The Vacaville City Council will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday prior to its regular meeting to discuss ways to improve downtown with the Urban Land Institute’s Technical Assistance Panel.
The city will also reject all bids from construction companies to complete renovations at Trower Park. The meeting agenda states that the rejection is recommended because “there are insufficient funds to award the construction contract for the project.” City staff will re-bid the project to solicit bids, which were originally intended to be covered by Measure M funds.
“The City Council directed staff to modify the park plan with the requested changes and return it to Council for consideration of the amended plan and additional funds from Measure M to increase the total project budget from $1.8 million to $2.5 million,” the staff report states.
The improvements would have included a zip line, a nebulizer, playground attractions, a hill slide and accessible swings. Council member Mike Silva had advocated for the completion of the project in the past and asked in previous meetings that the item be brought back to the council in a timely manner. Challenges during planning included efforts to minimize the use of retaining walls and issues with making the park ADA compliant given the slope of the site.
Ultimately, the staff report said, none of the bids were low enough to keep the project within budget. Other remaining Measure M funds have already been reallocated at recent meetings.
“At $2,823,100, the lowest bid is $600,000, or 26 percent, over the engineer’s construction cost estimate of $2,229,383,” the staff report states. “Based on project costs already incurred, the lowest bid, and anticipated construction activity costs including change orders, staking, material testing, inspection, and project management, accepting the lowest bid would result in a project deficit of approximately $450,000.”
Alternatives staff are offering the city council include deciding not to move forward with the project because it does not meet the city’s strategic goals or accepting the lowest bid.
“Given the significantly higher cost of the lowest bid compared to the engineer’s estimate and the city’s current budget situation, this alternative is not recommended,” the staff report states on the latter option.
The Council will also hold two public hearings on two new area-specific levies to fund city services in developing areas and will be asked to authorize city staff to enter into contracts with three companies for work in the growth area east of Leisure Town.
