibbard Street), consisting of an Alameda firefighter’s memorial plinth, benches surrounding a firefighter sculpture, and other associated ground improvements to create a small plaza. Preliminary concrete foundation and electrical work were completed to support the installation of the approved firefighter memorial during building construction.
The Fire Department, in collaboration with Alameda Collaborative, raised approximately $51,000 in private donations to kick off the project and support the design phase post approval by the Art Commission. $50,000 of the private donations were used to pay for the artist’s services to design and craft the approved sculptures for the Art Project. The artist selected Artworks Foundry in Berkeley, CA, as the foundry that would cast the sculptures, and the foundry currently has the completed molds to move the project forward. The preliminary estimate in April 2016 from Artworks Foundry, LLC was $74,500; the cost has significantly increased since 2016. The Fire Department returned to the Art Commission in both October 2019 and February 2021, providing the Commission with project updates. In March 2022, the Fire Department paid $5,000 to Artworks Foundry for mold work completed to date. The Fire Department has since requested funding for the FY 2021-22 Mid-Year Cycle Budget to assist with completing the project, which was not considered for approval. At the end of FY 2021-22, the Fire Department identified budget savings in Emergency Services (10032210) of $156,335 for the contract with Artwork Foundry, LLC.
Due to the incomplete art project, both facilities have only been granted temporary occupancy. Providing approval to the Interim City Manager to enter into this agreement will allow for the final acceptance to be issued and allow for permanent occupancy to be granted in accordance with the approved Art Commission resolution and Alameda Municipal Code 30-98.6.
The firefighter memorial was designed by Artist and Sculptor Lawrence Noble of Noble Studio in Berkeley, CA. His work can be found throughout the region and across the country. Mr. Noble’s work includes the California Firefighters' Memorial in historic Capitol Park in Sacramento, the Gold Medal for the 1984 Olympic Games, and the famous Yoda Fountain that resides at the Letterman Digital Arts Center in the Presidio of San Francisco.
DISCUSSION
See Executive Summary above.
ALTERNATIVES
• Provide the Interim City Manager the authority to enter into the agreement.
• Do not grant the Interim City Manager the authority to enter into this agreement; this will prevent the required art project from being completed and further delay the final acceptance of the overall project. Further discussion would also be required with the City Attorney’s Office to address the private donations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Staff is seeking City Council approval to carry forward $156,335 in budget savings in the Fire Department from FY 2021-22 to FY 2022-23 in order to fund the Art Project.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action is consistent with the Alameda Municipal Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This public art installation is Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines Section 15303, New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures.
CLIMATE IMPACT
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the contract with Artworks Foundry, LLC in the amount of $156,335 to allow for the completion of the Fire Station 3 and EOC Public Art Project PLN16-0425; and Adopt a resolution amending the fiscal year 2022-23 General Fund Fire Department Operating Budget to Increase expenditures in the amount of $156,335.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas Luby, Fire Chief
By,
Monique Raqueno, Fire Admin Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Public Art Commission Submittal
2. Public Art Commission Resolution No. PAC-16-01
3. Estimate
4. Service Provider Agreement
cc: Nancy Bronstein, Interim City Manager
Public Art Commission