Title
Provide direction to staff on Board Referral 2017.20 requesting consideration of a BMX Bike Track and new Skate Park on County-owned land at East Laurel Drive in Salinas.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Support developing a Facility Master Plan for County-owned property including Natividad Road (Natividad Campus), Constitution Boulevard (Soccer/Park Complex), and East Laurel Drive (Laurel Yard); and
b. Provide direction to staff regarding pursuing a lease of County land to the City of Salinas for a BMX/skate park on a portion of land at 855 E. Laurel Drive as part of that Master Plan.
SUMMARY
Supervisor Alejo re-initiated Referral 2017.20, which states:
Lease agreement between the City of Salinas and the County of Monterey regarding County’s parcel adjacent 855 East Laurel Drive in Salinas for the implementation of a BMX Bike Track, new Skate Park, and sidewalk on East Laurel Drive adjacent to this property (between Sanborn Road and Constitution Boulevard).
On May 7, 2019, the Board of Supervisors approved payment of $250,000 to the City of Salinas to be used for the regional soccer complex. In addition, RMA staff has been working with the City of Salinas to participate in the City’s sidewalk project along County-owned property.
Other Board referrals include providing housing facilities at the 855 E. Laurel Drive and Natividad Medical Center (NMC) properties. The County and City of Salinas entered into an MOU that includes property at 855 E. Laurel Drive and 1220 Natividad Road as possible sites for housing facilities. A construction contract to build a homeless shelter at 855 E. Laurel Drive was approved by the board in December 2019. Staff has been assessing the best location for transitional housing, either at 855 E. Laurel Drive or at 1220 Natividad Road, in addition to NMC and Health identifying their facility needs. City of Salinas staff has indicated that the City is working on a recreation plan which includes this area. Therefore, staff recommends developing a master plan for the County-owned properties in this area.
DISCUSSION:
RMA has received several Board referrals providing ideas for the use of County property surrounding the parcels at 855 East Laurel Drive and 1220 Natividad Road in Salinas, including this referral (2017.20) for a BMX bike track, skate park, and sidewalk on East Laurel Drive. RMA is currently implementing many of these projects including the New Juvenile Hall, Jail Housing Addition, and Housing Shelter as well as partnering with the City of Salinas to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a joint use Soccer Complex.
RMA is requesting that the Board of Supervisors consider developing a Facility Master Plan for County lands that will optimally use all County property and the property surrounding Constitution Boulevard, East Laurel Drive, and Natividad Road (commonly known as the “Natividad Campus”) taking into consideration nearby park space of the City of Salinas and the Big Sur Land Trust.
The Natividad Campus is in an ideal location to serve diverse socioeconomic demographics within the Salinas Valley. Developing a master plan will provide an opportunity to address the use of County lands for optimal community benefit and consider the youth, elderly, and underserved members of our County. The Natividad Campus portion of the Facility Master Plan could focus on such uses as medical services, social services, transitional/affordable housing, veteran housing, non-profit services, parks, green spaces, recreational or athletic uses, community center/meeting space, parking, trails/paths, public art, performance art, green infrastructure, and updating existing infrastructure.
Currently, RMA Facilities resources are impacted with large workloads and a significant backlog of facilities projects. RMA Facilities has one (1) Project Manager III and three (3) Project Manager II to manage 42 projects ranging in project size from $16,000 to $65,000,000. Each project manager is concurrently managing ten (10) or more projects with additional duties such as staffing committees, preparing reports, and project planning. RMA Facilities has a significant back log of approximately 30 projects that are either pending funding or waiting for Project Management assignment.
Current Facilities projects assigned to the Facilities Project Managers include the New Juvenile Hall, Jail Housing Addition, Homeless Shelter, multiple tenant improvements, eight (8) IT infrastructure improvements, design development of the new Behavioral Health Clinic in east Salinas, Agricultural Commissioner facility structural upgrade, several scheduled and unscheduled HVAC projects, multiple security upgrades, Parks ADA Transition plan, downtown parking plan, temporary showers at the homeless shelter, unscheduled maintenance of existing facilities, and other miscellaneous projects and duties.
RMA currently manages County multi-occupancy facilities with existing operations and project management staff. On July 1, 2020, the responsibility for asset management planning single occupancy facilities is due to transition from the County Department occupant to RMA Facilities. Therefore, the Deputy Director, Chief of Facilities and Facilities staff are starting to analyze the impact of this shift in responsibilities in order to ensure an appropriate level of service for all County facilities. RMA is already receiving requests for service from single use facilities and has already committed to managing one (1) project (Water Intrusion at Health Department Headquarters).
RMA intends to complete an informational item regarding the prioritization and potential delivery of the RMA Facilities Referral list (including this referral) and a summary of planning and project capabilities with existing staff levels. Over the next few months, RMA will focus on prioritizing projects and facilities duties including any Facilities projects included in the RMA Facilities Referral list. RMA Facilities will also analyze the workload associated with single occupancy facilities and provide a recommendation on a transition date.
Over the next six (6) months, RMA Facilities will be developing project controls (program schedules, budgets, and workload indicators) and maintenance metrics for the RMA Facilities program to ensure appropriate service levels and balanced workloads for staff. RMA will include a program schedule of future asset management and capital and maintenance planning efforts including managing the County single occupancy facilities.
It is anticipated that RMA Facilities staff could start the request for proposal (RFP) process for a Facility Master Plan in Winter 2020/21, once we are able to ramp down staff needs for several major projects currently underway (New Juvenile Hall, Jail Housing Addition, Homeless Shelter). RMA recommends seeking the assistance of a consultant to develop an RFP for the selection of a consultant firm with extensive land use and planning experience. Development of the RFP would cost approximately $50,000 and the Facility Master Plan would cost approximately $2,000,000.
OTHER AGENCY/STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT:
A county-wide Facility Master Plan would require coordination with potentially all County agencies and businesses that occupy facilities. Surplus property may be considered for much needed housing.
Regarding Natividad Campus, County staff participates in a monthly coordination meeting with the City of Salinas and would continue to partner on the Natividad Campus portion of the Facility Master Plan for integration and cohesiveness with the recently adopted City of Salinas Parks Master Plan. The County and City are discussing solutions to address the current shortage of parks and recreational activities, which will provide alternative outlets for youth and families to reduce violence and crime in Salinas. In addition, staff is coordinating with the Big Sur Land Trust regarding future planning efforts at Carr Lake such as bike and walking trails, which could also include a BMX Bike Track/Skate Park.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS:
Staff estimates that the RFP development will cost approximately $50,000 and the Facility Master Plan will cost approximately $2,000,000. If supported, staff will request funding for the RFP through the fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 budget augmentation process. Staff will provide recommendations for cost controls and construction estimates in future Board reports.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE:
Board initiatives include priorities for providing affordable housing and programs,
X Economic Development
X Administration
X Health & Human Services
X Infrastructure
X_ Public Safety
Prepared by: Lindsay Lerable, RMA Chief of Facilities
Checked by: Leigh Ann Sutton, RMA Deputy Direct, Public Works, Parks & Facilities