City Council
MEETING DATE: 1/10/2018
TITLE:
Title
Cathedral City Heritage Park Commons and Amphitheater Design Update.
End
FROM:
John A. Corella, P.E. - City Engineer
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
An update on the Cathedral City Heritage Park Commons and Amphitheater Project and the respective design is presented for information and discussion.
Body
BACKGROUND:
In January 2017, State Parks awarded Cathedral City a $1.4 million Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Grant for the Heritage Park Project (Project), otherwise known as "The Commons", which includes an outdoor amphitheater, children’s play area, walking paths, restroom/concession, landscaping, lighting, and fencing.
The LWCF Grant requires a 50% match of $1.4 million, which is being provided from the City Urban Revitalization Corporation (CURC) for a total project budget of $2.8 million.
The Project is located on a vacant 2.5-acre city-owned property at the corner of Avenida Lalo Guerrero and Cathedral Canyon Drive.
On June 14th, the City Council approved David Evans and Associates (DEA) to provide design and engineering services for the Project.
DISCUSSION:
Since June, DEA has conducted several outreach meetings with City Staff, local artists, community stakeholders and residents to discuss the Project and hear feedback on design concepts.
A kick off meeting was held on June 27th in which the City team met with the DEA design and engineering group.
On August 3rd, the City held an outreach meeting, led by the DEA team, at City Hall with community stakeholders to discuss the needs of local artists, performers, and those involved with the arts. The outreach meeting included strong representation from Cathedral City High School’s Theater and Music Departments, as well as artists in the City’s Cove neighborhood and throughout the City. In addition, representatives from the Cathedral City Parks and Community Events Commission and the Public Arts Commission attended.
On September 12th, the City team met with DEA to discuss Project design and engineering issues, as well as to address grant cost constraints and community outreach feedback for the park.
On September 18th, a community open-house meeting was held at City Hall where the DEA team provided several site plan concepts for the park, as well as design concepts for the amphitheater. DEA and City Staff gained insight from local residents, artists, and community stakeholders who provided feedback on the various designs and site plans. The meeting was well attended by community members and included representatives from the City Council, Cathedral City’s Parks and Community Events Commission and Public Arts Commission.
On September 25th, DEA updated the Cathedral City Parks and Community Events Commission on the design process and community outreach. The DEA team presented a proposed site plan and concepts for the park and amphitheater. The Commissioners provided comments on the design and outreach process. The overall favorable comments were that DEA’s designs are going in the right direction, and the Commissioners are looking forward to the successful completion of the Project.
On October 11th, DEA presented a refined site plan and design concept for the Project at City Council Study Session based upon the community outreach done for the Project. DEA took note of feedback from the City Council as they worked on final design and engineering plans.
DEA is near completion of the design and engineering for the Project and the City Engineer is reviewing the engineering plans now.
Chris Giannini of DEA will present the Project to the City Council at Study Session for final feedback prior to finalizing the design and engineering plans.
Once DEA completes the design and engineering plans, the City Engineer will bid out the Project. Construction should start in the spring and be done the end of 2018 in order to meet State Parks grant requirements.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None at this time as the presentation is for information and comments.
ATTACHMENTS:
None. DEA will make Power Point presentation.