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Find out what's happening in the blog. Below is a list of blog items.

May 18

That's A Wrap! - May 17, 2023

Posted to City Manager's Blog by grodericks grodericks

Thats A Wrap HeaderCouncil Meeting Date: May 17, 2023 (full Agenda link)
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/TownOfAtherton/featured
Details of each item can be found via the links to Staff Reports within the narrative and meeting videos are uploaded once they are fully compiled. 

The City Council met for the Regular Meeting on Wednesday, May 17 at 6 pm. Following the Roll Call the Council began moving through the Agenda beginning with Public Comments and Presentations.  The City Council adopted a Proclamation for Mental Health Awareness Month. 

ReportNext, the Council moved to Departmental Reports (~6:13 pm). The Departmental Reports are prepared monthly as part of the City Council's Regular Agenda. In addition to current reports from the City Manager, it typically includes departmental updates on the various happenings around Town such as reports from Administration, Community Services, Planning, Police, and Public Works. Staff answered a couple of questions regarding reconciling the numbers of permits for single-family residences and articulation of the numbers of entitlements, permits, and completions for ADUs. 

Consent_AgendaFollowing Departmental Reports, the Council moved to the Consent Agenda consisting of Items 1 through 6 (~6:21 pm). Items on the Consent Agenda are considered routine in nature and are generally considered in one motion and adopted by a single vote of the Council. Included in this month's Consent Agenda were bills and claims, minutes, and Approval of Scopes of Work for the Safety Element Update, a Report from the Goals Workshop, a Resolution setting the time of Regular Meetings to 6 pm, and the 2nd Reading of the Leaf Blower Ordinance. Following a brief comment on the Safety Element Update, the Council approved all items on the Consent Agenda. 

Public_Hearing_ImageNext was Public Hearings.
 
Public Hearings are typically held for Ordinances, Budget Adoption, Fee Adoption, and Land Use approvals. There were two scheduled Public Hearings.  

Item No. 7 was Introduction of an Ordinance setting the meeting location for Regular Council Meetings. (~6:24 pm) Following brief Q&A and opportunity for public comment, the Council introduced the Ordinance for 1st Reading. 2nd Reading and Adoption is scheduled for June 21, 2023.

Regular_Agenda_ImageNext up was the Regular Agenda. The Regular Agenda is reserved for items that require more deliberation and discussion by the City Council and items that are not routine in nature. 

Item No. 8 was consideration of approval of the Housing Opportunity Site Criteria. (~6:27 pm) Following a brief staff report and public comment, the Council discussed the criteria, potential modifications, interpretation of the criteria and applicability of the criteria. Following discussion, the Council opted to table the discussion of the criteria until further needs are identified for the Housing Element. 

Item No. 9 was a summary of the Department of Housing and Community Development Response Letter (April 4, 2023) and Next Steps with the Town's 2023-2031 Housing Element.  (~6:56 pm) Following a PowerPoint presentation by staff and public comment, the Council discussed issues related to SB9, Unit Yield, ADU Strategy, ADU letter to the community, milestones, timing, process, and the Town's commitment to achieving a compliant Housing Element. Some of the issues discussed involved the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process and updates to the Town's General Plan. The Town's website includes a webpage called "Local Government 101". The website has a variety of information about local government and how it operates, to include a summary of the General Plan, what it entails, and how it works; as well as a summary CEQA and how it works and applies. There are links within the Local Government 101 site that will take the reader to the Town's General Plan webpage as well as the State Office of Planning and Research that provides a detailed overview of CEQA and more. 

The last items on the Agenda were Council Reports and final Public Comments. 

Having cleared the entire Agenda, at approximately 8:08 pm, that as they say - was a wrap!

The next meeting of the City Council will be a Study Session on Wednesday, June 7 at 4 pm. The Agenda includes the full FY 2023/24 Budget Operating and Capital Improvement Program Review. This is a Joint Meeting with the Audit and Finance Committee. 

GeorgeThanks for reading!
 
 George Rodericks
 City Manager
Town of Atherton
grodericks@ci.atherton.ca.us


Jun 05

Town Center Update - June 5, 2020

Posted to Town Center Project Activity Blog by grodericks grodericks

Civic_Court
Atherton Town Center - Project Activity

Construction continues in earnest on both City Hall and the Library. Floors have been poured for the new City Hall - both 1st and 2nd floor. Work continues now on installation of the utility systems, roofing systems, and fire systems. On the Library, most of the work is dedicated to the new rammed earth walls. 

Live webcams for Library and City Hall/PD Building are active on the Town's website. There is also a project progress photo gallery. 
Naming and Donation Opportunities

New_RoadConstruction funding for City Hall, Police Building and Site Improvements ($28.7 million) consists largely of donations and the Town's General Funds. To assist with cash flow during the project's construction timeline, the Town issued a Certificate of Participation (COP). COPs are a short-term funding tools for projects and are used mainly for large, multi-year infrastructure projects. The Town would like to retire this short-term debt sooner than it would be obligated to do so (10-years). To do so, additional donations toward the project would be required.  

