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Bell Gardens awards design contracts for Veterans Park refurbishment and restroom renovation
Summary
Council approved a not-to-exceed $603,471 design agreement (plus 10% contingency) with RRM Design Group for Veterans Park refurbishment and a separate not-to-exceed $170,606 agreement (plus 10% contingency) with Infrastructure Architects for an expedited restroom renovation to secure federal grant deadlines.
Bell Gardens City Council on Jan. 26 approved staff recommendations to engage two design firms for separate elements of a multi-million-dollar Veterans Park improvement program.
Public Works Director Bernie Neguez said the city has approximately $5.78 million available—nearly $4.0 million from Prop 68, $700,000 from a HUD Community Project Funding award (credited to Congressman Robert Garcia) and more than $1.0 million in CDBG/CTBG funds—to complete a park refurbishment and an outdoor-restroom renovation. Staff recommended splitting the work between two agreements: a comprehensive refurbishment design and a streamlined restroom design to allow the restroom bid package to proceed quickly and protect grant deadlines.
For the refurbishment (Ross Hall, amphitheater, park aesthetics and related elements), staff recommended RRM Design Group with a not-to-exceed professional services agreement of $603,471. Staff requested—and council authorized—a 10% contingency ($60,347) to cover unanticipated design needs, bringing the total not-to-exceed amount to $663,818. In the public discussion, RRM’s Rachel described comparable local park renovation work (including projects in Downey and La Mirada) and estimated about 18 months of design work for the full park scope.
For the restroom renovation, staff recommended Infrastructure Architects, which proposed a focused, cost-controlled design approach to meet grant deadlines. The agreement is not to exceed $170,606 with a 10% contingency of $17,060 (total NTE $187,666). Infrastructure Architects’ representative said the firm has completed similar restroom projects in neighboring cities and would coordinate closely with the park refurbishment team.
Councilmembers pressed staff about scoring differences between proposers, lifecycle costs, community outreach opportunities (30% design milestones were discussed as a point when the council could review plans) and how staff would coordinate overlapping elements. Public works said the city would hold coordination meetings and the city manager would oversee both design teams to ensure interoperability and timely delivery.
Votes: The council moved and approved the RRM award (roll call recorded; one council member registered a no vote on that item) and approved the Infrastructure Architects agreement (motion passed; roll-call recorded). Staff said all design costs would be covered by Prop 68 and federal grant funds and that no general fund dollars were necessary for the professional services agreements.
Why it matters: The contracts begin the design and procurement phase for multimillion-dollar park improvements at Veterans Park, including restrooms, amphitheater, shade, and other amenities; securing HUD and Prop 68 funding depends on meeting project timelines.
Next steps: Staff will finalize agreements in forms approved by the city attorney, begin design work, schedule community review opportunities at milestone design stages, and prepare bid-ready documents for construction procurement.
