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Piedmont approves $417,250 budget for Sydney and Irene Dearing memorial; council accepts CEQA exemptions
Summary
The council authorized a $417,250 project budget and contract amendments with Hood Design Studio to complete final design, engineering and fabrication for the Sydney and Irene Dearing memorial in Triangle Park and determined the project exempt under CEQA; staff said a $250,000 fabrication budget and $107,250 final-design fee are included and that the Piedmont Beautification Foundation is nearing a $30,000 fundraising goal.
The Piedmont City Council authorized an overall project budget of $417,250 for the Sydney and Irene Dearing memorial in Triangle Park and directed staff to negotiate contract amendments with Hood Design Studio to finalize design, engineering and fabrication.
Public works director Daniel Gonzalez told the council this is an atypical procurement because public-art fabrication requires specially qualified fabricators and may be run differently from typical design-bid-build projects. He said the Hood Design Studio’s scope includes final design, structural engineering, shop drawings, construction support and coordination with fabricators; the city has paid $60,000 to date and staff proposed an additional $107,250 for final design plus a $250,000 construction/fabrication allowance, which together comprise the $357,250 design-plus-fabrication component inside the overall $417,250 request.
LSA environmental consultant Florentina Carchun told the council the team evaluated the project against multiple CEQA exemption classes (class 1, 3, 4 and 11) and concluded the project, as currently described and within the project “box” (locations and limits provided in the environmental document), would not result in significant environmental impacts. Staff said funds were budgeted in the FY25–26 cycle and that the Piedmont Beautification Foundation has raised nearly its $30,000 target to offset city funds.
Council asked about scope boundaries, possible additional sidewalk or landscaping costs outside the current scope and how Hood would manage fabrication to stay within the $250,000 construction budget; staff said the design team is tasked with meeting the budget and that inspection and some specialized costs (welding/shop inspection, biological surveys) are likely to be additional and currently estimated in the low five figures.
The council passed the budget authorization and CEQA determination unanimously.
