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Council chambers rebuild pared back to protect grant dollars; staff to return with options
Summary
Facing tight spending deadlines, staff recommended removing third‑floor work and other scope reductions for the council chambers project to lower bids and preserve roughly $3.8–4.2 million in obligated funds; the council asked staff to return with design visuals and cost options.
City staff said Wednesday they will scale back the planned Baldwin Park council chambers renovation to secure grant funds and reduce bid prices.
David Lopez, the engineering manager, presented five recommendations that together aim to cut scope and shorten the schedule so the city can meet a year‑end spending deadline. The main proposal is removing all third‑floor renovation work — an item staff estimated at about $2.7 million — and to refurbish the existing HVAC system rather than fully replace it, saving roughly $300,000. Staff also proposed eliminating an exterior ADA ramp and door (estimated near $100,000) and keeping restrooms proposed as an additive alternate so the core chambers work can move forward.
Lopez told the council the project was bid in October 2024 and drew two reasonable bids (one at about $8.3 million and another at $8.9 million). Padilla and Lopez said the aggressive prior schedule (120 working days) and the tight funding deadline contributed to higher prices; one council member said the city has already obligated about $4.2 million toward the chambers and needs to spend roughly $3.8 million by December to avoid losing funds.
Staff recommended some procurement changes to control costs, including prequalifying bidders through responsibility questionnaires and possibly hiring a limited‑term in‑house construction manager paid from project funds (ARPA or CIP funds were discussed as options to cover temporary project management).
Council response: members generally supported prioritizing projects at risk of losing grants and asked staff to return to the regular meeting with updated designs, cost comparisons of eliminated items and visuals of the proposed chamber scope.
Next steps: staff will bring refined scope and visuals back to the council for a formal direction and prepare procurement steps (prequalification and consultant/construction management options).