Recently, the City Council mailed a Naming and Donation Opportunities letter to all Atherton residents - this is available online as well. The Council invites the community to become a part of Atherton's history by donating with a Naming Opportunity. The Council identified unique Naming Opportunities connected to the project - some of which have already been selected but there are plenty more opportunities! The City Council considers awards of naming opportunities at their regular meetings as donations are received. 

Donations will assist the Town in reducing or eliminating the need for a short-term COP to bridge the revenue flow gap during construction. The opportunities for naming have various ranges with the most significant being the ability to name a new road that will connect Fair Oaks Lane to Ashfield Road and run next to the new Town Center. 

It is very exciting to see this long-awaited new Town Center and Library come to life. The projected opening is Fall 2021, absent delay associated with COVID-19. For more details on naming opportunities and donations and how to enhance your current donation or become a part of history by making a new one, visit the donation website. 
City Hall and Police Building

The image below is from today as interior utility work continues on the City Hall Building. The Building is taking clear shape.   
City Hall June 2020

On the right of the image is the single-story Council Chambers portion of the Building. The Council Chambers also serves as the Town's Emergency Operations Center and connects directly to the Police Building. The second floor of the Police Building is set back from the first floor and includes the break room, training room, locker rooms and offices. The lower floor of the Police Building includes the briefing room, interview rooms, and evidence storage. 

Along the left side of the image on the lower floor is the lobby area and on the second floor is the walkway across the lobby to Community Development (Building, Planning and Public Works Offices). Administration is on the lower floor on the left. 

In the near portion of the image, you can see vehicles in the temporary Police Parking Lot. This area will eventually become the Civic Court of the new facility.  
Below is a Site Plan for the full project. 

Site_Plan
Historic Town Hall

Historic Town Hall InteriorMost of the interior work of the Historic Town Hall building is further down in the project timeline. There is currently no activity on the Historic Town Hall.

This building will ultimately become a part of the new Library connected via a deck and french doors that spill out from the side of the building onto the new deck. 


Library Building

The image below is from this week. Work this week focused on the forming of the new rammed earth walls for the Building.
Library Shotcrete  
 
Site Work

Site work continues for utilities and other required site improvements. 

Here's a view of the new entrance to City Hall coming in off of Fair Oaks Lane. Administration Offices are on the right. The first floor will be Town Administration and the Post Office. The second floor is the Building, Planning, and Public Works Departments. The bottom and top floors on the left are the Police Department. Secure Parking Lot entry is off to the left of the main building. 
Fair_Oaks
The Look Ahead

Work Areas for the Week of June 8
  • Installation of Fire Service and Water Lines
  • Installation of Power and Communication Conduits
  • Exterior Wall Layout/Deflection Clips
  • Install Steel at Mechanical Platforms
  • Installation of Utility Ductwork 
  • Installation of Overhead Plumbing and Piping
  • Rough-in Fire Protection
  • Install Stair 2-3
  • Place Forms and Shotcrete for Rammed Earth Walls
Work Areas for the Week of June 15
  • Exterior Wall Layouts
  • Installation of Utilities, Plumbing and Piping
  • Form Interior Curbs
  • Frame Coordinated Walls
  • Install Door Frames (Ancillary Building)
  • Place Forms and Shotcrete for Rammed Earth Walls
Project Financials
 Payment Request Period Town Share Library Share Total
Payment Request #1 June 2019 $983,533 $538,622 $1,522,155
Payment Request #2 July 2019 $540,673 $587,037 $1,127,711
Payment Request #3 August 2019 $605,478 $972,754 $1,578,232
Payment Request #4 September 2019 $997,235 $638,317 $1,635,551
Payment Request #5 October 2019 $969,456 $252,633 $1,222,089
Payment Request #6 November 2019 $1,318,002 $341,692 $1,659,694
Payment Request #7 December 2019 $1,346,738 $555,978 $1,902,716
Payment Request #8
 January 2020
 $1,289,498 $480,925 $1,770,423
Payment Request #9 February 2020 $1,042,792  $342,867 $1,385,659
Payment Request #10 March 2020 $1,242,721 $440,645 $1,683,366
Payment Request #11
 April 2020
 $309,292  $248,412 $557,694
Payment Request #12
 May 2020
 $1,391,401  $713,524 $2,104,924
Totals   $12,036,809 $6,113,406 $18,150,215
         
Initial Project Bid   $28,701,034 $18,375,966 $47,077,000
Net Change Orders   $41,168 $73,803 $114,971
Updated Project Cost   $28,742,202 $18,449,769 $47,191,971
% Complete based on $   42% 33% 38%
Target Based on 25-Month Schedule   48%

At 38% completion, approved change orders for the project are at 0.24% - $114,971 of $47.1 million. 
 
George Rodericks
City Manager
grodericks@ci.atherton.ca.us