Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council
Regular Meeting of June 22, 2021
Title
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY RELOCATION
AND LEASE AGREEMENT
(Brandy Villanueva, Emergency Management Coordinator)
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Staff recommends City Council:
1. Approve a Lease Agreement between the City of Hermosa Beach and Friends of the Library to facilitate its relocation and future storage requirements; and
2. Authorize the Mayor to execute and the City Clerk to attest the agreement subject to approval by the City Attorney (Attachment 4).
Body
Executive Summary:
In 2017, City Council approved the purchase and installation of a structure on the North side of the Hermosa Self-Storage property for the relocation of Friends of the Library. The project was subsequently placed on hold by City Manager Gonzalez. The relocation project was revisited in 2020 to determine the next steps to successfully move Friends of the Library (FOL) and continue to secure Bard Street and the City’s first responders. Staff has completed discussions with FOL and recommends City Council approval of a lease agreement outlining the terms of the relocation.
Background:
Friends of the Library is a non-profit corporation created to provide financial and charitable assistance to the Hermosa Beach Library for the purchase of books, magazines, and records for use by the general public. Friends of the Library was founded in 1959 and has provided over 60 years of service to the community in providing a book donation location, book sales, and charitable donations of materials to the Hermosa Beach Library. The organization currently maintains a bookstore, located behind City Hall, on Bard Street.
At its regular meeting on July 25, 2017, City Council approved a Resolution authorizing the closure of Bard Street, south of Pier Avenue, for the purpose of securing our public safety facilities. In addition to closing the street to vehicular traffic, City Council authorized the installation of fences and gates around Bard Street; a panic alarm and electronic access system; and security system with video and audio. As a result of the area closure, the purchase and installation of a structure on the North side of the Hermosa Self-Storage was approved for the relocation of Friends of the Library. At the time of approval, the cost estimate of a new 15 foot by 60 foot structure was approximately $45,000. The project was to include placement on a concrete slab, skylights, dry-wall, and air conditioning. The staff report for this item is included as Attachment 1.
Following the July 2017 City Council meeting, Public Works released a Notice Inviting Bids for CIP 17-683 Construction of a New Retaining Wall and Prefabricated Building Foundation (Attachment 2). Five bids were received ranging in price from $93,330-$123,310. The bid cost was in addition to the $45,000 required to purchase the prefabricated building. It was determined by the City Manager that the project should be placed on hold because the additional retaining wall and foundation costs were higher than the City Council approved amount of $45,000.
In March of 2020, the State implemented a Safer at Home order, which included a quarantine order only allowing residents to access essential services, thereby closing the Friends of the Library bookstore until further notice. In May of 2020, civil unrest throughout the county, state, and nation highlighted the critical and emergent need to continue with increasing the security and safety of the City’s Police and Fire personnel. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) moved into the renovated Fire Station in September of 2020, vacating the Bard trailer and retuning to emergency response from the apparatus bay of the Station, exiting onto Pier Ave.
In a continual effort to provide a safe and secure working environment for the Hermosa Beach first responders and to allow for operation of the Friends of the Library bookstore, it is important to finalize the last component of the Bard Street project, which is the Friends of the Library relocation. As a result, the Friends of the Library relocation was revisited in fall of 2020.
Past Council Actions
Discussion:
The City of Hermosa Beach has been working with the Friends of the Library Board to identify a location to relocate the FOL bookstore. Staff from the City Manager’s Office, Police Department, Community Resources, and Public Works have been working with the Board since the fall of 2020 with the following objectives:
1. Identify a suitable alternative to the current FOL bookstore location;
2. Develop a list of improvements to ensure the new location will benefit FOL; and
3. Develop a Lease Agreement between the City and Friends of the Library.
Staff and Friends of the Library started the relocation discussions with the following shared understanding:
1. The relocation will be to a temporary location. The long-term goal is to co-locate the Friends of the Library bookstore with a future renovated Hermosa Beach Library;
2. The current Friends of the Library location would not be able to reopen during the COVID-19 restrictions; and
3. The safety and security of the City’s first responders is critical, therefore keeping the Friends of the Library on Bard Street would cease.
It was imperative that the City and Friends of the Library work together to find a new location to ensure the organization can return to providing the services and charitable donations they have provided for the past 60 years to the community.
