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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2022 0601 CCSA REG ITEM 09ACITY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA City Council Meeting of June 1, 2022 ACTION CONSENSUS TO RECOMMEND THE AGRARIAN STYLE AND MOVE FORWARD WITH DESIGN DEVELOPMENT DRAWINGS. (ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS) BY A. Hurtado. A. Consider Design of New Moorpark City Library. Staff Recommendation: Provide direction to staff on preferred Architectural style, and direct staff to move forward with Design Development Drawings. (Staff: Jeremy Laurentowski, Parks and Recreation Director) Item: 9.A. Item: 9.A. MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT TO: Honorable City Council FROM: Jeremy Laurentowski, Parks and Recreation Director BY: Jessica Sandifer, Community Services Manager DATE: 06/01/2022 Regular Meeting SUBJECT: Consider Design of New Moorpark City Library BACKGROUND & DISCUSSION A new city hall and library have been a top City Council priority for many years. The project planning for the Civic Center began in 2005 and initially only included a new city hall building. The library was added in 2007 when the City of Moorpark took over operations of the library from the County of Ventura. In 2007 a conceptual master plan was approved that included a 35,000 sq. ft. city hall and 25,000 sq. ft. library, both two-story buildings. After the approval of the master plan the city conducted a voter opinion survey to determine whether a ballot measure to raise funding for the library building would be supported. The survey indicated that such a measure would not be supported, and lacking sufficient funding for both buildings, the project stalled. By 2016, the city library had become so popular that library patrons and staff were beginning to feel the pinch of the small library space. Since funds existed to construct one building, it was determined that the library’s popularity warranted a switch in priority to construction of a new library, rather than city hall. The focus was to create a library space that would meet the needs of the community. It was determined that an 18,000 sq. ft. single story library would achieve these goals. In 2018, the City hired Linda Demmers, Library Consultant, to assist with design and planning of the new library space and selected architect CWA AIA, Inc. for the project. Also, in 2018, the City Council requested that a Civic Center Master Plan (Master Plan) of the civic center site be prepared, to ensure that the library is placed at the most advantageous location, while leaving room for a future city hall and highlighting opportunities for private investment and economic development along High Street. 133 Honorable City Council 06/01/2022 Regular Meeting Page 2 The Master Plan involves construction of the library building on the north side of High Street west of Moorpark Avenue, generally across from the Post Office parking lot. The city hall building would be constructed where the existing library is currently located. The Master Plan accommodates an 18,000 sq. ft. library building, a 22,000 sq. ft. City Hall building with City Council chambers, associated parking for both facilities, as well as enhanced parking for public use, and proposes to repurpose the Post Office parking lot into a central gathering place (“mercado”) to be used for various events, such as a farmers’ market. It also provides for additional economic activation of High Street to the west and potential for future redevelopment of the existing Civic Center site. The Master Plan considers a phased approach, with the new library constructed first and the city hall and mercado to follow at a future date. This phased approach will allow staff to evaluate funding options to build out the Civic Center campus. The Master Plan was adopted by the City Council in September 2020. In March 2021, staff presented to the City Council several options related to the architectural style for the new library, as well as a space planning concept related to the library operations and general layout of program areas. The City Council approved the space planning concept, however, there was concern regarding the design direction proposed by the project architect. In general, the City Council did not feel that the library design concepts embraced the history and culture of Moorpark, nor did they feel that they complemented the existing architectural styles on High Street. Shortly after the Special City Council meeting, it became evident that a change needed to be made in order to move the library project forward. In July 2021, Staff determined that the agreement with the prior architect should be terminated, and in December 2021, after a Request for Qualification/Proposal (RFP) and selection process, the City Council awarded an agreement to LPA, Inc. (LPA) to continue the design efforts for the new library. LPA stood out during the selection process due to their extensive experience in library design, particularly their experience related to libraries with historical significance and libraries located within historically significant locations. LPA’s vision for the new library was comprehensive, well thought out, and creative, and was based on Moorpark’s agricultural history, culture, and celebrated the old town character of High Street. DISCUSSION The RFP for architectural services included the development of two fully rendered architectural styles that would be presented to the City Council. The RFP described a building that looks like it has always been a part of High Street, with a timeless inviting design that adheres to old town values, while still maintaining a spacious interior with use of natural light, modern functions, and innovative amenities. Additionally, the architectural styles should embrace Moorpark’s agricultural history, culture, and celebrate the old town character of High Street. 134 Honorable City Council 06/01/2022 Regular Meeting Page 3 Since December 2021, LPA has been working on the creation of the two exterior design schemes for the library. Through their research, and in looking at the current and future architectural styles along High Street, LPA has come up with two architectural styles for the City Council’s consideration. • Agrarian Architecture: This building style tends to focus on incorporating local materials into buildings with agricultural elements that are often rustic, organic, and comfortable. This style was meant to pay homage to the agricultural past of Moorpark, which began largely as a farming community in the late 1800’s. The building design is based on the utilitarian structure of a barn that has been repurposed into a library, with use of accordion windows to allow programming to spill outside onto the exterior porches. The interior of the facility will feature similar barn style architectural elements with wood beams, and natural light, while still being an efficient modern building. • Industrial Architecture: Industrial buildings are characterized by wide-open spaces, a minimalist aesthetic, exposed materials and utilities, and an efficient use of natural light. This style is intended to be a nod towards the growth of Moorpark away from a farming community towards a modern industrial community with manufacturing and retail at its economic core. The brick style mirrors some of the brick elements seen in earlier High Street architecture, with some updated elements, such as metal awnings, tall deep-set windows, and accordion doors to allow programming to spill out on to the wraparound porches. The interior of the facility will feature industrial style elements, like open ceilings with exposed ductwork and brickwork throughout. On May 16, 2022, the City hosted an in-person Community Workshop in order to gather input on the two library designs. However, it was not clear on which style was preferred, as four of the attendees preferred the Agrarian style, and three preferred the Industrial style. Since participation was relatively low, staff posted the two options online along with a survey to obtain more information from Moorpark’s residents. As of May 23, 2022, 50 individuals have completed the survey. Thirty-four have stated a preference for the Agrarian style, two prefer the Industrial style, eleven stated that either option would be appropriate, and three stated that neither option was appropriate. The survey is open to the public for comments through May 30, 2022. Staff will update the City Council on the final survey results during the City Council meeting on June 1, 2022. Staff believes that both styles are appropriate for High Street. Both complement the existing and future architecture styles along the High Street corridor, both styles consider Moorpark’s history, and both portray a prominence expected of a government building. Although the public has generally expressed a preference for the Agrarian style, staff prefers the Industrial style from an operational and cost perspective. 135 Honorable City Council 06/01/2022 Regular Meeting Page 4 • The Agrarian style is more costly to build when comparing the building design to the Industrial option. Staff was not able to obtain actual cost estimates at this time, however, the architect has stated that overall, the Agrarian option will be more costly to build. This is due to the vaulted framework, overall increase in building materials, and complexity of construction. • The Industrial style is more cost-effective to maintain. The Industrial building will be constructed with reinforced concrete walls clad with brick on both the exterior elevations and interior walls where appropriate. There are minimal maintenance costs associated with this type of construction. However, the use of hardwood or other natural materials are proposed for the Agrarian option. Wood is costly to maintain and will require regular maintenance. There are certain composite materials that have a texture similar to wood, however, these materials may not convey the same feel as natural wood and may take away from the Agrarian style. Additionally, the tall windows will be costly to clean, and the vaulted ceilings will complicate regular maintenance operations. In an effort to mitigate some of the maintenance concerns related to wood, the architect has introduced stone on the exterior of the Agrarian building, particularly on the south/west side of the building where the sun exposure is the most damaging. • The Industrial style is more sustainable. The flat roof on the Industrial style compliments flat interior ceilings, which will allow for better energy efficiency and better temperature regulation throughout the building. Additionally, staff is exploring the opportunity to install rooftop solar panels. The flat roof of the Industrial style will allow for a full array of solar panels across all 18,000 square feet of rooftop, while the Agrarian style will be limited to solar arrays only on the south facing gable roof sections. Although there are certain cost implications related to the Agrarian style, staff feels comfortable supporting this option and recommends that the City Council consider this style as the preferred option. Should this option be selected, staff will continue to work with the architect to find creative ways to mitigate these concerns. Staff anticipates that the library project will take approximately two and a half years to complete and as discussed during prior staff reports, will cost the city approximately $22,000,000 to build. LPA has confirmed that this is a realistic time frame and budget. However, it should be noted that construction and labor costs have been extremely unstable over the last several years due to the pandemic and resulting material shortages, and there has been quite a bit of uncertainty and speculation regarding the actual costs of construction once this project goes out to bid. Staff will return to the City Council once a detailed budget has been prepared. 136 Honorable City Council 06/01/2022 Regular Meeting Page 5 FISCAL IMPACT There is no incremental fiscal impact of this action, as the design of the library is already budgeted in the Fiscal Year 2021/22 budget. COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE This action is consistent with City Council Strategy 3, Objective 3.11: “Complete construction plans for the City’s new Library.” STAFF RECOMMENDATION Provide direction to staff on preferred Architectural style, and direct staff to move forward with Design Development Drawings. Attachment 1: Agrarian Architecture Attachment 2: Industrial Architecture 137 ment 1 ATTACHMENT 1 138 139 140 141 ATTACHMENT 2 142 143 144 145