New Location
City staff and Friends of the Library Board Members developed a list of potential new locations for the Bard Street bookstore (Attachment 3). Together, the staff and volunteers toured each location to determine the feasibility of operating the bookstore in the various locations. After much deliberation, the best solution for a location is the storage shed located at the Community Center, shared with the Kiwanis Christmas tree lot supplies. Although Friends of the Library will be losing square footage, the location would hopefully increase patrons since it would be located next to the Community Center gym with increased foot traffic. In addition, there is ample parking and ADA accessibility will be incorporated into the space improvements.
The storage shed is currently utilized by the City Manager’s Office, Emergency Management Division, to store emergency preparedness supplies including Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) supplies. Alternate storage locations for these supplies were identified and upon approval of the relocation project, the supplies will be relocated. Once the permanent location for the Friends of the Library is identified and the storage shed is vacated, the storage facility will be returned to the Emergency Management Division of the City for repurposing.
Lease Agreement Terms
The City and Friends of the Library would enter into a three-year Lease Agreement (Attachment 4) for the new location with three additional one-year extensions available. Friends of the Library would pay an annual lease amount of $1 per year and provide the City with the appropriate level of insurance coverage. An annual discussion would be held between the City and Friends of the Library Board to plan for and address any needs.
Space Improvements and Costs
The table below includes the list of mutually agreed upon site improvements to transform the space into the new Friends of the Library bookstore. The City would be financially responsible for a total of $27,800 in improvements, which includes $24,700 of City only expenses and a cost share of $3,100 for the AC/Heater split unit. Friends of the Library would be financially responsible for a total of $13,550, which includes $10,450 of Friends of the Library only expense and a cost share of $3,100 for an AC/Heater split unit.
The City worked with the Friends of the Library Board to submit a grant with Cal Water to offset the cost of the AC/Heater unit. Should it receive the grant, which is a maximum of $4,000, the cost share between the City and Friends of the Library for the AC/Heater unit will be decreased to $1,100 per entity. In addition, the City has been exploring alternatives to purchasing boxing materials. The City has shared and encouraged Friends of the Library to pick up boxes from large box stores such as Costco and Sam’s Club, which would be free.
Relocation Timeframe
If approved, the relation project would be completed in the following two phases:
Phase 1-Site Improvements, July 2021
The City would move the emergency management supplies to new storage locations and begin the site specific improvements. The improvements to the actual facility should take two to four weeks depending on the availability of the contractors and supplies. Once the City has completed the site-specific improvements, phase 2 would begin.
The ADA access route would be implemented upon the commencement of the CIP street improvement projects 186 and 190 which are anticipated to start in mid to late July. The CIP projects would not prevent the transition to Phase 2 of the relocation.
Phase 2-Friends of the Library Move, August 2021
Upon the completion of Phase 1, Friends of the Library would be able to gain access into the facility to begin moving which includes the building and installation of shelving, transporting books and furniture to the new location. The City has connected Friends of the Library with agencies who are interested in volunteering to assist with the physical moving of the materials.
Based on the information provided, staff recommends that City Council approve the proposed Lease Agreement authorizing relocation of Friends of the Library bookstore.
General Plan Consistency:
This report and associated recommendation have been evaluated for their consistency with the City’s General Plan. Relevant Policies are listed below:
Governance
Goal 1. A high degree of transparency and integrity in the decision-making process.
• 1.6 Long-term considerations. Prioritize decisions that provide long-term community benefit and discourage decisions that provide short-term community benefit but reduce long-term opportunities.
Safety Element
Goal 5. High quality police and fire protection services provided to residents and visitors.
• 5.1 Crime deterrence. Regularly evaluate the incidence of crime and identify and implement measures to deter crime.
Fiscal Impact:
Friends of the Library will pay an annual lease amount of $1 and provide the City with the appropriate level of insurance coverage.
The relocation of Friends of the Library would have a fiscal impact. The City would be responsible for approximately $27,800 of the total project cost of $41,350. A total of $20,000 is incorporated into the street improvement projects CIP 186 and 190 earmarking an ADA route from the public parking to the facility. The remaining $7,800 (electrical/lighting/painting/ADA door/AC unit cost share) will be transferred from Prospective Expenditures and due to the timing of the project will be reappropriated to the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Budget for completion in the next fiscal year.
Attachments:
1. July 25, 2017 Staff Report: Bard Street Gate and Fencing for Public Safety (FD & PD)
2. CIP 17-683 Construction of a new retaining wall and prefabricated building foundation
3. Possible FOL Location Options
4. Draft Lease Agreement
Respectfully Submitted by: Brandy Villanueva, Emergency Management Coordinator
Noted for Fiscal Impact: Viki Copeland, Finance Director
Legal Review: Mike Jenkins, City Attorney
Approved: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager